Migration routes of the Arctic tern from the northernmost breeding areas on Svalbard

This project is a follow-up to a previous project ID:12403 and focuses on the migratory abilities of the Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) breeding on the archipelago Svalbard. The main aim is to reveal the autumn and spring migratory pathway of individuals from breeding sites in Svalbard. To achieve this task, we equipped 30 Arctic terns with geolocator (small tracking device) in 2017. Last breeding season, 2018, we recaptured 16 of them and obtained the data from geolocators. However, at least six more terns were seen in 2018, but not captured. We expect that the remaining 14 terns may return to their breeding grounds in Svalbard in 2019. Their captures will provide us with extremely valuable data covering their migration routes to Antarctica and back within two years. The data from these geolocators will bring insight into the ecology of the migration from the northernmost breeding areas of the species.