Another animal 'cam' - on the backs of albatrosses - reveals possible explanation

Researchers had wondered how certain deep water prey had turned up in the diets of Black-browed albatrosses (Thalassarche melanophrys) - surmising that they had found these species in association with commercial fisheries.
[Photo caption: An iceberg photographed from the back of an albatross]

Now scientists report in the journal PLoS ONE that miniaturised cameras attached to the back of the birds have revealed the birds fly in groups and forage with killer whales.

"We went through thousands of images manually, we were so bored because most of images showed just 'featureless' ocean," says Professor Akinori Takahashi from the National Institute of Polar Research, Tokyo, Japan.

"Then we suddenly saw some albatrosses flying in front of the camera bird and then found the killer whale in the image."

"Finding the interaction of albatrosses with killer whales in the open ocean is unique, because it provides a clue to explain [how] some fish species unavailable within a diving range of albatrosses often appeared in their diet," he explains.

A century's worth of bird data online

Geologists aren't just about rocks and dinosaurs. At the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, there is a project underway to make available online the notes of 3,000 birdwatchers who participated in the Bird Phenology Program. The notes, on forms called Migration Observer Cards, span almost a century, and document migration arrival dates in the spring and fall across the US and Canada. There are 6 million of the cards, and volunteers have undertaken the huge task of transcribing and entering the data.
The BPP has local roots-- it was started in the 1881 by Wells W. Cooke, who wanted to broaden knowledge and understanding of migration. Cooke was born in Haydenville, a village in Williamsburg, just west of Amherst on Route 9. In 1881 he was teaching in Minnesota and organizing volunteers to collect migration data when his efforts came to the attention of C. Hart Merriam, of the newly formed American Ornithologist’s Union. Merriam extended the network to the rest of the US and Canada, as well as parts of the West Indies. In the 1880's the program was taken over by the federal government, but as participation declined in the mid-20th century, the program closed in 1970. The records were curated, but largely ignored, and finally passed on to Jessica Zelt. Zelt is overseeing the the project and reviewing the program’s possible uses and potential for collecting new data. She hopes that the data will provide insights into the effects of climate change on migration patterns and habits.
You can be a part of this important project. No particular expertise is required. Sign up to enter records into the database, and be a member of the next generation of "citizen scientists."