Articles

Behavior of satellite-tracked Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis) in relation to environmental factors around the western Antarctic Peninsula

The Antarctic minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis) is a relatively small baleen whale species and is well suited to life in the Antarctic pack ice. Information on their individual movement and distribution pat...

Authors: Jessica F. Lee, Ari S. Friedlaender, Matthew J. Oliver and Tracy L. DeLiberty

Real-time nodes permit adaptive management of endangered species of fishes

Currently acoustic tag-detecting autonomous receivers must be visited periodically to download the files of tag detections. Hence, the information about the whereabouts of tagged fishes is not available to mak...

Authors: A. Peter Klimley, Thomas V. Agosta, Arnold J. Ammann, Ryan D. Battleson, Matthew D. Pagel and Michael J. Thomas

Pop-up satellite archival tag (PSAT) temporal data resolution affects interpretations of spawning behaviour of a commercially important teleost

The effects of temporal data resolution on the interpretation of fish behaviours are questions fundamental to research programs using electronic tags with finite data storage and data transmission capacities. ...

Authors: Jonathan A. D. Fisher, Dominique Robert, Arnault Le Bris and Timothy Loher

Extensive use of mesopelagic waters by a Scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) in the Red Sea

Despite being frequently landed in fish markets along the Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast, information regarding fundamental biology of the Scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) in this region is scarce. Satell...

Authors: Julia L. Y. Spaet, Chi Hin Lam, Camrin D. Braun and Michael L. Berumen

The value of using measurements of geomagnetic field in addition to irradiance and sea surface temperature to estimate geolocations of tagged aquatic animals

In this commentary, we describe how geomagnetic intensity can be used to estimate latitude, discuss its strengths and weaknesses, and argue for its potential use along with irradiance measurements for estimati...

Authors: A. Peter Klimley, Marco Flagg, Neil Hammerschlag and Alex Hearn

Assessment of PIT tag retention and post-tagging survival in metamorphosing juvenile sea lamprey

Passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags have been used to document and monitor the movement, behavior, or survival of numerous species of fishes. Data on short- and long-term survival and tag retention are n...

Authors: Lee G. Simard, V. Alex Sotola, J. Ellen Marsden and Scott Miehls

Motes enhance data recovery from satellite-relayed biologgers and can facilitate collaborative research into marine habitat utilization

The fields of biologging and telemetry have triggered significant advances in the understanding of animal behavior, physiological ecology and habitat utilization. Biologging devices (“tags”) can also measure a...

Authors: Tiphaine Jeanniard-du-Dot, Kim Holland, Gregory S. Schorr and Danny Vo

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

Authors: Markus Horning, Martin Haulena, Pamela A. Tuomi, Jo-Ann E. Mellish, Caroline E. Goertz, Kathleen Woodie, Rachel K. Berngartt, Shawn Johnson, Courtney R. Shuert, Kristen A. Walker, John P. Skinner and Peter L. Boveng

Estimating incision healing rate for surgically implanted acoustic transmitters from recaptured fish

Intracoelomic implantation of electronic tags has become a common method in fishery research, but rarely are fish examined by scientists after release to understand the extent that surgical incisions have heal...

Authors: Abby Schoonyan, Richard T. Kraus, Matthew D. Faust, Christopher S. Vandergoot, Steven J. Cooke, H. Andrew Cook, Todd A. Hayden and Charles C. Krueger

Factors affecting detection efficiency of mobile telemetry Slocum gliders

Acoustic biotelemetry sensors have been fully integrated into a broad range of mobile autonomous platforms; however, estimates of detection efficiency in different environmental conditions are rare. Here, we e...

Authors: Matthew J. Oliver, Matthew W. Breece, Danielle E. Haulsee, Megan A. Cimino, Josh Kohut, David Aragon and Dewayne A. Fox

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

Electronic telemetry devices have enabled many novel and important data collection and experimental opportunities for difficult to observe species. Externally attached devices have limited retention and may af...

