BRI contributed Bald Eagle tracking data to a new study published in Science, which evaluates how human presence and landscape development influence animal movements. 🦅 🐾

Researchers from UC Santa Barbara, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, and Yale University led the study, which analyzed animal movement data from 37 bird and mammal species throughout the U.S. and compared it to information on human movement and landscape modification. These findings demonstrate how individual species respond uniquely to human presence and landscape modification, but that their effects are best understood when considered simultaneously, as these factors can dynamically amplify or mask the impacts of one another.

The work also highlights the long-term value of animal tracking datasets, as data collected towards one specific study can generate new insights well beyond its original purpose, years into the future. In this case, BRI originally set out to document movement patterns and habitat needs of eagles during their early years of life.

Links to the published paper, a perspective summary, press releases, and information on BRI’s original eagle tracking work can be found below:

🪶 Paper: https://lnkd.in/ebcE__Qj
🪶 Perspective piece: https://lnkd.in/epFTzDjA
🪶 Smithsonian press release: https://lnkd.in/eFGArYU3
🪶 UC Santa Barbara press release: https://lnkd.in/eFQ7kvC7
🪶 Webpage summarizing BRI’s varied work tracking Maine’s Bald Eagles: https://lnkd.in/efXkVKUe