ICARUS: animals followed from space
ICARUS is a satellite-based monitoring system (which stands for International Cooperation for Animal Research Using Space) designed to make us more aware of the movement of animals by following them from space. It is an international collaboration led by the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Constance in which researchers from Denmark participate. They follow the movements of animals, known from migratory birds studies, where for over 100 years birds have been ringed.
The vision is to collect new data on the movements, life and death of thousands of animals in real time to understand the state of our planet. Information is being collected electronically, but the technique is often not ideal. For example, a technique intended for tracking ship containers has its limitations when carried by a small bird. With ICARUS a technology is being developed specifically for this purpose.
Henrik Morell talks with Kasper Thorup, associate professor at the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Globe Institute of the University of Copenhagen, about his investigation on the cuckoo's traits and what new knowledge can ICARUS provide (in Danish). You may think that with the new methods ringing will end, but this method is still very valuable.
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More information in English can be found at: ICARUS: Global Monitoring with Animals.