Evaluation of a waistband for attaching external radiotransmitters to anurans

Groff, Luke A.; Pitt, Amber L.; Baldwin, Robert F.; Calhoun, Aram J. K.; Loftin, Cynthia S.

doi:10.1002/wsb.554

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Captured frogs were brought into a laboratory and fitted with a 0.4 g radio transmitter (Blackburn Transmitters, Nacogdoches, Texas, USA). We attached transmitters with a belt constructed from 0.7 mm stretch bead cord (Stretch Magic®, Pepperell Braiding Company, Pepperell, Massachusetts, USA) and used heat-shrink tubing to secure the knot (Groff et al 2015). The belt and transmitter assembly represented between 3.2 and 6.5 percent (mean = 4.8%) of the mass of each individual (Appendix A).…”

Section: Field Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-breeding movement and habitat use by wood frogs along an Arctic–Subarctic ecotone

Bishir

Hossack

Fishback

et al. 2018

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

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By altering essential micro-and macrohabitat conditions for many organisms, climate change is already causing disproportionately greater impacts on Arctic and Subarctic ecosystems. Yet there is a lack of basic information about many species in northern latitudes, including amphibians. We used radio telemetry to study the post-breeding movements and habitat use of wood frogs (Rana [=Lithobates] sylvatica) in the Hudson Bay Lowlands near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. We tracked fifty-seven frogs (thirty-five males, twenty-two females; mean duration = 16.8 d) from three wetlands during the summers of 2015 and 2016. The three wetlands were representative of the Arctic-Subarctic ecotone, with each wetland surrounded by different proportions of boreal forest and tundra. Our results indicate that at the landscape scale, movement distances increased with temperature, and all frogs spent more time in the tundra habitat than in boreal forests, relative to the availability of each habitat type. At the microhabitat scale (1 m 2 plots), frogs selected areas with greater amounts of standing water, sedge, and shrubs. These results provide information on terrestrial movement patterns and critical habitat data for northern populations of wood frogs in a Subarctic environment, which will aid in understanding how climate change will affect amphibians in this rapidly changing ecosystem.

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Section: Field Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-breeding movement and habitat use by wood frogs along an Arctic–Subarctic ecotone

Bishir

Hossack

Fishback

et al. 2018

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

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“…We report 82 fates for 71 frogs, because 11 frogs were tracked across years and were assigned two fates. Waistband injuries are detailed in Groff et al (2015).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Abbreviated tracking periods may not capture seasonal or life history dynamics, may bias habitat selection and movement pattern inferences, and cannot reveal habitat fidelity. Tracking periods can be extended with a radio transmitter attachment technique that minimizes injury while maximizing transmitter retention (Groff et al 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We radio-tracked 71 adult wood frogs at Turtle Ridge during 12 May 2011-05 May 2013. Radio transmitters (models R1614 and R1625, Advanced Telemetry Systems, Isanti, Minnesota, USA) were affixed to 29 females (2011: n = 14, 2012: n = 20) and 42 males (2011: n = 28, 2012: n = 20) with waistbands (see Groff et al 2015); 11 of these frogs (female: n = 5, male: n = 6) were tracked in both 2011 and 2012, but only one was tracked from the starting to the ending date. We initially captured 20 frogs with dip nets in mid-May 2011 at breeding sites, subsequently found new frogs to replace those we lost (e.g., slipped waistband, transmitter failure), and ceased tracking after all frogs had entered their hibernacula and were poised for hibernation (Groff et al 2016).…”

Section: Terrestrial Habitat Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Amphibian terrestrial habitat selection and movement patterns vary with annual life-history period

2017

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Identification of essential habitat is a fundamental component of amphibian conservation; however, species with complex life histories frequently move among habitats. To better understand dynamic habitat use, we evaluated Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus (LeConte, 1825)) habitat selection and movement patterns during the spring migration and foraging periods and described the spatiotemporal variability of habitats used during all annual life-history periods. We radio-tracked 71 frogs in Maine during 2011–2013 and evaluated spring migration, foraging activity center (FAC), and within-FAC habitat selection. Telemetered frogs spent the greatest percentage of each field season in hibernacula (≥54.4%), followed by FACs (≥25.5%), migration habitat (≥16.9%), and breeding sites (≥4.5%). FACs ranged 49 – 1 335 m2 (568.0 ± 493.4 m2) and annual home ranges spanned 1 413 – 32 165 m2 (11 780.6 ± 12 506.1 m2). During spring migration, Wood Frogs exhibited different movement patterns (e.g., turn angles), selected different habitat features, and selected habitat features less consistently than while occupying FACs, indicating that the migration and foraging periods are ecologically distinct. Habitat-use studies that do not discriminate among annual life-history periods may obscure true ecological relationships and fail to identify essential habitat necessary for sustaining amphibian populations.

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“…Of the 54 sampled adults, 28 were fitted with radio transmitters (PIP3 single cell tag A392; www.biotrack.co.uk) in 2017 with the intention of tracking them daily between 14 June and 25 July (summer) or 21 August and 10 October (autumn). We used external transmitters with waistbands of custom-fitted 1 mm elastic bead cord according to Groff et al (2015). Terrestrial and pond positions of the pool frogs were recorded using a manual SIKA Radio Tracking Receiver combined with a flexible Yagi antenna (www.biotrack.co.uk).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chytrid fungus dynamics and infections associated with movement distances in a red‐listed amphibian

et al. 2020

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Amphibians are among the most threatened vertebrate taxa due to anthropogenic habitat change and emerging pathogens. The fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) may cause trade-offs between the immune responses and other important functions, such as mobility. The pool frog (Pelophylax lessonae) is red-listed in Sweden, and an earlier study conducted in our study area did not detect the fungus. In this study, 67 Swedish pool frogs were tested for Bd. Of these, 28 adults were provided with external radio transmitters and tracked during the summer and autumn to compare movement among infected and non-infected individuals. Additionally, we tested some individuals for Bd twice during the summer to study intraseasonal variation in individual infections. Our results suggest that Bd has recently invaded these pool frog populations. During autumn, movement distances of infected pool frogs were shorter compared to uninfected individuals, and summer movements within ponds were reduced by increasing Bd load. We also found that the frogs can clear (or reduce) Bd infection during their active season. The results from this study increase understanding of the implications of Bd infections in an anuran fringe population, as well as in amphibian metapopulations, and can further guide amphibian conservation planning and management.

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Evaluation of a waistband for attaching external radiotransmitters to anurans

Cited by 8 publications

References 9 publications

Post-breeding movement and habitat use by wood frogs along an Arctic–Subarctic ecotone

Post-breeding movement and habitat use by wood frogs along an Arctic–Subarctic ecotone

Amphibian terrestrial habitat selection and movement patterns vary with annual life-history period

Chytrid fungus dynamics and infections associated with movement distances in a red‐listed amphibian

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