The high-altitude bird chronicles: lessons from field work with Frapps.

Over the past decade, Peter Frappell, aka Frapps, has been an integral part of an international group studying birds that migrate or reside at altitude. This research has taken the extended group from Terkhiin Tsagaan Lake on the Mongolian plateau to Chilika Lake in eastern India, Koonthankulum bird sanctuary in southern India, Lake Qinghai in Chinese Tibet, Summer Lake Wildlife and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, and San Pedro a Marca, Vichaycocha and Lake Titicaca National Reserve in Perú. It has been a productive project producing over 30 manuscripts, 15 of which were based on research in the field. What has not been published are the stories behind the research and the critical lessons learned along the way. Some of these are chronicled here.

Do Bar-Headed Geese Train for High Altitude Flights?

SYNOPSIS: Exercise at high altitude is extremely challenging, largely due to hypobaric hypoxia (low oxygen levels brought about by low air pressure). In humans, the maximal rate of oxygen consumption decreases with increasing altitude, supporting progressively poorer performance. Bar-headed geese (Anser indicus) are renowned high altitude migrants and, although they appear to minimize altitude during migration where possible, they must fly over the Tibetan Plateau (mean altitude 4800 m) for much of their annual migration. This requires considerable cardiovascular effort, but no study has assessed the extent to which bar-headed geese may train prior to migration for long distances, or for high altitudes. Using implanted loggers that recorded heart rate, acceleration, pressure, and temperature, we found no evidence of training for migration in bar-headed geese. Geese showed no significant change in summed activity per day or maximal activity per day. There was also no significant change in maximum heart rate per day or minimum resting heart rate, which may be evidence of an increase in cardiac stroke volume if all other variables were to remain the same. We discuss the strategies used by bar-headed geese in the context of training undertaken by human mountaineers when preparing for high altitude, noting the differences between their respective cardiovascular physiology.