Prof. Shoshanah Jacobs, with U of G’s Department of Integrative Biology, helped answer a listener question on CBC Radio’s Quirks & Quarks about why Canada geese waste energy honking during flight.
Jacobs explained that while honking expends energy, it marks the birds’ position in their V-formation, which in turn makes flight less of an energy drain for the birds than if they flew separately.
Jacobs studies Arctic seabird eco-physiology, particularly in breeding and feeding practices. She is also interested in the scholarship of teaching and is studying knowledge translation and transfer.