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From the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego, and Back Again

From the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego, and Back Again. Thomas Johnson. By Nathan Senner. Goal: To Understand the Entire Life Cycle of the Hudsonian Godwit and to Protect Them and Their Habitats Throughout the Year . Three Stage Life Cycle. Breeding: Churchill, Manitoba. Migration.

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From the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego, and Back Again

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  1. From the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego, and Back Again Thomas Johnson By Nathan Senner

  2. Goal: To Understand the Entire Life Cycle of the Hudsonian Godwit and to Protect Them and Their Habitats Throughout the Year

  3. Three Stage Life Cycle Breeding: Churchill, Manitoba Migration Thomas Johnson Steve Jones Winter: Chiloe Island Thomas Johnson

  4. Goal: To Understand the Entire Life Cycle Of the Hudsonian Godwit Godwit Life Cycle: Breeding Migration Winter Thomas Johnson Steve Jones Thomas Johnson

  5. How Do They Do It? Long bill for probing deep in the mud. This is pivotal for finding the high fat, high protein foods necessary to fuel their migration. Long legs to wade through muck and water Strong pectoral and a small size to help power their flight. Aerodynamic wings perfect for flying both far and fast Photos Thomas Johnson Godwit Adaptations

  6. Winter

  7. Chiloe Island, Chile Life Cycle Stage: Winter

  8. Survivorship: How Many Birds Survive Each Year? Fernandez-Quitanilla et al. 1986 This diagram from plants outlines the age groups present in a population of plants (young plants, mature plants, and seeds) and how many of each of them survives each year. We are doing the same thing for godwits and it tells us whether or not the population is healthy or potentially in trouble. Chiloe Island, Chile

  9. Cannon Netting Photos Thomas Johnson Chiloe Island, Chile

  10. Thomas Johnson We track godwit survival by resighting banded birds each year Chiloe Island, Chile

  11. Breeding

  12. Churchill, Manitoba, Canada Life Cycle Stage: Breeding

  13. How Many Chicks Are Fledged Each Summer? Each godwit nest that we find is followed until its chicks have either died or reached the age when they can migrate to South America. This helps us to know how many new godwits are produced each year. Shawn Billerman Churchill, Manitoba

  14. Capturing Adult Godwits Thomas Johnson Glenn Seeholzer We also place bands and data loggers on every adult that we can capture during the breeding season. The bands will help us identify the birds the next year when we try to refind them. Jay McGowan Churchill, Manitoba

  15. Migration

  16. The Western Hemisphere Life Cycle Stage: Migration

  17. Where do Godwits Stop During Migration? The Amazon? The Andes? The Caribbean? How do we follow birds that fly so far?

  18. Data Loggers! Thomas Johnson

  19. Breeds in Churchill, Manitoba each year Quick stops in Texas, Kansas, and southern Canada It flew from James Bay to the Amazon in five days! 6100 miles non-stop! Spends the Winter in Tierra del Fuego Female “LP” Banded 6-24-08, Recaptured 6-29-09 Data Logger Results

  20. What Do We Know? How many godwits survive each year? How many godwits return to winter at the same site each year? Chiloe Island How many godwit chicks survive to fledge and migrate each year? Churchill, Manitoba Where do the godwits stop during their migration? What habitats do they use? Western Hemisphere

  21. Godwit Conservation

  22. Godwit Conservation Future Pipeline Habitat Destruction Industrial Pollution Seaweed Collection Global Climate Change Photos by Kate Senner; Graph by Hinzman et al. 2005

  23. Major oil and gas exploration on the Mackenzie Delta is destroying godwit habitat Global climate change is rapidly altering Arctic ecosystems Changing agricultural practices leave less standing water for shorebirds in Texas Seaweed collectors and fish farming disturb the godwit’s intertidal habitat on Chiloe Island Petrochemical factories pollute the water of Bahia Blanca Ships servicing oil wells have caused a number of oil spills during the past decade near Tierra del Fuego

  24. Thanks to the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Faucett Family Trust, Cornell University, the American Museum of Natural History, the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for helping finance this work. Thanks to Robert Rockwell and Robert Scher for their data. Thanks to Tom Johnson, Jay McGowan, Brad Walker, Shawn Billerman, and Glenn Seeholzer for their help in the field and their photographs.

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