MAPPING THE FLYWAYS OF THE AMERICAS

Most populations of migratory birds are now threatened. It is estimated that the populations of 1 out of every 2 songbirds are declining in the Western Hemisphere with impacts predicted to worsen with climate change. However, because migratory birds have both breeding and wintering areas and may move vast distances between them, understanding where the steepest population declines are occurring has been difficult or impossible.

To address this critical issue, researchers at the Center for Tropical Research recently launched the Bird Genoscape Project, an effort to map the population-specific migratory routes of 100 species of migratory songbirds by harnessing the power of genomics. We worked with Day’s Edge Productions to tell this incredible conservation story in a film (link coming soon) and an online, digital interactive (link coming soon).