The University of Georgia Costa Rica 2014-2015 Sustainability Report UGA Costa Rica 2014 - 2015 Sustainability Report | Page 45
Bird Migration Research
Cody Cox
In 2015, Cody Cox began a five year
study on fine-scale bird movement
patterns, focusing on blue-crowned
motmots and blue-throated
toucanets.
Along with the campus
reforestation project, UGA
Costa Rica supports the
Bellbird Biological Corridor
by conducting research on
the area.
As part of his PhD program in
Integrative Conservation, Cody
Cox, a past sustainability intern
and current student in the Warnell
School of Forestry and Natural
Resources, began a five year study
in May 2015 on fine-scale bird
movement patterns, focusing
on blue-crowned motmots
and blue-throated toucanets.
Through this research, Cody
aims to better understand how
landscape structure, specifically
forest fragmentation and habitat
connectivity, impacts the way that
birds move through the landscape.
This first phase of the research will
create baseline data, which will
be used to compare against future
data. With a paucity of current
research on this specific subject
and study species, Cody’s research
is all the more important.
Cody, along with the help of the
resident naturalists, has set up
mist nets to catch birds at various
sites, including on campus, in
the Monteverede Cloud Forest
Reserve, and on local farms in San
Luis. By the end of summer 2015,
tracking devices will be placed
on over 20 birds. After catching a
bird, Cody takes blood samples,
measurements, attaches colored
bands for individual identification
and a radio transmitter for
tracking, all before releasing the
bird back into the environment
unharmed. The birds will then
be tracked to understand their
life histories and movement
patterns. Many questions will be
answered, including how long
these birds stay at a site and how
seasonality impacts movement
patterns. Community involvement
is important, and subsequent
years of this study will identify
places the community considers
important for conservation to
compare with Cody’s ecological
data, allowing the research to be
used not only by future projects,
but by local conservation planners
as well.
2014 – 2015 Sustainability Report
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