Retention rates of glue-attached radio-transmitters on two small bird species with contrasting life histories

Diemer, Kristen M.; Wheeler, Hazel; Nocera, Joseph J.

doi:10.1676/13-098.1

Cited by 14 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…(), because, using this method, reasonable retention times (≥ 25 d) have been reported for another aerial insectivore (Chimney Swifts, Chaetura pelagica ; Diemer et al. ) and other attachment methods have more often been reported to negatively affect birds (Barron et al. ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Before being glued to the clipped feathers, transmitters were first glued to a small piece of black cotton fabric slightly larger than the transmitter to increase the surface area of attachment. We used this "clip and glue" method, similar to that described by Raim (1978) and Johnson et al (1991), because, using this method, reasonable retention times (≥ 25 d) have been reported for another aerial insectivore (Chimney Swifts, Chaetura pelagica; Diemer et al 2014) and other attachment methods have more often been reported to negatively affect birds (Barron et al 2010). All birds were banded with United States Geological Survey aluminum leg bands (issued by the Canadian Wildlife Service) and released at the site of capture.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Field test of an automated radio-telemetry system: tracking local space use of aerial insectivores

Lenske

Nocera

2018

J. Field Ornithol.

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Documenting local space use of birds that move rapidly, but are too small to carry GPS tags, such as swallows and swifts, can be challenging. For these species, tracking methods such as manual radio‐telemetry and visual observation are either inadequate or labor‐ and time‐intensive. Another option is use of an automated telemetry system, but equipment for such systems can be costly when many receivers are used. Our objective, therefore, was to determine if an automated radio‐telemetry system, consisting of just two receivers, could provide an alternative to manual tracking for gathering data on local space use of six individuals of three species of aerial insectivores, including one Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota), one Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe), and four Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica). We established automated radio‐telemetry systems at three sites near the city of Peterborough in eastern Ontario, Canada, from May to August 2015. We evaluated the location error of our two‐receiver system using data from moving and stationary test transmitters at known locations, and used telemetry data from the aerial insectivores as a test of the system's ability to track rapidly moving birds under field conditions. Median location error was ~250 m for automated telemetry test locations after filtering. More than 90% of estimated locations had large location errors and were removed from analysis, including all locations > 1 km from receiver stations. Our automated telemetry receivers recorded 17,634 detections of the six radio‐tagged birds. However, filtering removed an average of 89% of bird location estimates, leaving only the Cliff Swallow with enough locations for analysis of space use. Our results demonstrate that a minimal automated radio‐telemetry system can be used to assess local space use by small, highly mobile birds, but the resolution of the data collected using only two receiver stations was coarse and had a limited range. To improve both location accuracy and increase the percentage of usable location estimates collected, we suggest that, in future studies, investigators use receivers that simultaneously record signals detected by all antennas, and use of a minimum of three receiver stations with more antennas at each station.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Field test of an automated radio-telemetry system: tracking local space use of aerial insectivores

Lenske

Nocera

2018

J. Field Ornithol.

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“…For reliable estimation of survival rates in the wild, a key step is the accurate identification of individuals. Classically, individual identification relies on visible markers such as leg bands (Lincoln 1921), patagial tags (Anderson 1963) and remote radio transmitter devices such as short-range VHF or satellite-received transmitters (Varland et al 2007;Diemer et al 2014). These marking techniques have greatly facilitated the estimation of survival, but they can be labor intensive, time consuming and costly, and potentially have deleterious impacts on the behavior, physiology and survival of individuals through catching and handling and from the equipment deployed (Klugman et al 1993;Booms et al 2011;Peniche et al 2011;Dixon et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated tool for microsatellite isolation and validation from the reference genome and their application in the study of breeding turnover in an endangered avian population

