The Seabird Ecological Assessment Network (SEANET), a project of Tufts University's Center for Conservation Medicine and over 50 other collaborators, aims to link marine ecological health and human health by monitoring seabird mortality along the Atlantic coast of the United States. Beached bird surveys are currently being conducted by volunteers throughout the northeast (Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut) and more recently in the southeast (Florida and Georgia). When a dead seabird is found during a survey walk, the volunteer identifies the species of bird and attempts to determine cause of death. When practical, freshly dead specimens are transferred to Tufts Wildlife Clinic for necropsy. As of March 2006, atotal of 2278 surveys were completed by 64 volunteers, covering over 2700 miles of the Atlantic coastline. A total of 716 carcasses of 62 different species were encountered by volunteers. 602 necropsies were conducted in 2005 and 2006. The establishmentof baseline data on seabird numbers, species, and cause of death is essential in order to detect unusual mortality events. Data collected through SEANET have already been used in the investigation of several mortality events associated with infectious disease and petroleum exposure. One of the most important parts of this project is the educational component; people who are invested in monitoring the health of their environment are far more likely to be dedicated to conservation in every aspect of their lives.
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