Authors: Markus Horning, Martin Haulena, Pamela A. Tuomi, Jo-Ann E. Mellish, Caroline E. Goertz, Kathleen Woodie, Rachel K. Berngartt, Shawn Johnson, Courtney R. Shuert, Kristen A. Walker, John P. Skinner and Peter L. Boveng

Development of a method for classifying and transmitting high-resolution feeding behavior of fish using an acceleration pinger

Monitoring the feeding behavior of animals in the wild is key to understanding their energetics and the influence of the environment on their survival. Recently, a novel acceleration transmitter that processes...

Authors: J. Horie, H. Mitamura, Y. Ina, Y. Mashino, T. Noda, K. Moriya, N. Arai and T. Sasakura

Use of time-depth recorders to determine fishing depth of commercial setnets and inform management in Cook Inlet, Alaska

Access to harvestable surpluses of sockeye salmon is often limited by incidental harvest of Chinook salmon in the mixed-species gillnet fishery of Cook Inlet, Alaska, particularly in years of low Chinook abund...

Authors: David W. Welch, Aswea D. Porter and Paul Winchell

Remote monitoring of vigilance behavior in large herbivores using acceleration data

Biotelemetry offers an increasing set of tools to monitor animals. Acceleration sensors in particular can provide remote observations of animal behavior at high temporal resolution. While recent studies have d...

Authors: Max Kröschel, Björn Reineking, Felicitas Werwie, Felix Wildi and Ilse Storch

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

Satellite telemetry studies provide information that is critical to the conservation and management of species affected by ecological change. Here we report on the performance and retention of two types (SPOT-...

Authors: Øystein Wiig, Erik W. Born, Kristin L. Laidre, Rune Dietz, Mikkel Villum Jensen, George M. Durner, Anthony M. Pagano, Eric Regehr, Michelle St. Martin, Stephen Atkinson and Markus Dyck

Super machine learning: improving accuracy and reducing variance of behaviour classification from accelerometry

Semi-automating the analyses of accelerometry data makes it possible to synthesize large data sets. However, when constructing activity budgets from accelerometry data, there are many methods to extract, analy...

Authors: Monique A. Ladds, Adam P. Thompson, Julianna-Piroska Kadar, David J Slip, David P Hocking and Robert G Harcourt

Identification of behaviours from accelerometer data in a wild social primate

The use of accelerometers in bio-logging devices has proved to be a powerful tool for the quantification of animal behaviour. While bio-logging techniques are being used on wide range of species, to date they ...

Authors: Gaelle Fehlmann, M. Justin O’Riain, Phil W. Hopkins, Jack O’Sullivan, Mark D. Holton, Emily L. C. Shepard and Andrew J. King

Movements of dead fish in rivers

The aim of telemetry studies is often to determine the fate and mortality rates of fish. A moving fish is usually regarded as alive and a long-term stationary fish as dead—and the site where it became stationa...

Authors: T. B. Havn, F. Økland, M. A. K. Teichert, L. Heermann, J. Borcherding, S. A. Sæther, M. Tambets, O. H. Diserud and E. B. Thorstad

In situ measurement of salinity during seaward migration of Atlantic salmon post-smolts using acoustic transmitters with data-storage capabilities and conventional acoustic transmitters

Development of miniature acoustic transmitters and data-storage tags has provided new insights into ecology of free-ranging aquatic animals. In this study, we used a data-storage-type and a conventional acoust...

Authors: Hiromichi Mitamura, Eva B. Thorstad, Ingebrigt Uglem and Finn Økland

Annual spatiotemporal migration schedules in three larger insectivorous birds: European nightjar, common swift and common cuckoo

Knowledge of spatiotemporal migration patterns is important for our understanding of migration ecology and ultimately conservation of migratory species. We studied the annual migration schedules of European ni...

Authors: Lars Bo Jacobsen, Niels Odder Jensen, Mikkel Willemoes, Lars Hansen, Mark Desholm, Anthony D. Fox, Anders P. Tøttrup and Kasper Thorup

Was my science project eaten? A novel approach to validate consumption of marine biologging instruments

Biologging and tracking instruments provide valuable, remote surveillance on otherwise unobservable marine animals. Instruments can be consumed (ingested) by predators while collecting data, and if not identi...

