Animal movement, and especially animal migration, is of great scientific and practical importance, and wide public appeal. The aerial movement of billions of organisms through Europe each spring and autumn brings enormous benefits in terms of ecosystem services, but also poses great risks through air-traffic collisions, invasions of crop pests and spread of disease. In our rapidly changing world it is vitally important that the timing, intensity and spatial distribution of these movements are monitored and the factors that drive these patterns understood. Patterns of bird, bat and especially insect migration are strongly influenced by atmospheric conditions, and the main research tool for studying large-scale aerial movements is radar. The objective of this Action is to foster an essential international and multi-disciplinary approach by establishing a European network of radar biologists, meteorologists and engineers, which will coordinate existing monitoring efforts and prediction of animal movement patterns, extend these to a continental scale, and improve weather radar products for meteorological applications. Researchers from across Europe and a wide range of expertise, including ecology, biogeography, ornithology, entomology, meteorology, mathematics and engineering, will join forces in the field of aeroecology to foster continental-scale remote sensing of animal migration for the first time.
Aeroecology - Animal Migration - Atmospheric Dynamics - Global Climate Change - Weather Radars
