Federal researchers want to know where dead seabirds off the coast of Nova Scotia are most likely to wash up, and they’re using a low-tech solution to find out: driftwood.
Environment and Climate Change Canada has dropped about 600 wooden blocks in the waters between Halifax and Sable Island and off the north coast of Cape Breton.
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Painted bright orange and affixed with contact information, the blocks are essentially standing in for bird carcasses and a few of them have GPS trackers.
Researchers are asking birders and beachcombers who find them to call with the date and location.
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They will use data about where the blocks ended up to build computerized tools helping to predict where in the ocean bird die-offs are happening when their bodies wash ashore.
That will help officials respond to outbreaks of disease such as avian flu, or to man-made problems, such as oil spills.
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