UM atUM [S04-ep22]: The Migration Routes of Seabirds
This week on *AUM science*, Marie-Morgane Rouyer, a doctoral student at the CEFE, reveals the migratory routes of seabirds. Louise Nyssen, co-director of the’Ires, has us tackling some math problems, and the pharmacy students’ social club invites us to tour a giant colon. The show airs every Wednesday at 6 p.m. on Divergence.
From November through March, they gather at dawn in the Scamandre reed beds for a chance to watch the cranes take flight as they leave their roost and head for their foraging grounds. Just four short months before these famous migratory birds—whose numbers are growing as they spend the winter in the Camargue—return to Northern Europe to breed. These are undoubtedly the same people who, starting in April, stroll around with their noses in the air, hoping to catch that little black flash that signals the return of the swallows.
Summer teals, purple herons, lesser kestrels—migratory birds hold a certain fascination for us, one that can easily be attributed to the mysteries and ever-renewed magic of their eternal returns. While the migratory routes of land- and coastal-dwelling birds have long been relatively well known to researchers and naturalists, the same cannot be said for seabirds and their great intercontinental odysseys.
It is high time, however, that our conservation policies paid greater attention to the fate of these long-distance migrants, which are often classified as threatened species. To provide a framework for international cooperation, researchers have mapped and identified six marine migration routes across the world’s oceans. This is a groundbreaking cross-species study in which Marie-Morgane Rouyer participated. We had previously interviewed her two years ago upon her return from COP 15 on biodiversity; she is now continuing her doctoral research at CEFE, the Center for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology. The study was published in *Global Ecology and Biogeography*.
In the second part of the program, we continue our exploration ofIRES, the Research Institute for Science Education, which aims to bridge the gap between research and secondary education. This time, we’re focusing on mathematics with Louise Nyssen, its co-director and a specialist in number theory at Imag. She offers us a unique approach: math that you can handle, fit together, and cut up—with surprising results designed to capture the attention of the youngest students.
Finally, our last-minute guest is Leonardo Zezza, vice president in charge of social affairs and public health for the Montpellier Pharmacy Students’ Association. He’ll be introducing the “Côlon Tour,” which will be stopping by the Pharmacy campus tomorrow between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Read:
- The study: “Global Marine Flyways Identified for Long-Distance Migrating Seabirds From Tracking Data,” February 16, 2025.
Listen:
- Science Is Fun: From Seabird Migration to the Earth's Movements, 2021
- UM atUM : From COP15 to the Science Bar, 2023
AtUM , you’ve got the schedule—let’s get started!
Co-production: Divergence FM / University of Montpellier
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Lucie Lecherbonnier / Aline Périault
Reporting and editing: Aline Périault / Lucie Lecherbonnier
Director: Robin Laillou
