Post-tagging behaviour and habitat use in shortnose sturgeon measured with high-frequency accelerometer and PSATs

Abstract

Background: External tagging of fish using pop-up satellite tags (PSATs) can cause trauma and stress associated with capture, handling, tagging injury and tag placement that impedes body function and mobility, and these can affect the behaviour of the fish. We measured short-term (days) post-release behavioural response of estuarine shortnose sturgeon to tagging with PSATs and high-frequency accelerometers. Methods:We developed a secure, low-noise attachment method for high-resolution (50 Hz) accelerometer PSATs in shortnose sturgeon. The archived time series of acceleration was used to determine sturgeon post-tagging activity, estimate swimming speed, erratic behaviour and behavioural clusters in relation to ambient light level and temperature, depth and tidal flow.Results: Short-term (hours) post-release response was characterized by resting periods on the river bottom and decreased swimming activity that was associated with individual-specific modulations in the swimming gait and high-energy burst acceleration movements. Locomotion routines suggested a relation to tidal flow, yet the shortterm time series did not allow for routine movements to be classified. Conclusions:The approach used provides a useful method of revealing behavioural modifications during the postrelease recovery period of PSAT-tagged fish. We discuss how short-term (acute) effects on behaviour and potential longer-term (chronic) effects on survival are especially relevant in tagging studies.

Short-term effects of tagging on activity and movement patterns of Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber)

“…Fortunately, since the early 2000s, awareness of capture and tagging-related effects on animals has grown with researchers using various approaches to tackle potential problems (McMahon et al 2011;Vandenabeele et al 2015;White et al 2013). While some studies found no evidence for such effects (McMahon et al 2008;Ropert-Coudert et al 2009), others showed tagging-related impacts ranging from physiological effects, such as changes in cortisol levels (Cattet et al 2014) or capture myopathy (Höfle et al 2004;Ponjoan et al 2008), to behavioural effects including changes in movement and space use (Morellet et al 2009;Rachlow et al 2014) or generally reduced activity (Broell et al 2016;Dennis and Shah 2012). Tagging effects may accumulate over time and can have detrimental influence on life history parameters such as reproductive success or survival rate (Barron et al 2010;Blanchet et al 2014;Casas et al 2015), or may only be shorttermed and diminish over time (Dennis and Shah 2012;Morellet et al 2009).…”

“…Such tagging effects can be assessed via direct observations of tagged individuals (Gendron et al 2014) and/or a control group (Authier et al 2013;RopertCoudert et al 2007), by measuring physiological parameters such as blood sampling (Montané et al 2002;St. Aubin et al 2013) or by using the logged data itself (Broell et al 2016;Rachlow et al 2014). A particular value of bio-logged data for examining tagging effects is that it is effectively seamless and has high temporal resolution.…”

Potential for use of accelerometers to monitor green sturgeonAcipenser medirostris(Ayres, 1854) behavior after handling

“…Traditional telemetry (acoustic pingers) has been used to assess handling effects on lake (Hondorp, Holbrook, & Krueger, 2015) and Atlantic (Balazik, 2015) sturgeon. Our data indicated that the addition of activity sensors provides a more detailed account of fish behavior and could be used to document subtle changes in behavior following capture and handling (Broell et al, 2016;Watanabe et al, 2013).…”

“…Recent at‐sea studies to document green sturgeon mortality after capture in the California halibut ( Paralichthys californicus) trawl fishery have used pop‐off satellite transmitters (unpublished data, P. Doukakis, National Marine Fisheries Service). Teaming this technology with accelerometer records would provide a more detailed portrayal of sub‐lethal effects of capture and could provide estimated time to recovery for individual fish (Broell et al., ).…”

“…These tags have also been used to document activity patterns in large elasmobranchs and sturgeon in the wild (Lowe, Holland, & Wolcott, 1998;Semmens, Payne, Huveneers, Sims, & Bruce, 2013;Watanabe, Lydersen, Fisk, & Kovacs, 2012;Watanabe, Wei, Du, Li, & Miyazaki, 2013;Watanabe et al, 2008). Moreover, accelerometer data have been used to quantify capture and release effects in other fish species (Broell, Taylor, Litvak, Bezanson, & Taggart, 2016;Brownscombe et al, 2013). Accelerometers can provide movement information at both low (mortality) and high (specific spawning or feeding movements) resolution (Payne et al, 2011).…”