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Sitting on a loon

Sitting on a loon

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guest   [Sep 16, 2005 at 10:14 PM]
Why would sit on a loon , you think your helping this bird cause you have taken a few classes at an important university. This bird will be traumitized for most of it's life , Much like that traumatic incident in your life.
guest   [Sep 18, 2005 at 10:34 PM]
It appears that you are not an important researcher at an important university. I struggle every day to collect and pay taxes for our many governments ( can you identify them all? ) you probably don't care as long as some grant $ are coming your way. So
what great new knowledge has your reseach revealed . Is the loon population in peril?
guest   [Sep 20, 2005 at 12:35 AM]
Hi Paul,

It sounds like you are pretty concerned with the well-being of the loons during the process of drawing blood samples and clipping feather samples. These are not acts of wanton sadism, but you are right, the loons do not like it. I don't particularly like that fact either.

Something I would like to make clear is that the research I was priveliged enough to help with this summer is not important because of anything I did or anyone I am. It's not about me. I posted these pictures so I could give visual aid to my friends and family, primarily.

One project going on using the loon blood and feather samples is looking at mercury levels in the inland lakes, to find out what are tolerable levels of mercury for loons. Since loons eat a lot of fish (who store mercury in their fat cells), they accumulate a lot of mercury.

There has been no groundbreaking outcomes from these studies that I know of, but in the long run, I hope that you can see the benefit of being able to tell industrial companies that their waste is contaminating lakes with mercury, and that it must stop. Without this sort of research and evidence, such claims would most likely not hold.

The small blood samples taken are divided and used for other studies as well. Portions are sent to conservation geneticists, ecologists and other researchers, who use a small fraction of the total blood sample to carry out a wide variety of studies aimed at the conservation of this particular species. It would be nice if those studies weren't necessary, and we could leave the loons alone, however, our impact on the environment has taken a great toll on loons, and these particular studies are working to alleviate the overall stress incurred upon an entire species.

I guess my point is that the research projects you see in these pictures are those that give us stock behind our pleas for the species involved to not be decimated. If you have any specific questions or are still upset about the pictures, please e-mail me at scaird@nmu.edu . If you feel that I am not hearing your perspective, also let me know. We may, in the end, disagree, but the important thing is that we understand each other.
guest   [Sep 20, 2005 at 12:37 AM]
As an aside, I was not paid to do this, it was volunteer work.
guest   [May 14, 2006 at 10:23 PM]
Sorry for the abuse you took on this, Steve. I've known several avian researchers who put in long, hard hours in cold & rain, heat & bugs to help bird conservation. It's not always pretty work but they were very conscientious, committed, and caring. (And I?d rather see pics like this than all the dead deer & fish pics on this site ;oP )
guest   [Aug 04, 2006 at 05:39 PM]
Steve thank you for what you do. It would be sad to think that the day I do make it back to the U.P. that I wouldnt hear the sound of the loon while fish early in the morring

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