Meet the researchers studying seabirds — and finding ways to protect them from the changing climate

This story is part of Coastlines, an original series with the CBC Creator Network exploring Canada's oceans. You can watch every episode of the series here.

The conversation around ocean wildlife tends to focus on species that live beneath the ocean's surface. However, some of the most important ocean creatures can be found above it, including dozens of species of seabirds.

Canada's coastline is home to millions of seabirds, which are easily affected by the impacts of climate change — on land where they breed, and in the ocean where they feed.

A recent long-term survey of bird health by the North American Bird Conservation Initiative found that 55 of 58 seabird species using Canadian waters are listed as a "conservation concern" and 20 are at risk of extinction. As a result, research about what they need to survive has never been more important — and it turns out, there's still a lot we don't know. 

The travel habits of the Arctic tern, the animal that makes the longest annual migration in the world, were something of a mystery until recently.

Each year, the birds travel from the Canadian Arctic to the Antarctic, a roughly 90,000-kilometre round trip, according to Joanna Wong, an avian migration analyst who has spent time studying the birds with UBC's Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries and is now with the Swiss Ornithological Institute.

That journey, she says, is "very impressive for such a small bird," noting the terns are "just about the size of an apple."

Until recently, scientists didn't know much about the route these birds take on their annual trips. That changed, though, when Wong and her team helped map the exact route some Arctic terns take on their long polar journey.

Tiny computers attached to bird's ankles

Researchers travelled to the breeding grounds of five tern colonies in Canada and the United States. There, they attached miniscule computers to the legs of multiple birds, which tracked their location, including their journey south to Antarctica and back again.

Wong found the Arctic terns were all taking the same migratory route, which she suspects is because they use the same wind currents to propel them along and they seek the same food sources.

The research will help protect the tern during its journey as it provides key information about strategic spaces on the land and ocean that should be preserved to help them survive.

Marbled murrelets

On Canada's West Coast, Sonya Pastran, an independent contractor with Environment Canada, is researching one of the world's most secretive birds: the marbled murrelet.

Unlike many seabirds that nest in crags along the ocean, the small, brown marbled murrelets  prefer to use the canopies of B.C.'s temperate rainforest, laying their green eggs in moss-covered nests on the branches of ancient trees. 

But this dependence on the forests has put the murrelets at risk. According to the B.C. government, the species has lost up to 50 per cent of its breeding habitat as a result of logging, urbanization and development, and it is considered a species of special concern.

Pastran says the birds are also affected by changes on the ocean including increased ship traffic, pollution and climate change.

"They're facing pressures on two sides," she said. "On the one side the amount of old-growth is decreasing and then on the other side the marine habitats are becoming busier places and the waters are warming." 

Pastran warns it's not enough to simply protect the oceans or the forest. For murrelets to survive and thrive, they need both, illustrating the way ocean ecosystems are connected to the land and the challenges in protecting the millions of marine birds on Canada's coasts.

LISTEN | Researcher Sonya Pastran on Marbled Murrelets

About this series

Coastlines is an original series with the CBC Creator Network that dives into the future of Canadian coastlines and marine life, and the young researchers who are trying to protect them.

Co-hosted by wildlife conservationist and educator Connel Bradwell of Vancouver Island, and commercial fisher and science technician Erica Porter of Nova Scotia, every episode of Coastlines features researchers from the West, North and East coasts.

You can watch every episode of Coastlines on cbc.ca. 

About the Creator Network

The Creator Network amplifies the voices of the next generation of Canadian storytellers and connects them with CBC platforms, where they tell compelling stories and share unique perspectives that reflect the country in all its diversity. Learn more.