Tracking Greater Shearwaters
A project of Grand Manan Whale and Seabird Research Station in conjunction with the partners and sponsors detailed below.
Subscribe to receive daily project updates
| Name | Species | Life Stage | Release Date | Last Location | Days Transmitted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert | Greater Shearwater | sub-Adult to Adult | 2006-08-08 | 2006-11-25 | 109 |
| Tristao | Greater Shearwater | sub-Adult to Adult | 2006-08-30 | 2006-12-08 | 100 |
| Kaiva | Greater Shearwater | sub-Adult to Adult | 2006-08-17 | 2006-11-23 | 98 |
| Rosa | Greater Shearwater | sub-Adult to Adult | 2006-08-22 | 2006-11-19 | 89 |
| Sedna | Greater Shearwater | sub-Adult to Adult | 2006-08-30 | 2006-12-26 | 118 |
| Ivan | Greater Shearwater | sub-Adult to Adult | 2006-08-04 | 2006-11-24 | 112 |
Click on an animal's name for maps and more information.
Introduction
 |
From Grand Manan to eternity! Tracking shearwaters to the remotest place on earth.
Greater Shearwaters nest in the Tristan da Cunha island group, the remotest inhabited island on earth. These islands are located in the middle of the South Atlantic (2778 km west of South Africa), and thus these birds make a formidable migration every year, traveling over 10,000 km to reach the eastern seaboard of North America. Why do they come here and what do they do once they arrive?
The purpose of our study is to monitor the diet and track the movements of Greater Shearwaters that come to the Bay of Fundy each year. In the Bay of Fundy, with the largest tides in the world, tidal currents produce upwelling areas that concentrate prey (mostly herring and krill) for seabirds and marine mammals to feed on. Tracking the movements of shearwaters by satellite will help us discover marine wildlife hotspots in the Bay of Fundy and Gulf of Maine.
Satellite tracking will also allow us to track, for the first time, the migration route of this magnificent seabird across the North Atlantic and south to the most remote place in the world.
This project is being conducted by the Grand Manan Whale and Seabird Research Station (GMWSRS). Established in 1981, the GMWSRS has been active with research, education and conservation around Grand Manan Island in the Bay of Fundy.
For more info contact:
Rob Ronconi, project leader
rronconi@uvic.ca
Project Partners
This project is a collaboration between:
The Grand Manan Whale and Seabird Research Station,
University of Victoria,
University of North Carolina-Wilmington,
Dalhousie University, and
Canadian Co-operative Wildlife Health Centre
Project Sponsors
The New Brunswick Environmental Trust Fund,
the New Brunswick Wildlife Trust,
the James L. Baillie Memorial Fund for Bird Research and Preservation,
and the Grand Manan Whale and Seabird Research Station
