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 the most abundant species of shorebirds in the Wadden Sea such as dunlin, red knot, bar-tailed godwits, oystercatchers and curlew, but also other abundant water birds such as common terns.
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.
Project news
Selin Ersoy (former PhD) wins award for her paper
31 maart 2025
Selin received the IBIS Best ECR Paper award for her paper on differences in timing of migration in Red Knots.Onze natuur betaalt de prijs voor gaswinning in de Waddenzee
10 december 2024
Gert Elbertsen (BNNVARA) ging in gesprek met ecoloog Allert Bijleveld (NIOZ) over de invloed van gasboringen op de Waddenzee.Gas extraction under Ameland has ecological impact. Moreover, the signaling function of the current monitoring program according to the ‘hand-to-tap’ principle is too limited, is the conclusion from a team of researchers after combining several studies.