[Mnbird] innovations

[Raymond Faber]

You may be interested in this story about use of telemetered "eggs" to
study bird behavior:
https://www.popsci.com/technology/oregon-zoo-sensor-condor-egg/?utm_term=PSCENE052323&utm_campaign=PopSci_Newsletter&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_content=A
.

In 1990, under a grant from Minnesota Private College Research Fund, two of
my students and I used temperature-sensitive radiotransmitters shaped to
resemble black tern eggs to monitor nest temperatures, giving information
on incubation attentiveness.  We found that 8 of 11 nests monitored had the
nest abandoned during the night, thus exposing the eggs to predators.
Analysis of the eggs removed to replace with transmitters showed a positive
relationship between the amount of time spent off the nest with the amount
of chlordane metabolites in the egg.  Chlordane was a commonly used
insecticide.

I would love to repeat that study with the advanced technology available
today!

Ray Faber

-- 
Raymond A. Faber, PhD.
Professor of Biology Emeritus--Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
36517 Blue Stem Dr
Houston MN 55943

Telephone: 507-896-2577
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