Have you ever heard of mouth-to-snout CPR? Neither had I before encountering a wild boar piglet about to drown in a Czech fishing pond”, tells Katja. While fieldwork can sometimes feel even a bit scary, it is crucial to observe species in their natural habitats to understand the causes and consequences of their behaviour. And as long as you have good navigation skills and protected from weather and ticks, it is also relatively safe. To study the coevolutionary interactions between nest parasitic cuckoos and reed warbler hosts, members of the Informed Birds research group led by Rose Thorogood put on waders and dive into the Finnish equivalent of a jungle, the reeds. Trying to cause as little disturbance as possible, ww are able to observe reed warbler behaviour at their territories, and manipulate parasitism or competition using 3D-printed models of cuckoos and other reed-nesting warblers. Combined with records of reed warbler songs or warning sounds the birds will respond to the models as if they were real birds, thus enabling experimental testing of their behavioural responses to different environmental cues.
Individuals respond differently to changes in their environment, and it is important to understand this variation to predict how e.g. climate change will affect them. It is still largely unknown how quickly species or ecological communities are able to adapt to new conditions, and whether this adaptation is driven by genetic change or behavioural plasticity. Fieldwork is now needed more than ever to study species’ ecology, collect DNA samples or experimentally test hypotheses about eco-evolutionary theory or the efficacy of conservation actions.
Anyone can contribute to studying changes in species communities by reporting observations (citizen science), but if you are interested in becoming a field biologist, tune in to the podcast to hear more about fieldwork and don’t hesitate to contact us for opportunities!