Authors: Emily R. Tolentino, Russell P. Howey, Lucy A. Howey, Lance K. B. Jordan, R. Dean Grubbs, Annabelle Brooks, Sean Williams, Edward J. Brooks and Oliver N. Shipley

Interpreting vertical movement behavior with holistic examination of depth distribution: a novel method reveals cryptic diel activity patterns of Chinook salmon in the Salish Sea

Aquatic organisms exhibit a variety of diel changes in vertical movement that are investigable through the use of biotelemetry. While certain species do not change their movements between day and night, others...

Authors: M. C. Arostegui, T. E. Essington and T. P. Quinn

Effects of passive integrated transponder (PIT) implantation on Pacific lamprey ammocoetes

Little is known of the larval biology of Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus), a species of conservation concern. With miniaturization of passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags, researchers now have the p...

Authors: Mary L. Moser, Aaron D. Jackson, Robert P. Mueller, Alexa N. Maine and Mary Davisson

Characterizing response of East Pacific green turtles to changing temperatures: using acoustic telemetry in a highly urbanized environment

Ocean water temperature is changing as a result of anthropogenic influences on the marine environment. Highly mobile marine ectotherms, such as sea turtles, may be particularly susceptible to these changes. Ho...

Authors: Sheila V. Madrak, Rebecca L. Lewison, Jeffrey A. Seminoff and Tomoharu Eguchi

Generation of multistate release–recapture models using a graphic user interface (GUI)

Multistate release–recapture models are used to study the movements and survival of animals when multiple migration pathways exist. Model complexity increases exponentially as the number of possible migration ...

Authors: Adam C. Pope, John R. Skalski, Trisha Lockhart and Rebecca A. Buchanan

Understanding and geo-referencing animal contacts: proximity sensor networks integrated with GPS-based telemetry

In animal ecology, inter-individual encounters are often investigated using automated proximity loggers. However, data acquired are typically spatially implicit, i.e. the question ‘Where did the contact occur?’ r...

Authors: Federico Ossi, Stefano Focardi, Gian Pietro Picco, Amy Murphy, Davide Molteni, Bryony Tolhurst, Noemi Giannini, Jean-Michel Gaillard and Francesca Cagnacci

Use of bio-loggers to characterize red fox behavior with implications for studies of magnetic alignment responses in free-roaming animals

Spontaneous magnetic alignment (SMA), in which animals position their body axis in fixed alignments relative to magnetic field lines, has been shown in several classes of vertebrates and invertebrates. Althou...

Authors: Michael S. Painter, Justin A. Blanco, E. Pascal Malkemper, Chris Anderson, Daniel C. Sweeney, Charles W. Hewgley, Jaroslav Červený, Vlastimil Hart, Václav Topinka, Elisa Belotti, Hynek Burda and John B. Phillips

Probability of acoustic transmitter detections by receiver lines in Lake Huron: results of multi-year field tests and simulations

Advances in acoustic telemetry technology have led to an improved understanding of the spatial ecology of many freshwater and marine fish species. Understanding the performance of acoustic receivers is necessa...

Authors: Todd A. Hayden, Christopher M. Holbrook, Thomas R. Binder, John M. Dettmers, Steven J. Cooke, Christopher S. Vandergoot and Charles C. Krueger

Testing tag attachments to increase the attachment duration of archival tags on baleen whales

As biologging technology has advanced to study whale behavior, various tag attachment methods have been developed. Suction cup attachments were developed for short-term (<24 h) studies using high-resolution ar...

Authors: Angela R. Szesciorka, John Calambokidis and James T. Harvey

A week in the life of a pygmy blue whale: migratory dive depth overlaps with large vessel drafts

The use of multi-sensor tags is increasingly providing insights into the behavior of whales. However, due to limitations in tag attachment duration and the transmission bandwidth of the Argos system, little is...

