Peter Marra, PhD ’99, and a colleague at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Migratory Bird Center recently tested a groundbreaking device to document the migratory path of songbirds, reports Smithsonian.com.

“Nearly 20 years ago, while he was working on his PhD in ecology at Dartmouth, Marra first began thinking about different ways to monitor birds’ migratory patterns, as a means of promoting effective and targeted conservation. Back then, while he reached out to cell phone companies and other partners, the technology didn’t quite yet provide the kind of functionality that Marra envisioned,” writes Smithsonian.com.

“Tracking an animal this small, with a device of this size, and with this degree of precision has never been done,” says Marra, according to website.

Read the full story, published 6/18/15 by Smithsonian.com.