What do you believe is the single most important factor driving up the cost of living in Nigeria?

Knowing how animals use their environments to survive and thrive is a key challenge for predicting how global climate change will affect wildlife. A global collaborative study of four species of crane has shed light on the way that migrations are finely tuned to unpredictable and complex environments.

A team from 10 countries combined novel animal tracking technology, remote-sensed information about the environment, and a new statistical framework to gain insight into four iconic species: common cranes, white-naped cranes, black-necked cranes, and demoiselle cranes.

The study, led by scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and Yale University, was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on September 23.

The researchers used tiny GPS tracking devices to follow the movements of 104 cranes in Africa, Asia, and Europe. These devices included unique solar-powered GPS leg bands developed by scientists from MPI-AB. The tracking data revealed the impressive migrations that cranes undertook.

Some of the migratory routes exceeded 6,400 km of travel round trip and required crossing barriers such as the Alps or Himalaya mountain ranges, the deserts of the Arabian peninsula, or the Mediterranean Sea.

• Read More