German ornithologist Martin Wikelski intends to play the part of Big Brother for our animal neighbors. However, his intentions have more in common with Wally Cleaver than with the overlords in George Orwell's "1984," judging by a project description published by Yale Environment 360.
That's because by watching their movements from outer space, the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior's migration director can better gauge our planet's health. The plan is to launch small satellites into orbit next year that can track thousands of critters across a range of species, according to Yale.
The key is observation at scale, with help from thousands of tags. These solar-powered, tiny devices can send data from the animal to the lab via satellites. Once received, experts like Wikelski can start to learn more about migrations, plights facing certain species, and the impact of our planet's overheating.
The project is called The International Cooperation for Animal Research Using Space (ICARUS).
"One really important aspect we think is transformative in biology is the scaling up of tagging," Wikelski said in the story. "So you don't have one animal but 50 or 100, or you do it across a continent."
The $1.57 million project — with $160,000 in annual operating expenses expected — can even track glacier movements.
The satellite launches continue a project that started in 2001. It had been scaled back previously to make it more feasible. Wikelski had to overcome politics, tech glitches, and bureaucratic setbacks along the way. A receiver was mounted on the International Space Station in 2018 with help from Russia. But when the Russia-Ukraine war started, the data stopped flowing, per the Yale summary.
The system's next big achievement is to get the "internet of animals" again operational using the Rubik's cube-sized satellites. The project is funded by the Max Planck Society.
This isn't the only time humans have played the part of a nosy neighbor. Researchers elsewhere are using inexpensive audio tech to listen to forest sounds, essentially eavesdropping on birds, insects, and other creatures. This helps the experts determine what kinds of wildlife there are and in what number. Satellite photos are also providing them with images of algae problems at California's Clear Lake.
As our world warms, scientists in another Yale report warn that mortality is increasing for a range of creatures on Earth. The story notes that almost a third of 135 avian species that existed a century ago are now less common.
"We often think that climate change may cause a mass mortality event in the future, but this study tells us that the change in climate that has already occurred is too hot and in certain areas, animals can't tolerate the warming and drying that has already occurred," ecologist Eric Riddell said in the article.
According to the experts, ICARUS could prove to be the most cost-effective method for monitoring animal movements at scale, providing a better understanding of some of those changes.
Staying educated on the topic and advocating for conservation funding is an impactful part of being involved from home. Audubon's annual Christmas Bird Count is an easy way to contribute to data collection, as well. Simply noting the number of birds at your backyard feeder can help experts analyze population trends.
For his part, Wikelski plans to tag 9,000 animals in Europe during the next 24 months, according to Yale.
"Then we can link individuals to populations and understand the drivers of change," he said.
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