@miguelbtg.bsky.social
Postdoc | Bird Migration Ecology & Shorebird Conservation @PrfJU & @maaylikool #ornithology #scicomm
This work was definitely a product of the coffee break magic ☕✨
We believe that UAV remote sensing techniques are still not explored to their fullest in conservation biology, and we hope we were able to demonstrate the fantastic interdisciplinary potential between the fields! 😁 6/6
This means that vegetation height and heterogeneity at the moment of clutch laying are the most important factors for achieving high nest survival.
Although our grasslands have suitable vegetation for nest site selection, the grazing regimes should aim for more heterogeneous landscapes 5/6
Contrary to our hypothesis, we found that none of the wader species were able to discern productive vegetation patches...
However, nests which were laid on higher and more heterogeneous vegetation patches had a higher survival probability. Being close to water bodies also improved nest survival 4/6
However, to test this, we needed to find an efficient way to cover larger areas and many nests. UAVs (drones) offer that opportunity, scanning several locations and measuring vegetation height, growth and heterogeneity on a very high resolution scale (compared to satellite) 🛸 3/6
02.10.2025 08:39 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Miguel and I work in the same semi-natural coastal grasslands in Estonia. We were curious to investigate if ground-nesting birds were able to predict which vegetation patches would be more productive, enabling them to camouflage against predators, the biggest cause of nest failure locally 🐦❓🌿 2/6
02.10.2025 08:39 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
📢New Paper: UAVs unveil the role of small scale vegetation structure on wader nest survival 🛸🌿🪺
Excited to share the result of an incredible collaborative experience. Together with Miguel Villoslada, we combine UAV (drones) remote sensing with traditional wader nest survival surveys #scicomm 1/6
[Please RT]
Our collaborative project #BDBORS exploring the link between nesting phenology and substrate property, is still ongoing, with collected data in Asia and America. You monitor ground-nesting birds in tropics? Then consider joining us! Contact me :) #ornithology #birds #tropicalecology
Thrilled that my colleague Juan Milicich (Juani) got awarded the @waderstudy.bsky.social small grant! During our fieldwork in Salta, Argentina, we encountered the enigmatic Andean Lapwing. Juan will try to find out more about the migratory behaviour of this poorly understood shorebird species 📡🪽
29.05.2025 15:22 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
