Songbirds to be Given Cell Phones
Mary Ann Albright
Corvallis Gazette Times
__________________
Corvallis, Or (United States):
Cellular phones permeate modern American society, to the point where many wonder how they ever survived without the gadgets. From middle-school children to senior citizens, people everywhere seem to have the mobile devices glued to their ears.
And if Oregon State University scientists have their way, birds may soon join the world of wireless communication.
By attaching miniature cell packs to migrating songbirds, researchers hope to solve the mystery of where birds go and what perils they face when traveling back and forth from warmer and cooler climates each year.
“I saw that there was this big unsolved mystery in biology of where birds go, where they spend their lives,” said Douglas Robinson, assistant professor in OSU’s fisheries and wildlife department.
Robinson said common methods used by researchers to track birds yield unsatisfactory results. Attaching individual radio transmitters to birds’ backs proves ineffective, because radio signals do not transmit far enough to allow scientists to keep in contact with the birds.
Placing small metal bands around the legs of captured birds, then releasing them and hoping researchers elsewhere recapture them also is inefficient. According to Robinson, this method only works one in 500,000 times at best.
“I realized what we needed was a continental network of antennas. That’s what we have with the cellular network,” Robinson said. The avian ecologist then contacted OSU’s College of Engineering for help designing a cell phone small enough for birds to wear.
Robinson collaborated with OSU engineers Huaping Liu, Terri Fiez, Zhong Feng Wand and Kartikeya Mayaram. The researchers are currently designing a simplified, 0.07-ounce cell pack that will slip around birds’ legs “like pulling on a pair of underwear,” Robinson explained.
According to Liu, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, building a cellular device small enough that it won’t exceed 5 percent of a songbird’s weight is a challenging charge.
The cell pack will be about the size of the tip of a pinky finger and weigh about as much as two dimes. It will be centered on the bird’s back. Robinson said it will be covered by feathers and will not interfere with flying.
Songbirds account for about half of the world’s 9,200 bird species, and their numbers are falling because of factors such as habitat loss and predators. Therefore, Robinson believes that it’s important to understand their migration routes to help alleviate some of the dangers contributing to their decline.
To wear the cell pack, a bird must weigh at least 1.4 ounces. Many thrushes, grosbeaks, sandpipers and ducks are good candidates, Robinson said.
The study is funded by a three-year, $750,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. Its investigators hope to launch the project in 2007.
Oct 17, 2005
Mary Ann AlbrightCorvallis Gazette Times
__________________
Corvallis, Or (United States):
Cellular phones permeate modern American society, to the point where many wonder how they ever survived without the gadgets. From middle-school children to senior citizens, people everywhere seem to have the mobile devices glued to their ears.
And if Oregon State University scientists have their way, birds may soon join the world of wireless communication.
By attaching miniature cell packs to migrating songbirds, researchers hope to solve the mystery of where birds go and what perils they face when traveling back and forth from warmer and cooler climates each year.
“I saw that there was this big unsolved mystery in biology of where birds go, where they spend their lives,” said Douglas Robinson, assistant professor in OSU’s fisheries and wildlife department.
Robinson said common methods used by researchers to track birds yield unsatisfactory results. Attaching individual radio transmitters to birds’ backs proves ineffective, because radio signals do not transmit far enough to allow scientists to keep in contact with the birds.
Placing small metal bands around the legs of captured birds, then releasing them and hoping researchers elsewhere recapture them also is inefficient. According to Robinson, this method only works one in 500,000 times at best.
“I realized what we needed was a continental network of antennas. That’s what we have with the cellular network,” Robinson said. The avian ecologist then contacted OSU’s College of Engineering for help designing a cell phone small enough for birds to wear.
Robinson collaborated with OSU engineers Huaping Liu, Terri Fiez, Zhong Feng Wand and Kartikeya Mayaram. The researchers are currently designing a simplified, 0.07-ounce cell pack that will slip around birds’ legs “like pulling on a pair of underwear,” Robinson explained.
According to Liu, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, building a cellular device small enough that it won’t exceed 5 percent of a songbird’s weight is a challenging charge.
The cell pack will be about the size of the tip of a pinky finger and weigh about as much as two dimes. It will be centered on the bird’s back. Robinson said it will be covered by feathers and will not interfere with flying.
Songbirds account for about half of the world’s 9,200 bird species, and their numbers are falling because of factors such as habitat loss and predators. Therefore, Robinson believes that it’s important to understand their migration routes to help alleviate some of the dangers contributing to their decline.
To wear the cell pack, a bird must weigh at least 1.4 ounces. Many thrushes, grosbeaks, sandpipers and ducks are good candidates, Robinson said.
The study is funded by a three-year, $750,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. Its investigators hope to launch the project in 2007.
Oct 17, 2005
