A l'UM la science [S04-ep22]: Seabird migration routes
This week in A l'UM la science, Marie-Morgane Rouyer, doctoral student at Cefereveals the migratory routes of seabirds. Louise Nyssen, co-director of theIresinvites us to visit a giant colon. Broadcast every Wednesday at 6pm on Divergence.
From November to March, they gather at dawn in the Scamandre reed beds to watch the cranes take flight from their dormitory and head for their feeding grounds. Just four months of grace before these famous migrants, who are wintering in ever-increasing numbers in the Camargue, return to northern Europe to breed. These are undoubtedly the same people who, from April onwards, wander around with their noses in the air, hoping to catch that little black flash that will signal the return of the swallows.
Summer teal, purple heron, kestrel - migratory birds exert a certain fascination on us that can easily be attributed to the mysteries and ever-renewed magic of their eternal returns. While the migratory routes of land and coastal birds have long been relatively well known to researchers and naturalists, the same cannot be said of seabirds and their great intercontinental odysseys.
It's high time our conservation policies took a greater interest in the fate of these great migrants, often classified as endangered species. To provide a framework for international cooperation, researchers have mapped and identified six marine migration routes across the world's oceans. Marie-Morgane Rouyer took part in this ground-breaking inter-species study. We interviewed her two years ago on her return from COP 15 on biodiversity, and she is now continuing her thesis at Cefe, the Center for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology. A study published in Global ecology and biogeography.
In the second half of the program, we continue our immersion atIres, the Institut de recherche pour l'enseignement des sciences, which links research activities with secondary education. This time, we take a look at mathematics with Louise Nyssen, Ires' co-director and a specialist in number theory. She offers us an approach unlike any other: maths that can be manipulated, fitted together and cut up, with astonishing results designed to capture the attention of the very young.
Finally, our last-minute guest is Leonardo Zezza, vice-president in charge of social affairs and public health at the Montpellier pharmacy students' association. He tells us about the Colon Tour, which will be stopping off on the Pharmacy campus between 10am and 4pm tomorrow.
Read :
- The study: Global Marine Flyways Identified for Long-Distance Migrating Seabirds From Tracking Dat, 16/02/2025.
Listen to :
- La Science s'amuse, From seabird migration to Earth movements, 2021
- A l'UM la science, From COP15 to the Science Bar, 2023
At UM la science you've got the program, let's go!
Coproduction: Divergence FM / Université de Montpellier
Animation: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interviews : Lucie Lecherbonnier / Aline Périault
Reporting and editing: Aline Périault / Lucie Lecherbonnier
Production: Robin Laillou
Listen to the "A l'UM la science" program on Divergence FM 93.9
