Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research
Royal Netherlands
Institute for Sea Research

WATLAS - tracking regional movements

With WATLAS (Wadden Sea Advanced Tracking and Localisation of Animals in real life Systems), we follow where birds go in the western Dutch Wadden Sea. By investigating where birds go and why, we can identify whether and how they can deal with threats such as sea level rise and habitat destruction. So far, we have tracked red knots, sanderling, bar-tailed godwits, and common terns.

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General information

Millions of birds depend on the Wadden Sea that offers relative safety and an abundance of food, such as the shellfish, worms, and shrimp. Some bird species use the Wadden Sea temporarily for breeding or for fuelling long-distance migrations, and others are resident nearly year-round. With WATLAS, we study how birds move with the tide, how individuals differ in where they feed, what they feed on and why, and how long they stay in the Wadden Sea on their migratory journeys.

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Project blogs

WATLAS fieldwork 2022 | Bonte strandlopers op Griend Evy Gobbens verblijft deze zomer 11 weken op Griend om onderzoek te doen naar bonte strandlopers. Lees in deze blogserie het dagboek dat Evy bijhoudt over het wo…

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Wadden & Delta Centre