Best practice recommendations for the use of fully implanted telemetry devices in pinnipeds

Table 1 Recommended descriptive device parameters, shown here for select tags used in recent marine mammal studies (see Table 2)

Device	Volume (ml)	Mass (g)	Area^a (cm²)	Length^b (mm)	Force^c (static, submerged) (N)	Force^d (dynamic) at a = 9.8 ms⁻² (N)	Pressure^e (static) (N/mm²)	Pressure^f (dynamic) at a = 9.8 ms⁻² (N/mm²)
LHX1	202	118	13.85	128	−0.87	1.16	6.28	8.38
LHX2	79	54	8.55	97	−0.26	0.53	3.04	6.20
VHF	119	150	13.37	90	0.27	1.47	2.02	10.99
TDR	17	35	2.3	69	0.18	0.34	7.83	14.78
Effect	Body mass set point	Cost of locomotion	Entrapment	Entrapment	Cost of locomotion	Cost of locomotion	Tissue effects	Tissue effects

^aSmallest cross-sectional area
^bLongest exterior dimension
^cForce is calculated for subjects fully submerged in saltwater (density 1.025) as \(F\left( N \right) = [{\text{volume }}\left( {\text{ml}} \right) \times 1.025 - {\text{mass }}\left( {\text{g}} \right)] \times 9.8067 \, ({\text{ms}}^{ - 2} )/1000\); a negative value indicates the device is buoyant
^dThis corresponds to the inertial force resulting from the tag mass being exposed to an acceleration a and is calculated as F(N) = m (kg) × a (ms⁻²). For a = g = 9.8067 ms⁻², the force is also equal to the tag weight in air at sea level
^e,fThis is a measure of the maximum pressure the tag exerts on surrounding tissue, and is calculated as force per unit area. Static pressure is exerted by the buoyancy in a non-moving submerged animal, and dynamic pressure is resulting from dynamic acceleration of the animal and varies with a. For a = g, this equals the pressure exerted by a tag in a non-moving, non-submerged animal

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