Articles

Development and field testing a satellite-linked fluorometer for marine vertebrates

Understanding the responses of marine vertebrates to spatial and temporal variability of primary productivity is fundamental for their conservation and for predicting how they will be affected by climate chang...

Authors: Michelle E. Lander, Todd Lindstrom, Matthew Rutishauser, Albert Franzheim and Melinda Holland

Energy savings due to the use of shallow body temperature reduction in overwintering Northern Cardinals

Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) are able to endure drastic seasonal variations in ambient temperature. Many endotherms in these conditions utilize heterothermy (e.g., torpor) to conserve energy by adju...

Authors: Paul J. Schaeffer, Maria C. Komer and Keely R. Corder

Anthropogenic modifications to a barrier island influence Bonnethead (Sphyrna tiburo) movements in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Barrier islands are dynamic features of the northern Gulf of Mexico that are affected by natural processes and more frequently, anthropogenic disturbances. In addition to providing a barrier from storms, these...

Authors: Andrea M. Kroetz, Sean P. Powers, J. Marcus Drymon and Kyeong Park

Challenges of measuring body temperatures of free-ranging birds and mammals

The thermal physiology of most birds and mammals is characterised by considerable spatial and temporal variation in body temperature. Body temperature is, therefore, a key parameter in physiological, behaviour...

Authors: D. J. McCafferty, S. Gallon and A. Nord

Assessing fine-scale diel movement patterns of an exploited coral reef fish

Understanding movement patterns of species requires that the spatial and temporal scales of experimental designs are appropriate to the proposed ecological questions. Previous research on large-scale movements...

Authors: Leanne M. Currey, Michelle R. Heupel, Colin A. Simpfendorfer and Ashley J. Williams

Images as proximity sensors: the incidence of conspecific foraging in Antarctic fur seals

Although there have been recent advances in the development of animal-attached ‘proximity’ tags to remotely record the interactions of multiple individuals, the efficacy of these devices depends on the instrum...

Authors: Sascha K. Hooker, Tatsiana Barychka, Mark J. Jessopp and Iain J. Staniland

Two methods of radio transmitter attachment and their effects on the behavior and energetics of captive long-tailed ducks (Clangula hyemalis) during winter

Attachment of external devices can have negative consequences for the health and fitness of subjects, but these effects are often overlooked. In preparation for a field study with small sea ducks, we investiga...

Authors: Manfred R. Enstipp, January Frost, Tuula E. Hollmén, Russel D. Andrews and Charles Frost

Application of a computer vision technique to animal-borne video data: extraction of head movement to understand sea turtles’ visual assessment of surroundings

An animal-borne video recording system has recently been developed to study the behavior of free-ranging animals. In contrast to other types of sensor data (i.e., acceleration), video images offer the advantag...

Authors: Junichi Okuyama, Kana Nakajima, Kenta Matsui, Yuichi Nakamura, Kazuaki Kondo, Takahiro Koizumi and Nobuaki Arai

Improving Argos Doppler location using multiple-model smoothing

Argos is a dedicated system for geo-localization and data collection of platform terminal transmitters (PTTs). The system exploits a constellation of polar-orbiting satellites recording the messages transmitte...

Authors: Rémy Lopez, Jean-Pierre Malardé, Patrick Danès and Philippe Gaspar

ITAG: an eco-sensor for fine-scale behavioral measurements of soft-bodied marine invertebrates

Soft-bodied marine invertebrates comprise a keystone component of ocean ecosystems; however, we know little of their behaviors and physiological responses within their natural habitat. Quantifying ocean condit...

Authors: T. Aran Mooney, Kakani Katija, K. Alex Shorter, Thomas Hurst, Jorge Fontes and Pedro Afonso

Using a multi-criteria approach to assess post-release recovery periods in behavioural studies: study of a fish telemetry project in the Seine Estuary

Biotelemetry has many advantages for monitoring fish behaviour. However, the accuracy of results can be impacted by changes in fish behaviour following tagging and other forms of human intervention. Different ...

Authors: C Le Pichon, J Coustillas and E Rochard

Diel patterns in three-dimensional use of space by sea snakes

The study of animal movement and use of space have traditionally focused on horizontal and vertical movements separately. However, this may limit the interpretation of results of such behaviours in a three-dim...

Authors: Vinay Udyawer, Colin A Simpfendorfer and Michelle R Heupel

Erratum to: Does estimator choice influence our ability to detect changes in home-range size?

Authors: Johannes Signer, Niko Balkenhol, Mark Ditmer and John Fieberg

Processing and visualising association data from animal-borne proximity loggers

With increasing interest in animal social networks, field biologists have started exploring the use of advanced tracking technologies for mapping social encounters in free-ranging subjects. Proximity logging, ...

Authors: E. M. Bettaney, R. James, J. J. H. St Clair and C. Rutz

Linking northern fur seal behavior with prey distributions: the impact of temporal mismatch between predator studies and prey surveys

An essential part of foraging ecology research is identifying how the distribution and abundance of prey influence predator behavior. However, in marine systems, temporal or spatial mismatches often exist betw...

Authors: Carey E Kuhn, Jeremy T Sterling and Tonya K Zeppelin

Hydrodynamic handicaps and organizational complexity in the foraging behavior of two free-ranging penguin species

Animal movement exhibits self-similarity across a range of both spatial and temporal scales reminiscent of statistical fractals. Stressors are known to induce changes in these statistical patterns of behavior,...

