[SEMCO] Volunteers needed to assist with Seabird mortality study

[CAROL SPADE]

I'll forward this to the Conservation Commissioners, Melissa.

-----Original Message-----
From: Melissa Lowe [mailto:mlowe at massaudubon.org] 
Sent: Saturday, December 29, 2007 1:55 PM
To: SEMCO (E-mail)
Subject: [SEMCO] Volunteers needed to assist with Seabird mortality
study

TUFTS VETERINARY SCHOOL SEEKS VOLUNTEERS TO HELP WITH STUDY OF DEAD
SEABIRDS FOUND ON CAPE COD
Training Session scheduled for January 17 at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife
Sanctuary
 

Julie Ellis collects dead birds--and she needs your help. 

As Program Director for SEANET, or the Seabird Ecological Assessment
Network from Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Julie Ellis
collects dead gulls, loons, ducks and other seabirds in an attempt to
pinpoint some of the most detrimental threats to marine bird
populations. For example, many carcasses of the dead Common eiders found
washed ashore on Cape Cod beaches this fall went to Dr. Ellis' lab. Like
a local version of CSI (Crime Scene Investigation), Dr. Ellis' lab
conducted necropsies on the ducks to find clues of their deaths.
Internal organs were examined for obvious trauma or foreign objects,
tissue samples were taken to identify possible toxins, and swabs were
tested for bacteria. 

SEANET's goals extend beyond determining causes of seabird mortality.
Additionally, the network targets specific conservation measures to
alleviate the threats to seabirds and educates the public about
conservation of the larger marine ecosystem.

But SEANET isn't successful without the aid of volunteers. Volunteers
are needed to walk beaches and look for and identify dead seabirds. For
those interested in becoming a volunteer, Dr. Ellis will be conducting a
training at Mass Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary on January
17, 2008 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.. This program is FREE and open to
the public. 

For more information on SEANET go to www.tufts.edu/vet/seanet
<http://www.tufts.edu/vet/seanet>.  To register for the training
scheduled for January 17, contact Cynthia Franklin, Volunteer
Coordinator at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, at 508-349-2615 or
cfranklin at massaudubon.org.

###
The Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary is located on the west side of
Route 6, immediately north of the Eastham/Wellfleet town line.  Call
(508) 349-2615 for information.


***********************************************************
Melissa Lowe, Education Coordinator
Mass Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
PO Box 236, South Wellfleet, MA 02663
mlowe at massaudubon.org
508-349-2615, ext 107

Protecting the Nature of Massachusetts
www.massaudubon.org/wellfleetbay


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