Effects of acoustic telemetry transmitters on gill ventilation rate and haematocrit levels of round goby Neogobius melanostomus

Using acoustic telemetry and snorkel surveys to study diel activity and seasonal migration of round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) in an estuary of the Western Baltic Sea

“…The tag:body mass ratio of the fish in the present study was similar (range: 2.0%–4.4%, mean = 3.4%) to that of Behrens, Svendsen et al. () in which tagged fish were monitored for 15 days post‐surgery (2.3%–4.3%, mean = 3.2%). However, three out of 25 tagged fish had expelled their tags and another two displayed signs of early‐stage tag expulsion.…”

“…Implantation of acoustic transmitter tags in small fish potentially poses a challenge, but Behrens, Svendsen et al. () observed normal behaviour and physiology, measured as gill ventilation rate and haematocrit levels, 15 days post‐tagging, in round gobies of comparable size to the fish used in the present study and tagged with acoustic transmitters. The tag:body mass ratio of the fish in the present study was similar (range: 2.0%–4.4%, mean = 3.4%) to that of Behrens, Svendsen et al.…”

“…This method was evaluated by Behrens, Svendsen, et al. () and proved suitable for this size of round gobies. A trained round gobies performed all surgeries in accordance with the guidelines described in permission 2012–DY–2934–00007/BES from the Danish board for use of experimental animals.…”

“…estuaries) where they are commonly observed (Kotta, Nurkse, Puntila & Ojaveer, ). A recent laboratory study demonstrated that round goby is unaffected by the tags used in acoustic telemetry (Behrens, Svendsen, van Deurs, Sokolova & Christoffersen, ). However, the present study is the first to use telemetry to map round goby activity patterns and migrations in the natural environment.…”

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Evaluating Native and Invasive Fish Connectivity and Spatial Ecology in Canada’s Historic Rideau Canal Waterway

“…We did not precede this field study by conducting a laboratory experiment to assess tagging effects as we wanted to focus on rapidly deploying tags in fish in the field to quickly provide information to managers and also to assess fish movements as early in the invasion as possible. Behrens et al (2017) found that round goby survive the tagging process with tags that constitute up to 4.3% of their body mass, though 6.7% of their tagged fish showed signs of tag expulsion when the tag burden was >3%. As such, we acknowledge the possibility that the 15 individuals who were detected only at the site-of-release receiver may have simply been expelled tags (Online Resource 1, Table S5).…”