Ana Sequeira joins international expert workshop to shape the CMS Atlas of Animal Migration

Last month, our lab leader, Associate Professor Ana Sequeira, joined a Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) expert workshop held at Palazzo d’Avalos in Vasto, Italy, to help shape a future global Atlas of Animal Migration. Invited for her expertise in animal migration and creation of global networks, Ana contributed with a marine megafauna perspective to discussions about bringing movement knowledge together for conservation.

Migratory animals move across national borders and depend on key important areas they use along their routes to survive. The CMS Atlas aims to make these connections more visible through mapped movement information. At the workshop, researchers developing animal movement atlases joined prospective users to share mapping approaches and discuss the Atlas’s future, including a dedicated portal to improve access.

Ana’s involvement builds on the Sequeira Lab’s work through MegaMove, a global collaboration focused on marine megafauna movement and involving hundreds of researchers from around the world. In her follow-up to the organisers, Ana expressed interest in continued engagement with the Atlas and in contributing where MegaMove’s global marine perspective could be useful. Making movement information easier to find and interpret could help researchers and decision-makers consider the connected places migratory animals rely on. The next steps will depend on continued collaboration among CMS, Atlas contributors and prospective users.

Besides the great discussions, the workshop was also a fantastic meeting! The spectacular venue overlooked Vasto, and there was even a dinner in a castle. The final dinner brought dancing and plenty of fun, while our host Dr Fernando Spina, Chair of CMS Scientific Council, sang at the event with a choir. Our warm thanks to Fernando for his extraordinary hospitality on every front, to the CMS Secretariat and Des Thompson, and to winery sponsor Bio Cantina Sociale Orsogna for its generous support. The science and the company made this a wonderfully memorable gathering!

You can explore here the CMS workshop and meeting documents and stay tuned for any future developments!