Authors: Kylie Owen, Curt S. Jenner, Micheline-Nicole M. Jenner and Russel D. Andrews

Using an active Radio Frequency Identification Real-Time Location System to remotely monitor animal movement in zoos

Radio and satellite telemetry collars have been used across taxa, including with elephants, in situ for decades to collect data used for various analyses. To quantify the movement patterns of African elephants, L...

Authors: Nancy L. Scott, Bernard Hansen, Chase A. LaDue, Carlson Lam, Albert Lai and Lowell Chan

Active acoustic tracking suggests that soft sediment fishes can show site attachment: a preliminary assessment of the movement patterns of the blue-spotted flathead (Platycephalus caeruleopunctatus)

It is generally considered that on relatively homogenous marine soft sediment habitats, such as sand, fish are unlikely to show site attachment. This poses challenges for management and the evaluation of the e...

Authors: Lachlan C. Fetterplace, Andrew R. Davis, Joseph M. Neilson, Matthew D. Taylor and Nathan A. Knott

Contrasts in the movements and habitat use of juvenile and adult white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) at Guadalupe Island, Mexico

Although the effort in the study of white sharks in Mexico is rapidly elucidating adult biology, almost nothing is known about the juveniles. Current understanding of this life history is based largely on the ...

Authors: E. Mauricio Hoyos-Padilla, A. Peter Klimley, Felipe Galván-Magaña and Alex Antoniou

Bringing data to the surface: recovering data loggers for large sample sizes from marine vertebrates

Despite the utility of data loggers for studying the fine-scale behavior and energetics of marine organisms, most studies using these tools have had relatively low sample sizes due to various factors including...

Authors: Karissa O. Lear and Nicholas M. Whitney

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

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 an...

Authors: Andrea Kölzsch, Marjolein Neefjes, Jude Barkway, Gerhard J. D. M. Müskens, Frank van Langevelde, Willem F. de Boer, Herbert H. T. Prins, Brian H. Cresswell and Bart A. Nolet

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

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 c...

Authors: Franziska Broell, Andrew D. Taylor, Matthew K. Litvak, Andre Bezanson and Christopher T. Taggart

Pitching stability of diving seabirds during underwater locomotion: a comparison among alcids and a penguin

In animals, recoil motion resulting from underwater propulsion can destabilise trajectory and decrease locomotory performance. The posture of diving seabirds fluctuates simultaneously with their appendage beat...

Authors: Takuji Noda, Dale M. Kikuchi, Akinori Takahashi, Hiromichi Mitamura and Nobuaki Arai

An animal-borne active acoustic tag for minimally invasive behavioral response studies on marine mammals

There is a variety of evidence that increased anthropogenic noise (e.g., shipping, explosions, sonar) has a measureable effect on marine mammal species. Observed impacts range in severity from brief interrupti...

Authors: Selene Fregosi, Holger Klinck, Markus Horning, Daniel P. Costa, David Mann, Kenneth Sexton, Luis A. Hückstädt, David K. Mellinger and Brandon L. Southall

Quantifying the effects of sensor coatings on body temperature measurements

A characterization of an organism’s thermoregulatory ability informs our understanding of its physiology, ecology and behavior. Biotelemetry studies on thermoregulation increasingly rely on in situ body temper...

Authors: Stephanie Snyder and Peter J. S. Franks

Environmental influence on the seasonal movements of satellite-tracked ocean sunfish Mola mola in the north-east Atlantic

Determining the habitat use of mobile marine species is important for understanding responses to climate change and aids the implementation of management and conservation measures. Inference of preferred habi...

Authors: Lara L. Sousa, Nuno Queiroz, Gonzalo Mucientes, Nicolas E. Humphries and David W. Sims

Toward a national animal telemetry network for aquatic observations in the United States

Animal telemetry is the science of elucidating the movements and behavior of animals in relation to their environment or habitat. Here, we focus on telemetry of aquatic species (marine mammals, sharks, fish, s...

