MLSG

Migrant Landbird Study Group

Promoting collaborative research for migratory landbirds across flyways

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Emmanuel Osibeme Okposio

Study speciess: Common Reed Warbler ; Passerines

I am an aspiring one health research scientist interested in ecology and evolution in a changing world blending science with my love for nature. 

Wouter Vansteelant

Research topic: Migration

Study species: Eurasian birds of prey

As a keen birder I have long been fascinated by ecology and the complexity of natural systems. Animal movement is a particularly intriguing discipline aiming to understand how individual animals decide to move through their environment in search of resources, and how behavior of individuals translates into population dynamics and species distributions.

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Will Cresswell

Research topics: Migration routes; Migratory connectivity; Non-breeding ecology

Research locations: APLORI, Jos, Nigeria; Liberia

Study species: All migrants

Will Cresswell is Professor of Biology at St Andrews University and has been studying predator-prey interactions, and the ecology of migrant birds for the last 30 years. Current research priorities are to understand the factors determining the density and distribution of Palearctic migrants wintering in West Africa so that we can address their continuing declines in the face of anthropogenic habitat and climate change. As part of the solution he is also involved with capacity building in the region through helping to run the AP Leventis Ornithological Research Institute that trains future African ornithologists.

Will Cresswell has been involved in management, teaching and research at APLORI from the very start when a chance meeting with Tasso Leventis on a rain forest trail in Ibadan in 1999 led to the initial partnership between APLORI and Oxford University. Will developed the curriculum and initial teaching program for the Masters in Conservation Biology at APLORI, and his then PhD students, Ross MacGregor and Jared Wilson were the first researchers on site at Amurum, setting up the long term ringing and survey program that continues to this day. Will has taught almost all of the hundred and twenty plus Masters students at one time or another, and has had eleven PhD students carrying out research based at APLORI, including three APLORI graduates, Sam Ivande, Murna Tela and Chima Nwaogu. Will is on the Management and Scientific Committees for APLORI, and is a Trustee of the APLORI Foundation that oversees the endowment that provides APLORI’s core funding.

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Rien van Wijk

Research topic: Full annual cycle

Study species: Some migrant species

Currently I reside in Copenhagen, Denmark, after having worked as a PhD student at SOI on the migratory behaviour and its effects on breeding success in Hoopoes that breed in Switzerland.

Using geolocators we investigated their timing, routes and non-breeding sites and put this in a broader perspective by obtaining similar geolocator data from other Hoopoe populations throughout Eurasia. Simultaneously we studied their genetic relations so to be able to investigate population specific migration strategies in relation to genetics.

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Judit Szabo

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Raphaël Nussbaumer

Research topics: Full annual cycle; Geolocation tracking; Migration routes

Study speciess: Mangrove Kingfisher; Northern Wheatear; Red-capped Robin-chat; Woodland Kingfisher

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Kieran Lawrence

Research topics: Full annual cycle; Migration; Migratory connectivity; Non-breeding ecology

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Stuart Sharp

Research topics: Breeding ecology; Climate Change

Study species: Spotted Flycatcher

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Jessica Williams

Research topic: Conservation action, threat reduction, international cooperation

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Vojtěch Brlík

Research topics: Breeding ecology; Distribution; Full annual cycle; Non-breeding ecology

Study species: Passerines

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Almut Schlaich

Research topic: Full annual cycle

Study species: Montagu's Harrier

I am passionate about Montagu’s Harriers since I first observed these gracile raptors dancing above the vast cereal fields of Eastern Groningen in the Netherlands in 2009. I could count myself lucky to start working on this amazing species at the Dutch Montagu’s Harrier Foundation doing my Master’s thesis on stopover site ecology of Montagu’s Harriers at an important stopover site in East Morocco. Since then, I travelled through many European and West African countries in search of Montagu’s Harriers, following our satellite- and GPS-tagged individuals.

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Oluwadunsin Emmanuel Adekola

Research topic: Moult

Study species: Gannets, Albatrosses, Petrels and Falcons

I recently completed my PhD. My research explores how large birds balance moult with other aspects of their annual cycles. Specifically, I assessed how long-winged birds manage to replace their large number of secondaries, including strategies to limit the impact of intensive secondary moult in terms of loss of wing area. I also tested whether nestlings compromise flight feather quality in a long-distance migratory raptor. I provided several lines of evidence to proof that moult may be used as an index of condition and ultimately as an indicator of fitness.

Moving forward, I am interested in analyzing moult from an evolutionary and life history perspective.

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Martins Briedis

Research topics: Full annual cycle; Geolocation tracking; Migratory connectivity

Study speciess: Common Starling; Northern House Martin; Some migrant species

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Kasper Thorup

Research topics: Full annual cycle; Geolocation tracking; Migration routes; Non-breeding ecology; Resource tracking; Stopover ecology

Study species: All migrants

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Catrin Eden

Research topic: Full annual cycle

Study species: Spotted Flycatcher

I am in the first year of my PhD researching the decline of Spotted Flycatchers and how habitat and environmental drivers impact their population dynamics. 

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Taiwo Adams

Research topic: Non-breeding ecology

Study species: Tree Pipits

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Martha Maria Sander

Research topics: Breeding ecology; Climate Change; Migration; Migration routes; Mountain ecology

Research location: Parco Naturale Val Troncea

Study species: Northern Wheatear

I am interested in the link between breeding ecology and migration, and effects of climate change in alpine systems. I collect and analyse data on Northern wheatear reproduction (nest monitoring), survival (colour ringing), seasonal habitat and timing of migration (geolocation).

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Barbara Helm

Research topics: Ecophysiology; Full annual cycle; genetic migration; Non-breeding ecology; Light pollution

Study species: Siberian/Stejnegeri's stonechat

Hi, I'm at the Swiss Ornithological Institute. I'm interested in all aspects of migration, in particular responses to light pollution, the migration cycle in Africa, and broadly timing and annual cycles.

Peter Knaus

Research topic: Conservation action, threat reduction, international cooperation

Study species: All migrants

Director of Conservation at the Swiss Ornithological Institute, where we coordinate the African-Eurasian Landbirds Action Plan (AEMLAP)

Bird Migration Research Station, University of Gdańsk

Research topics: Climate Change; Migration; Migration routes; Migratory connectivity; Moult

Study species: Passerines

The Bird Migration Research Stationis a research and teaching department in the faculty of biology at the University of Gdańsk. Our research focuses on determining the biology, ecology and morphology of birds during their non-breeding season, especially on migration, to identify the relationships between migration and other elements of their life cycle, and to monitor populations of migratory birds. Our studies focus on passerines as models in studies of migration, but we are also interested in movements of birds from other groups. Operation Baltic, conducted since 1960 at the Polish Baltic coast, is our stations’ main long-term research and monitoring project. Modelling long-term trends in numbers, and changes in the timing and features of bird migrations, in response to changes in environment, including climate change, is a key part of our research. We conduct projects in Poland and abroad, focusing on different aspects of bird movements along their main migration routes. Our research projects merge the efforts of ornithologists and citizen scientists, and involve students and volunteers. During our project we disseminate knowledge about birds to nature lovers of all ages and all nationalities.

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