Arthropods as food for birds and bats

Duration of the project

01.07.2012. - 30.12.2012.

Countries and institutions involved in the project

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Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies
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Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University Greifswald
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Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel

Aim of the project

The aim of this pilot project was to initiate a scientific collaboration between Latvian and German biologists, who was discussing various methods in identifying arthropods as food items of threatened fauna – Aquatic Warblers and bats. The scientific questions are (1) what is the most appropriate method to assess food availability for Aquatic Warblers and (2) what arthropod species are used by bats during the autumn migration at the Baltic Sea coast.

Main activities of the project

Workshop for discussion and teaching of various methods of arthropod collecting as well as identifying (including molecular methods) will be organized. During the workshop German and Latvian entomologists will present theory of various methods, as well as practical tools identifying arthropods. German colleagues will also be acquainted with bat capture at Pape, where ~16100 bats have been captured since 1985. The outcomes of the project comprise well-trained experts able to apply these methods and to continue the collaboration in order to research other important gaps in our knowledge of bird and bat habitat selection and migration strategy. The results will be used for publications in the scientific journals.

Target group and number of persons involved

Target group of the project was professionals as well as students of Latvia and Lithuania.