Adverse Effects of Radio Transmitters on the Behavior of Nesting Least Terns

Massey, Barbara W.; Keane, Kathleen; Boardman, Constance

doi:10.2307/1368856

Cited by 48 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 5 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The guidelines should consider the conservation status of the species and the criticality of the information proposed to be collected. Animals may experience negative effects due to collaring [52][53][54], though this issue is debatable [55,56]. So far mortality during immobilization and radio-collaring has been remarkably low in India.…”

Section: Permission and Animal Capture Issues In Indiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Three decades of wildlife radio telemetry in India: a review

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

From 1983, there have been three decades of the application and development of radio telemetry for wildlife studies in India. In this article, we review 82 studies from India, covering 47 species from four taxonomic classes. We examine and discuss the trends in the selection of study species, habitats and objectives of radio-telemetry studies and the functional success of radio collars and tags. A strong bias for study species and study region is observed and researchers generally tend not to look beyond the traditional research questions. Habitats that are difficult to access, such as the Trans-Himalayas, the Himalayas and north-eastern India, are overlooked. Most of the studies aimed to infer primary information only, such as home range, migration and movement patterns and habitat preference (53.7%, 47.6% and 28.1% studies, respectively). We expect these trends to change with time as the development of technology allows researchers to explore further. We investigated the tracking histories of 483 animals and the records of 496 radio collars or tags, but detailed information could be acquired for only 330 collars or tags. Of the collars, 49% malfunctioned before the end of their anticipated life due to a variety of reasons, early battery drainage being the prevalent cause. The performance of different technologies and collar manufacturers was also analysed but the small sample size was an issue for most of the cases. Argos-based collars and tags generally failed to record most of the locations precisely and failed to transmit them successfully. Issues with permissions and capturing animals for tagging, particular to India, are also discussed. A uniform and centralized system for granting permissions and guidelines for capturing and handling animals would be beneficial to future telemetry studies.

show abstract

Section: Permission and Animal Capture Issues In Indiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Three decades of wildlife radio telemetry in India: a review

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although many papers report no adverse effects (e.g. Brigham, 1989;Hill and Talent, 1990;Neudorf and Pitcher, 1997;Naef-Daenzer et al, 2001), others found effects, for example, on activity time allocation (Hooge, 1991), foraging performance (Massey et al, 1988;Ackermann et al, 2004) and survival (Petty et al, 2004). Therefore, both minimizing the volume and mass of radio-tags and optimising attachment techniques are essential.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Miniaturization (0.2 g) and evaluation of attachment techniques of telemetry transmitters

Naef‐Daenzer

Früh

Stalder

et al. 2005

Journal of Experimental Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We have developed a miniaturized very high frequency (VHF) transmitter design for radio-tagging small animals. The average mass of the circuitry is 0.084·g (range 0.081-0.087), hence, with the smallest power cell, complete tags weigh 0.2·g and have a life of 18-22 days. We further demonstrate that with such small tags the technique of attaching the device to the animal's body strongly affects the effective radiated power, and thus transmission ranges. Ideally the attachment couples the electronics to the animal's body as a ground plane for improved radiation. The transmitter allows the application of radiotracking to be expanded to new taxa whose spatial behaviour and population dynamics are largely unknown, for example arthropods, reptiles or amphibians. The new design is also suitable for miniature implants and signal modulation with sensors.

show abstract

“…Tagging may have had some effect on the breeding success of Audouin's gulls, especially when both members of a pair were tagged (Amlaner et al, 1978;Kania, 1992;Colwell et al, 1998). Similar remote systems applied to close related species, such as herring gulls Larus argentatus, also showed some detrimental effects (McCleery and Sibly, 1986), most probably linked to harnessing (Massey et al, 1988). In one case we found a flightless bird with the harness blocking the movement of a wing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

Activity patterns and foraging behaviour of Audouin' s gulls in the Ebro Delta, NW Mediterranean

2004

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SUMMARY: Twenty Audouin's gulls, Larus audouinii, breeding in the Ebro Delta (NW Mediterranean) were radio-tracked in 1998 to study their foraging behaviour and activity patterns. Some detrimental effects of tagging on the breeding success of the birds were detected, especially when both members of the pair were tagged. The results were actually constrained by the low number of locations due to natural breeding failure and failure in tag emission, as well as the adverse effect of tagging. However, through a combination of aircraft surveys at sea and a fixed station for automatic tracking of the presence of the birds at the colony, novel individual-based information of home ranges and activity patterns was obtained. Trawler fishing activity seemed to influence both the foraging range and habitat use: while trawlers operated, gulls overlapped their fishing grounds with vessels, probably to scavenge on discards. Very few locations were obtained during a trawling moratorium period, although they were all recorded in coastal bays and terrestrial habitats. During the trawling activity period, gulls ranged over a minimum convex polygon area of 2900 km 2 . Gulls were tracked up to 40 km from the colony, but some individuals were observed beyond 150 km while still breeding. Arrivals and departures from the colony were in accordance with the trawling timetable. However, most birds also showed some nocturnal foraging activity, probably linked to active fishing of clupeoids (following diel migrations) or to the exploitation of purse-seine fishing activity. Foraging trips lasted on average 15 hours: males performed significantly shorter trips than females, which spent more time outside the colony. The proportion of nocturnal time involved in the foraging trips was the same for males and females, but whilst all males initiated their trips both during the day and at night, some females only initiated their trips during the day. Hatching success was found to be related to foraging effort by males. Gulls spent on average ca. 38% of their time budget outside the nesting territory, representing the time devoted mainly to flying, foraging and other activities.Key Words: radiotracking, trawler fisheries, activity patterns, seabird, foraging range RESUMEN: PATRONES DE ACTIVIDAD Y COMPORTAMIENTO DE CAZA EN LA GAVIOTA DE AUDOUIN EN EL DELTA DEL EBRO, MEDITERRÁNEO OCCIDENTAL. -El comportamiento de forrajeo de la gaviota de Audouin Larus audouinii y sus patrones de actividad fueron estudiados en la colonia del delta del Ebro (Mediterráneo noroccidental) mediante el marcaje con radioemisores. Detectamos algunos efectos negativos en la fecundidad de los individuos marcados, especialmente cuando los dos miembros de la pareja portaban radio-emisores. De hecho, los resultados estuvieron limitados por el bajo número de localizaciones debido a los fallos de señal de muchos de los emisores, los fracasos reproductivos y los efectos adversos del marcaje. La actividad de la flota de arrastre pareció influir tanto sobre el área de forrajeo como sobr...

show abstract

Adverse Effects of Radio Transmitters on the Behavior of Nesting Least Terns

Cited by 48 publications

References 5 publications

Three decades of wildlife radio telemetry in India: a review

Three decades of wildlife radio telemetry in India: a review

Miniaturization (0.2 g) and evaluation of attachment techniques of telemetry transmitters

Activity patterns and foraging behaviour of Audouin' s gulls in the Ebro Delta, NW Mediterranean

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About