The Western Centre for Animals on the Move (CAM) conducts research on how, why, and where animals move.
We explore how animal movement is influenced by the surrounding environment and human activities. Each year, around the globe, billions of birds, bats, fishes, sea turtles, marine and terrestrial mammals, and insects navigate hundreds to thousands of kilometers between specialized habitats required for breeding, over-winter survival, moulting, and other activities.
Designing effective conservation actions for migratory and non-migratory species in Canada is a major conservation challenge. Canada cannot be resilient to the effects of a changing climate and anthropogenic activities without the health and connectivity of its mobile animal species. The Centre for Animals on Move informs the way we measure, approach, communicate, and ultimately interact with mobile animal species.
MAKING HEADLINES
World's globetrotting animals at risk due to habitat loss, climate change
A new report entitled the State of the World's Migratory Species, created by UN-backed organization the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, paints a startling picture: over one in five species listed by the group as migratory currently face extinction, with 44% experiencing severe population declines.
With human-based activities implicated as the main cause, Chris Guglielmo, our centre's director, speaks to the growing need for increased co-operation between conservation groups and policy-makers alike to halt this downward trend by preserving both important habitats and key migratory routes.
What would our forests look like without migratory birds?
MOTUS Telemetry System
The MOTUS telemetry system is an international collaboration for tracking birds and other small and hard to track species.
Featured field photos
Learn how our research efforts drive important discoveries that address key research questions and inform our next steps.
