New model offers opportunity to protect migrating birds

Weather radar station in Corfu, Greece. Photo credit: Fiona Lippert - Researchers at the University of Amsterdam have developed a model that can accurately predict the current migration routes of migratory birds. This offers the possibility of taking adequate measures at the right time when birds are at risk from air traffic or infrastructure. The researchers published their work in the scientific journal Methods in Ecology and Evolution by the end of October. The research is a collaboration between ecologists from the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) and computer scientists from the AI4ScienceLab. First author Fiona Lippert is associated with both institutes for her PhD research in Artificial Intelligence. "During migration birds travel through a variety of landscapes, many of which are dominated and shaped by humans", says Lippert.