Hou

Lin

et al. 2018

Integrative Zoology

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Accurate individual identification is required to estimate survival rates in avian populations. For endangered species, non-invasive methods of obtaining individual identification, such as using molted feathers as a source of DNA for microsatellite markers, are preferred because of less disturbance, easy sample preparation and high efficiency. With the availability of many avian genomes, a few pipelines isolating genome-wide microsatellites have been published, but it is still a challenge to isolate microsatellites from the reference genome efficiently. Here, we have developed an integrated tool comprising a bioinformatic pipeline and experimental procedures for microsatellite isolation and validation based on the reference genome. We have identified over 95 000 microsatellite loci and established a system comprising 10 highly polymorphic markers (PIC value: 0.49-0.93, mean: 0.79) for an endangered species, saker falcon (Falco cherrug). These markers (except 1) were successfully amplified in 126 molted feathers, exhibiting high amplification success rates (83.9-99.7%), high quality index (0.90-0.97) and low allelic dropout rates (1-9.5%). To further assess the efficiency of this marker system in a population study, we identified individual sakers using these molted feathers (adult) and 146 plucked feathers (offspring). The use of parent and offspring samples enabled us to infer the genotype of missing samples (N = 28), and all adult genotypes were used to ascertain that breeding turnover is a useful proxy for survival estimation in sakers. Our study presents a cost-effective tool for microsatellite isolation based on publicly available reference genomes and demonstrates the power of this tool in estimating key parameters of avian population dynamics.

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“…Therefore, drop-off mechanisms and weak links in harnesses have become more widely used [74]. Simple glue-on-feathers has been used for short-term deployments in the past [75], but can damage the feathers or skin of animals. However, if it is desirable that the tag stays on the animal for a long time, the material and attachment methods should be adapted, taking into account habitat conditions and the destructiveness of the animals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neckband or backpack? Differences in tag design and their effects on GPS/accelerometer tracking results in large waterbirds

Kölzsch

Neefjes

Barkway³

et al. 2016

Anim Biotelemetry

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Background: GPS and accelerometer tracking presently revolutionises the fields of ecology and animal behaviour. However, the effects of tag characteristics like weight, attachment and data quality on study outcomes and animal welfare are important to consider. In this study, we compare how different tag attachment types influence the behaviour of a group of tagged large waterbirds, GPS accuracy and behaviour classification success from accelerometer data.Results: Both neckband and backpack tags had similar effects on the behaviour of six captive Canada geese (Branta canadensis), increasing the amount of discomfort behaviour in relation to untagged individuals. Both treatment groups also slightly decreased the amount of foraging, but the duration of neither vigilance nor resting was affected. GPS positions that were filtered with classical GPS platform settings (i.e. smoothing) were more accurate than positions improved by satellite-based differential augmentation. Tag attachment, however, did not induce any differences in position accuracy of both data types. Behaviour classification success was generally similar for neckband and backpack tags. But in detail, behaviours mainly performed by the head like foraging and vigilance were better detected from accelerometer data of neckband tags, whereas behaviours like resting and walking were more successfully detected from backpack tag data. Conclusion:Our findings suggest that the use of neckband or backpack tags for tracking large waterbirds and their behaviour largely depends on which behaviours are most important to detect. However, for wildlife tracking studies, factors like tag retention time are also of great importance, especially for animals like some goose species that are known to quickly destroy backpack tags. For future studies, we advise to carefully evaluate not only tag weight, but also attachment methods and data quality, because the right choice depends on the research question. This will improve the scope of wildlife tracking even more for various scientific, conservation and management applications.

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Retention rates of glue-attached radio-transmitters on two small bird species with contrasting life histories

Cited by 14 publications

References 32 publications

Field test of an automated radio-telemetry system: tracking local space use of aerial insectivores

Field test of an automated radio-telemetry system: tracking local space use of aerial insectivores

Integrated tool for microsatellite isolation and validation from the reference genome and their application in the study of breeding turnover in an endangered avian population

Neckband or backpack? Differences in tag design and their effects on GPS/accelerometer tracking results in large waterbirds

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