Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

*Movement patterns of wild animals are being described in unprecedented detail as new technology heralds a golden age' in movement ecology research. At the same time, biomedical advances are revolutionizing our understanding of animal cognition and the underlying brain mechanisms. However, these fields have largely been two solitudes' with knowledge of cognitive processes underlying spatial memory seldom used to interpret movement patterns. Cutting-edge microelectronics have provided the opportunity to link these two fields in wild passerine birds, and we are requesting support to establish a 6-receiver mobile Technosmart Avian Tracking System consisting of integrated GPS units and remote-download base stations. This novel technological advance (invented in 2018, no such system is present in Canada) allows, for the first time, the remote high frequency, long-term GPS tracking of small birds with meter-level accuracy. With this technology, we will test the idea that spatial memory influences movement patterns in three species of corvids.*The purchase of this equipment would not only support the interdisciplinary collaboration between Drs. Debbie Kelly (Psychology, University of Manitoba), Kyle Elliott (Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University) and Mélanie Guigueno (Biology, McGill University), but will further the innovative investigations of each researchers' independent program. Over the next five years, this mobile equipment will be used by our research team to test hypotheses of corvid scatter-hoarding behavior integrating cognitive, ecological and neural levels (DK, KE, MG), comparative spatial cognition of corvids (DK), conservation of migratory birds (KE), and behavioural ecology of brood parasites (MG). In the short-term, this integrative and interdisciplinary research will form the foundation of cutting-edge training programs for 25 HQP, including postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students.*The activities enabled with this state-of-the-art equipment, will allow the applicants and their trainees to make urgently-needed discoveries at the frontier of psychology, ecology and neuroscience. As any user with a compatible GPS unit can use our system, the network will be used by other researchers and provide many training opportunities for future HQP. Our system will expand our knowledge at the nexus of several fields, supporting Canadian and international research and conservation efforts.