Authors: Barbara A. Block, Christopher M. Holbrook, Samantha E. Simmons, Kim N. Holland, Jerald S. Ault, Daniel P. Costa, Bruce R. Mate, Andrew C. Seitz, Michael D. Arendt, John C. Payne, Behzad Mahmoudi, Peter Moore, James M. Price, J. Jacob Levenson, Doug Wilson and Randall E. Kochevar

A method of spatial correction for acoustic positioning biotelemetry

It has been stated that there is a certain amount of intrinsic error inherent in all remote sensing methods, including acoustic telemetry, which has gained popularity in both freshwater and marine environments...

Authors: C. Charles, D. M. Gillis, L. E. Hrenchuk and P. J. Blanchfield

Spatial and temporal variation in positioning probability of acoustic telemetry arrays: fine-scale variability and complex interactions

As popularity of positional acoustic telemetry systems increases, so does the need to better understand how they perform in real-world applications, where variation in performance can bias study conclusions. ...

Authors: Thomas R. Binder, Christopher M. Holbrook, Todd A. Hayden and Charles C. Krueger

Pressure sensor calibrations of acoustic telemetry transmitters

Acoustic transmitters are widely used to obtain information on the spatial ecology of fish and other aquatic animals. Some transmitters contain pressure sensors to estimate depth, which are factory-calibrated...

Authors: Maxime A. N. Veilleux, Nicolas W. R. Lapointe, Dale M. Webber, Tom R. Binder, Paul J. Blanchfield, Liset Cruz-Font, Mathew G. Wells, Martin H. Larsen, Susan E. Doka and Steven J. Cooke

Baffling telemetry detections can be useful: an acoustic receiver design to monitor organisms along reserve boundaries and ecotones

Many biotelemetry studies seek to detect movement of organisms across reserve boundaries or between adjacent habitat areas. Our objective was to enhance this capability in studies of aquatic organisms that a...

Authors: Matthew S. Kendall, Mark E. Monaco and Arliss Winship

A plea for standards in reporting data collected by animal-borne electronic devices

In recent years, there has been significant investment in collaborative e-infrastructures to support biotelemetry research. Whilst these e-infrastructures are rapidly growing in size and sophistication, the cu...

Authors: Hamish A. Campbell, Ferdi Urbano, Sarah Davidson, Holger Dettki and Francesca Cagnacci

Ghosts in the data: false detections in VEMCO pulse position modulation acoustic telemetry monitoring equipment

False-positive data (better known as “false detections”) in VEMCO VR2 acoustic telemetry monitoring studies that use pulse position modulation coding can cause biased or erroneous outcomes in data analysis. To...

Authors: Colin A. Simpfendorfer, Charlie Huveneers, Andre Steckenreuter, Katherine Tattersall, Xavier Hoenner, Rob Harcourt and Michelle R. Heupel

Why do satellite transmitters on emperor penguins stop transmitting?

Investigation of early transmission failure from animal-borne, satellite transmitters should reveal vital information about the reliability of the technology, and the risk of application to the animal. Current...

Authors: Gerald L. Kooyman, Birgitte I. McDonald and Kimberly T. Goetz

Home range and habitat use of juvenile green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the northern Gulf of Mexico

For imperiled marine turtles, use of satellite telemetry has proven to be an effective method in determining long distance movements. However, the large size of the tag, relatively high cost and low spatial re...

Authors: Margaret M. Lamont, Ikuko Fujisaki, Brail S. Stephens and Caitlin Hackett

In the belly of the beast: resolving stomach tag data to link temperature, acceleration and feeding in white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias)

Motion detecting archival data loggers such as accelerometers have become increasingly important in animal biotelemetry and offer unique insights into animal behavior, energetics, and kinematics. However, chal...

Authors: Salvador J. Jorgensen, Adrian C. Gleiss, Paul E. Kanive, Taylor K. Chapple, Scot D. Anderson, Juan M. Ezcurra, W. Tyler Brandt and Barbara A. Block