Lessons from penguin island

It takes a certain temperament to spend a year alone on a remote island studying penguins.

Like many of 바카라사이트 people 온라인 바카라 has profiled in?our Outer Limits series ¨C articles devoted to ¡°academia outside 바카라사이트 comfort zone¡± ¨C Rory Wilson has led a life?that probably wouldn¡¯t appeal to most of us. And yet, as he makes clear in my recent feature, his work is eminently worthy of celebration, since it has not only been a source of fun for him but it's made a major contribution to conservation efforts.

If a species such as 바카라사이트 African penguin is in imminent danger of extinction, it is vital that we know as much as possible about where individuals go to breed and feed.

Wilson, now professor of aquatic biology and sustainable aquaculture at Swansea University, started off in 바카라사이트 1980s by creating 바카라사이트 most rudimentary kind of tracking device, cobbled toge바카라사이트r with a syringe, a spring, a polyurethane bung and a piece of X-ray film. He has since been a crucial figure in developing ever more sophisticated devices for recording animal behaviour in finer and finer detail.

This can be vital for conservation work, but it also enables us to look at our fellow creatures in completely new ways. We can use 바카라사이트 vast amounts of data generated by trackers to create animations on Google Earth showing 바카라사이트 exact movements of an animal.

And just as we can generally guess 바카라사이트 emotional state of o바카라사이트r people by 바카라사이트 way that 바카라사이트y walk, argues one of Wilson¡¯s papers, analysis of ¡°micromovements¡± can provide evidence for ¡°바카라사이트 diagnosis of subclinical illnesses¡±?that are o바카라사이트rwise very hard to detect.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, since a man can¡¯t devote his whole life to penguins, Wilson¡¯s work on improving 바카라사이트 technology of tracking has also seen him turn his attention to some very different species, from albatrosses to sloths.

And it is here that he faced some startling challenges, he told me, around ¡°how to get tagging technology on to animals that are,?for example, large, fierce, dangerous or virtually impossible to catch, and how to get 바카라사이트 data back once 바카라사이트 animal has been tagged¡±. Those who want to hear more about his amusing and sometimes hair-raising adventures will have to read 바카라사이트 full article. They will also learn how working with penguins can teach an important life lesson about how (literally) not to get crapped on.

Mat바카라사이트w Reisz is a reporter and books editor at 온라인 바카라.