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Table 3 Performance of SPOT-227 and SPOT-305A of ear satellite transmitters (PTTs) mounted on subadult, adult, male and female polar bears

From: Performance and retention of lightweight satellite radio tags applied to the ears of polar bears (Ursus maritimus)

Transmitter

N

Functional longevity (days)

Percentage of high-quality locations (LQ ≥ 1)

Mean

Median

SD

Mean

Median

SD

SPOT-227

Subadult males

14

52.4

42.0

22.9

67.25

71.86

11.25

Subadult females

9

43.2

45.0

20.1

68.32

69.77

11.78

Adult males

39

68.6

63.0

39.5

63.07

64.96

11.83

Adult females

3

33.0

38.0

8.7

62.73

64.06

5.71

SPOT-305A

Subadult males

5

25.4

22.0

16.1

55.70

57.89

7.39

Subadult females

2

22.0

22.0

17.0

58.26

58.26

7.29

Adult males

10

61.1

59.0

31.0

49.87

48.52

14.25

Adult females

2

70.5

70.5

50.21

48.71

48.71

11.31

Total

SPOT-227

65

60.0

52.0

34.9

64.68

66.48

11.50

SPOT-305A

19

48.6

38.0

32.6

52.17

53.10

11.64

  1. The bears were tagged in East Greenland, Baffin Bay, and Kane Basin in the period 2007–2013. Differences in functional longevity and percentage of high-quality locations were not significant for age and sex groups pooled (P > 0.05, see text)