Mar 14
Satellites to track bird flu virus spread
portal.nnkl.comBig News Network
Monday 20th November, 2006 (UPI)
A U.S.-led team of scientists is using satellite data to predict avian influenza's spread and create an accurate early warning system.
The international team, led by Professor Xiangming Xiao of the University of New Hampshire, was recently awarded $1.55 million for a 4-year project by the U.S. National Institutes for Health to develop quantitative analysis and modeling capacity for better understanding the relationship between man-made environmental change and transmission of infectious agents.
The project will use environmental remote sensing data from Earth observing satellites in combination with research in epidemiology, ornithology and agriculture to provide a better picture of how the bird flu virus survives and is transmitted among poultry and wild birds.
The study will focus on China, where outbreaks of the virus have been prominent.
The strength of our group, and of this proposal, is that over the last few years we've been able to pull a lot of information out of satellite observations that can help unravel the complex risk factors involved in avian flu ecology, said Xiao.
Xiao's team includes scientists from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and research institutes in Belgium and China.
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http://www.werc.usgs.gov/sattrack/
Whooper Swans (http://www.werc.usgs.gov/sattrack/whooperswan/index.html)
Bar-headed geese (http://www.werc.usgs.gov/sattrack/project2005.html)
Swan Geese (http://www.werc.usgs.gov/sattrack/swangoose/index.html)
Surf Scoters (http://www.werc.usgs.gov/scoter/2006/)
Pin Tail (http://www.werc.usgs.gov/pinsat/)
Band-tailed pigeons (http://www.werc.usgs.gov/dixon/pigeon/pigeon.htm)
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0709/S00041.htm
Christchurch City Ranger Andrew Crossland says he received a report of a single sighting midway over the Pacific today (04/08/2007).
“We are not far away,” says Mr Crossland of the much anticipated return of the Bar-tailed Godwits later this month.
He thinks the godwit, electronically strapped with a transmitter, was picked up by a satellite and was probably heading for the North Island. “It’s not one of ours,” he says.
Christchurch City Council will ring in spring with the Christchurch Cathedral bells when the first birds are seen on the Avon-Heathcote Estuary
Mr Crossland has been keeping tabs on the birds, electronically and with reports from bird watchers around the world.
It is a privilege to host these birds, he says, adding that the Godwits have undertaken a journey from the other end of the world to be in New Zealand.
“It is important that the birds are not unduly disturbed when feeding or resting,” he cautions.
Dogs should be keep well away from and not be allowed to chase them, he says.
The Bar-tailed Godwits (Limosa lapponica) each year fly 11,000km from Alaska to spend the southern summer on the Christchurch coastline.
The godwits are presently massing for migration on the Alaskan coastline after finishing breeding further north in the Arctic tundra. About 20 birds are fitted with satellite trackers.
Scientists report that the godwits make the longest non-stop flight of all birds – an amazing 11,000 kilometres from Alaska to New Zealand, in only five or six days.
“The Godwit breeding ground is tundra, moss and swampy tarn, where they feed on insects,” Mr Crossland says. ”After breeding, they move to the shorelines and estuaries along the Alaskan coast to build up for migration by feeding on shellfish and sea worms.
After spending the southern summer in New Zealand, resting and gaining weight, the Bar-tailed Godwits leave in March for the long flight back to the breeding grounds.
When the Godwits leave New Zealand they are tracked as they return to the breeding grounds via a route which takes them past New Guinea and the Philippines to a half-way stop in the Yellow Sea of China and Korea. Then comes a second epic flight parallel to the Aleutian islands across the North Pacific and landfall at the northern slope of Alaska.
