My name is Merit Finia Pokriefke and I am studying Wildlife Ecology and Wildlife Management in my master’s programme at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences in Vienna.
During the last years, the birdringers of the nature reserve Schlammwiss could observe, that some of the migrating birds are staying longer in the reserve than others and it seems that they are gaining weight. Over one month, in the course of my internship, I will investigate the weight gain of recaptured birds during their stay in the area. Considering that fat is the main energy resource for migrating birds (Odum et al., 1961) a weight gain before migration is essential (Newton, 2008).
The main research questions are:
- How long does a bird stay in the area of the Schlammwiss?
- How does the body weight of a bird change over time?
The collected data could show how important wetlands, such as the Schlammwiss, are for birds during their migration (Mitsch & Gosselink, 2000).