Tracking Animal Movements & Migrations From Outer Space and Quail Translocation/Conservation Updates With Dr. Dale Rollins

What this episode covers

Technology moves forward as human nature continues to see us push the boundaries of innovation. ICARUS is perhaps the most cutting edge wildlife research system in existence as it has the ability to accurately track specific tagged animals from the the International Space Station. Yale Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Walter Jetz joins the show this week to discuss the benefits of ICARUS when it comes to understanding and predicting the movements of wildlife in an ever changing and evolving world. Professor Yetz has been very involved in the ICARUS project headed up by Dr. Martin Wikelski at Germany’s Max Planck Institute. We discuss the wide ranging benefits of ICARUS, including possible anti poaching efforts when it comes to mega fauna species. I do have one concern that needs addressing however when it comes to ICARUS’ ability to anthropomorphize specific individual animals. Fascinating stuff no matter how you look at it. The size of the ICARUS GPS tracking collars comes in at under 5 grams which means it’s suitable for use on small song birds. Next we spend some time with our dear friend and lifelong quail hunter, researcher and conservationist Dr. Dale Rollins of the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch. We get into a recent (and surprisingly successful) bobwhite translocation project. Quail’s fragile nature have seen so many other similar projects fall flat on their faces. So how did Dr. Rollins and the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch begin to “crack the code” on quail translocation? We also discuss hawks and their impact on quail numbers at specific times of the year, plus what are the most impactful fur bearing species when it comes to quail predation? Of course none of this research would be possible if it wasn’t for the Quail Coalition and Park Cities Quail. So we take a look at the financial impact of those fund raising outlets. As Dr. Rollins puts it “They’re our best dog when it comes to retrieving dollars to hand.” (Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch bobwhite translocation project)

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