| 3thReport on the project of "the Migration Dynamic of Important Breeding Waterbirds and the Precaution of Avian Influnza at Qinghai Lake, China" (From NBBC,Beijing,, Nov.17,2006) Satellite-tracking Large Black-headed Gulls Breeding at Qinghai Lake Arrived at Bangladesh Bay |
To monitor the migration dynamic and habitat utilization of waterbirds breeding at Qinghai Lake, 3 species 15 birds were installed with PTTs from July to mid August of 2006. They are 5 Large Black-headed Gulls (Larus ichthyaetus), 6 Bar-headed Geese (Anser indicus) and 4 Common Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo). The PTT for the gulls is 12 gram in weight, powered with solar battery with 2 years of duration. The Large Black-headed Gulls were captured in Quanwan (2 individuals on 10th July), Haixinshan (2 individuals on 11th July) and Buhahekou (1 individual on 20th July). One of the gulls captured in Quanwan was found died at Quanwan on 20th July. The PTT was recollected. The PTTs on other gulls worked well but the signals received have prolonged time intervals because the trimmed feather grew long and covered the PTT, and reduced the reception of sunlight. According to the signals received from ARGOS, the first gull left Qinghai Lake on 3rd August and the last one in Mid August. The four gulls migrated to three different directions, and rested at several stopovers, with the longest stop of over 80 days. Two of the gulls (ID: 187 and 189) has covered about 1800km and arrived at Bangladesh Bay (91.738°N, 21.543°E) on 1st and 3rd of November. No.187 left for Southeast from Qinghai Lake on 15th August, arrived at the boundary (35.598 °N, 99.222°E) between Xinghai and Maduo County of Qinghai Province, and stayed there for 23 days. Then the gull migrated toward southeast and stopped at Zhaling Lake (35.551°N, 99.172°E) between Maduo and Qumalai County, where it stayed for 50 days. Finally, it migrated to the Bangladesh Bay (91.776°N 22.266°E) on 1st of November. It's about 300km between Qinghai Lake and Zhaling Lake, and 1500km between Zhaling Lake and Bangladesh Bay. It can be concluded that No.187 arrived at the wintering site of Bangladesh Bay after 79 days, with most of the days spent at stopovers, especially at Zhaling Lake and the nearby wetland. No.189 left for west from Qinghai Lake on 3th August, arrived at Keluke Lake of Delingha City of Qinghai Province (37.283°N, 96.890°E), and stayed there for 89 days. Then the gull migrated to the Bangladesh Bay (91.619°N 24.055°E) on 3st of November. It's about 1800km between Keluke Lake and Bangladesh Bay. It can be concluded that No.189 arrived at the wintering site of Bangladesh Bay after 93 days, with most of the days spent at Delingha City. According to the signals received, the other two gulls were in Xinjiang and Gansu till October. The recent signals of Common Cormorants received have been very few, probably because the waterproof of the PTTs are not very good. 4 of the 6 satellite tracking Bar-headed Geese have left Qinghai Lake and still stayed at the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in October. |
| http://www.cnwm.org.cn/wildlife/zhantibaodao/qhh-t1.jpg Fig.1 The migration route of Large Black-headed Gulls No.187 by satellite-tracking(up to Oct.29) |
| http://www.cnwm.org.cn/wildlife/zhantibaodao/qhh-t2.jpg Fig.2 The migration route of Large Black-headed Gulls No.187 by satellite-tracking(up to Nov.10) |
| http://www.cnwm.org.cn/wildlife/zhantibaodao/qhh-t3.jpg Fig.3 The migration route of Large Black-headed Gulls No.189 by satellite-tracking(up to Oct.30) |
| http://www.cnwm.org.cn/wildlife/zhantibaodao/qhh-t4.jpg Fig.4 The migration route of Large Black-headed Gulls No.189 by satellite-tracking(up to Nov.10) |
| ( National Bird Banding Center of China, Nov.17,2006 ) |
http://www.cnwm.org.cn/wildlife/zhantibaodao/qinghaihu3e.htm
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=123722
5/09/2007 6:16:02
A solo godwit has been spotted midway over the Pacific, however the main flock which makes its way to New Zealand from Alaska each spring is still grouping in the northern hemisphere.
Bird watchers from around the world regularly contact the Christchurch City Council with reported sightings of the godwits. The bird which has been spotted to the north of New Zealand appears to be flying solo and most of the flock is still massing for migration on the Alaskan coast after breeding further north in the Arctic tundra. Around 20 are fitted with satellite trackers.
Scientists say the birds make the longest non-stop flight of all bird species, covering 11,000 kilometres, to spend the summer on Christchurch coastline. They fatten up over the summer before returning north to breed.
The arrival of the bar-tailed godwits in Christchurch is considered the harbinger of spring and Christchurch City Council ranger Andrew Crossland says the main flock should arrive in Christchurch later in the month. The journey from Alaska takes up to six days.
The Christchurch City Council will ring in spring by sounding the cathedral bells when the first birds are seen on the Avon-Heathcote Estuary.
The birds leave New Zealand in March for the long flight back to their breeding grounds. Tracking devices reveal they return via New Guinea and the Philippines to a half-way stop in the Yellow Sea of China and Korea. They fly parallel to the Aleutian Islands across the north Pacific and make landfall in the northern slopes of Alaska.
You can see tundra swans by name at http://www.bsc-eoc.org/lpbo/swans/eachswan.html
and see the Lessor White Fronted Goose, as they went through the BF infected areas last winter/spring at http://www.piskulka.net/Satellite%20tracking%202004-2005.htm
I'm still waiting for the results of the Bar-tailed Godwits that got transmitters here, this last fall. They want to see if they truly make the 6500 mile trip to NZ non-stop!
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http://www.werc.usgs.gov/sattrack/shorebirds/overall.html
Qinghai birds since April 2007:
http://www.werc.usgs.gov/sattrack/qinghai/overall.html
Poyang (where genes were found in 2004 before the Qinghai reassortment)
http://www.werc.usgs.gov/sattrack/poyang/overall.html
Western Europe --> Northern Siberia (...and back ?)
http://www.blessgans.de/index.php?id=tracking_adri
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