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Scientists have traveled to the Tuamotu Archipelago, in the heart of French Polynesia, to place beacons on the backs of migratory birds that could help alert populations in the event of natural disasters… Extract from the magazine “13h15 le Saturday” of October 8, 2022.
“The first scientists who landed on these islands saw species there that were never seen again because the boats, or in the wake of other boats, brought human populations, rats, cats… which have decimated a few species. It makes a very special sense, in the midst of a biodiversity extinction crisis, to visit these islands again.”explains to the magazine “1:15 p.m. on Saturday” (replay) the ornithologist Frédéric Jiguet of the National Museum of Natural History.
the Bougainville, a French Navy vessel aboard which is the scientific expedition on a mission to the heart of French Polynesia, is leaving Papeete for a fortnight’s journey to nine uninhabited atolls in the Tuamotu archipelago. First stop: Tepoto where the team hopes to find the Polynesian kivi, whose real name is curlew. This migratory wading bird with a long curved beak lives there for a large part of the year because, when winter arrives, it takes the road to the southern hemisphere.
Monitor flight paths and alert in case of suspicious movements
“It’s a mythical species that will cross the planet. The migratory phenomena in birds are absolutely fascinating, says a member of the expedition. These animals weighing a few hundred grams will travel thousands of kilometres. Yes, I find it really fascinating…” During their long migration, curlews have learned to avoid natural disasters. And this is what particularly interests the scientific team.
When approaching a cyclone or a tsunami, curlews perceive infrasound, while humans are not capable of it. These sentinel birds then fly away to seek shelter. They can stay in the air and ride around a storm or fly over a giant wave that overwhelms the atolls. And then, the individuals of this species return to land. Ornithologists want to equip them with a GPS beacon to monitor their trajectories and alert people to suspicious movements.
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