Event Details

My lab has been involved in many projects since it started in 1994 with the general theme of understanding responses of birds to environmental change, however caused,

and exploring their potential as indicators of such change. One constant throughout has been our long-term research and monitoring of the seabird colony on Machias Seal Island, situated where the Bay of Fundy meets the Gulf of Maine. This is the most biodiverse colony south of Newfoundland, and is at or near the southern range limit of several cold-water species. Through collaborations with colleagues working on colonies throughout the Gulf of Maine, we have used intensive marking, resighting and recapture to measure rates of dispersal and survival in three species, establishing that all constitute a metapopulation exchanging individuals within the broader Gulf of Maine and, in the case of Razorbills, as far away as Labrador. This work has continued through the virtual collapse of a major food source – young Atlantic herring – and ocean warming proceeding faster than almost any other ocean. I will describe the major components of this work, highlight some results, and describe some of the techniques we have used and are using in a series of graduate student and undergraduate projects involving a variety of collaborators and funding agencies and other universities.

Contact: Department of Biology
biology@unb.ca