Hydrodynamic Aspects of Design and Attachment of A Back-Mounted Device in Penguins

Bannasch, R.; Wilson, Rory P.; Culik, Boris M.

doi:10.1242/jeb.194.1.83

Cited by 277 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The explanation proposed for higher energy expenditure (measured directly) for ringed penguins (Culik et al 1993) was grounded in presumed increases in drag, not least because the rings are located half-way along the body and can induce flow separation at that point (cf. Bannasch et al 1994). A similar phenomenon was reported by Pennycuik et al (2012) for flying birds.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Leg rings impact the diving performance of a foot‐propelled diver

Gómez‐Laich

Pantano

Wilson

et al. 2021

Ibis

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Leg rings are frequently used to mark aquatic birds in order to identify individuals, and study population dynamics and migration patterns, with the proviso being that the rings should not affect the birds. The effects of tags and rings are of particular interest in diving birds because any change in body shape could impact swimming efficiency and costs, as water is almost a thousand times denser than air. We attached tri-axial accelerometers to both ringed and unringed breeding Imperial Shags Leucocarbo atriceps to assess dive performance based on descent angle, descent rate, power stroke rate, power stroke peak acceleration amplitude and Vectorial Dynamic Body Acceleration (VeDBA) as a proxy for energy expenditure. Ringed birds, especially females, had a higher foot-stroke amplitude than unringed animals. In addition, the overall efficiency of the ringed individuals, as expressed by the descent rate per unit VeDBA, was compromised (by 3.5% in females and 4.3% in males) compared with unringed birds. We conclude that leg rings change the diving performance of Imperial Shags, although the effect is small and may not affect reproductive success. However, given that birds are typically ringed for life, we urge researchers to be particularly careful about the potential cumulative effect of attaching leg rings to foot-propelled diving species.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Leg rings impact the diving performance of a foot‐propelled diver

Gómez‐Laich

Pantano

Wilson

et al. 2021

Ibis

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“…The VHF locator beacon sends a device-specific signal that allows to locate the equipped birds in the colony and facilitate device recovery. To minimise deleterious effects such as extra drag on diving animals [ 11 , 69 ], we followed the recommendations of previous studies. The devices represented less than 1% of the penguin’s cross-sectional area, weighed less than 3% of the bird’s mass ( Table 1 ) [ 16 ] and were attached on the lower back of the birds.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biologging of emperor penguins—Attachment techniques and associated deployment performance

et al. 2022

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An increasing number of marine animals are equipped with biologgers, to study their physiology, behaviour and ecology, often for conservation purposes. To minimise the impacts of biologgers on the animals’ welfare, the Refinement principle from the Three Rs framework (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement) urges to continuously test and evaluate new and updated biologging protocols. Here, we propose alternative and promising techniques for emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) capture and on-site logger deployment that aim to mitigate the potential negative impacts of logger deployment on these birds. We equipped adult emperor penguins for short-term (GPS, Time-Depth Recorder (TDR)) and long-term (i.e. planned for one year) deployments (ARGOS platforms, TDR), as well as juvenile emperor penguins for long-term deployments (ARGOS platforms) in the Weddell Sea area where they had not yet been studied. We describe and qualitatively evaluate our protocols for the attachment of biologgers on-site at the colony, the capture of the animals and the recovery of the devices after deployment. We report unprecedented recaptures of long-term equipped adult emperor penguins (50% of equipped individuals recaptured after 290 days). Our data demonstrate that the traditional technique of long-term attachment by gluing the biologgers directly to the back feathers causes excessive feather breakage and the loss of the devices after a few months. We therefore propose an alternative method of attachment for back-mounted devices. This technique led to successful year-round deployments on 37.5% of the equipped juveniles. Finally, we also disclose the first deployments of leg-bracelet mounted TDRs on emperor penguins. Our findings highlight the importance of monitoring potential impacts of biologger deployments on the animals and the need to continue to improve methods to minimize disturbance and enhance performance and results.

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“…Most of these issues are the province of engineers. This is because, on the one hand, it is linked to the physicality of tag effects [35] where techniques like flow visualization [36] and computer fluid dynamics can help minimize detriment [33], but, on the other, the miniaturization and precise layout of the tag components define the physical form of the tags. Tag design engineers, therefore, have to work under severe constraints, which are further complicated since an optimized tag design for one species will not necessarily be right for another.…”

Section: Animals Firstmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animal tag technology keeps coming of age: an engineering perspective

Holton

Wilson

Teilmann

et al. 2021

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Animal-borne tags (biologgers) have now become extremely sophisticated, recording data from multiple sensors at high frequencies for long periods and, as such, have become a powerful tool for behavioural ecologists and physiologists studying wild animals. But the design and implementation of these tags is not trivial because engineers have to maximize performance and ability to function under onerous conditions while minimizing tag mass and volume (footprint) to maximize the wellbeing of the animal carriers. We present some of the major issues faced by tag engineers and show how tag designers must accept compromises while maintaining systems that can answer the questions being posed. We also argue that basic understanding of engineering issues in tag design by biologists will help feedback to engineers to better tag construction but also reduce the likelihood that tag-deploying biologists will misunderstand their own results. Finally, we suggest that proper consideration of conventional technology together with new approaches will lead to further step changes in our understanding of wild-animal biology using smart tags. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Measuring physiology in free-living animals (Part II)’.

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Hydrodynamic Aspects of Design and Attachment of A Back-Mounted Device in Penguins

Cited by 277 publications

References 16 publications

Leg rings impact the diving performance of a foot‐propelled diver

Leg rings impact the diving performance of a foot‐propelled diver

Biologging of emperor penguins—Attachment techniques and associated deployment performance

Animal tag technology keeps coming of age: an engineering perspective

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