Authors: Xavier Meyer, Andrew J J MacIntosh, Akiko Kato, André Chiaradia and Yan Ropert-Coudert

Novel foraging strategies observed in a growing leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) population at Livingston Island, Antarctic Peninsula

Leopard seals are apex predators that can alter the community structure of Antarctic coastal ecosystems. Previous behavioral studies were limited to land-based, daytime observations of foraging leopard seals....

Authors: Douglas J Krause, Michael E Goebel, Gregory J Marshall and Kyler Abernathy

Sound production and associated behavior of tagged fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in the Southern California Bight

For marine animals, acoustic communication is critical for many life functions, yet individual calling behavior is poorly understood for most large whale species. These topics are important for understanding w...

Authors: Alison K Stimpert, Stacy L DeRuiter, Erin A Falcone, John Joseph, Annie B Douglas, David J Moretti, Ari S Friedlaender, John Calambokidis, Glenn Gailey, Peter L Tyack and Jeremy A Goldbogen

Development of an animal-borne “sonar tag” for quantifying prey availability: test deployments on northern elephant seals

Developments in electronic tagging technologies have provided unprecedented insight into the movements and behavior of marine predators. Concurrent information on the prey of these tracked animals, however, is...

Authors: Gareth L. Lawson, Luis A. Hückstädt, Andone C. Lavery, Frédéric M. Jaffré, Peter H. Wiebe, Jonathan R. Fincke, Daniel E. Crocker and Daniel P. Costa

The generalized data management and collection protocol for Conductivity-Temperature-Depth Satellite Relay Data Loggers

The software routines for data sampling and processing that are implemented on-board telemetry devices (tags) called Conductivity-Temperature-Depth Satellite Relay Data Loggers (CTD-SRDLs) enable the simultane...

Authors: Theoni Photopoulou, Michael A. Fedak, Jason Matthiopoulos, Bernie McConnell and Phil Lovell

Observational data on the effects of infection by the copepod Salmincola californiensis on the short- and long-term viability of juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) implanted with telemetry tags

Fish movements are often studied using radio or acoustic tags assuming the handling and tagging procedures have little effect on the behavior of the animal. Indeed, many studies provide guidelines for acceptab...

Authors: John W Beeman, Amy C Hansen and Jamie M Sprando

Vertical and horizontal movements of a silvertip shark (Carcharhinus albimarginatus) in the Fijian archipelago

Despite widespread distribution and occurrence in the global shark fin trade, information regarding fundamental biology of the silvertip shark, especially vertical and horizontal movement data, is sparse. Its ...

Authors: Mark E Bond, Emily Tolentino, Sangeeta Mangubhai and Lucy A Howey

Performance of an acoustic telemetry system in a large fishway

The ability to track fish in the vicinity of dams and detect the presence of fish in fishways (also referred to as fish ladders) is critical to understanding the migration biology of upstream migrating fish an...

Authors: Ki Won Jung, Z. Daniel Deng, Jayson J. Martinez, David R. Geist, Geoffrey A. McMichael, John R. Stephenson and Peter J. Graf

Persistence in diving American mink

American mink forage on land and in water, with aquatic prey often constituting a large proportion of their diet. Their long, thin body shape and relatively poor insulation make them vulnerable to heat loss, p...

Authors: Joanna M Bagniewska, Lauren A Harrington, Tom Hart, Andrew L Harrington, Laura Fasola and David W Macdonald

Does estimator choice influence our ability to detect changes in home-range size?

Estimates of home-range size are frequently used to compare areal requirements of animals over time or space. Comparative studies of home-range estimators have highlighted extreme differences among general cla...

Authors: Johannes Signer, Niko Balkenhol, Mark Ditmer and John Fieberg

Classification of behaviour in housed dairy cows using an accelerometer-based activity monitoring system

Advances in bio-telemetry technology have made it possible to automatically monitor and classify behavioural activities in many animals, including domesticated species such as dairy cows. Automated behavioural...

Authors: Jorge A. Vázquez Diosdado, Zoe E. Barker, Holly R. Hodges, Jonathan R. Amory, Darren P. Croft, Nick J. Bell and Edward A. Codling

Tracking sharks without teeth: a non-invasive rigid tag attachment for large predatory sharks

Many marine species are difficult to study because components of their lifecycles occur solely or partially outside of the observable realm of researchers. Advances in biologging tags have begun to give us gli...

Authors: Taylor K. Chapple, Adrian C. Gleiss, Oliver J. D. Jewell, Martin Wikelski and Barbara A. Block

Methods to evaluate gut evacuation rates and predation using acoustic telemetry in the Tracy Fish Collection Facility primary channel

In the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, several salmonid species are listed as threatened or endangered. One potential cause of lower juvenile salmonid survival may be predation by striped bass (Morone saxatilis) an...

Authors: Andrew A Schultz, Kevin K Kumagai and Brent B Bridges

Response to Willette et al. (2015)

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

Nearshore movement ecology of a medium-bodied shark, the creek whaler Carcharhinus fitzroyensis

The movement and habitat use patterns of medium-bodied nearshore sharks are poorly understood. However, these species face some of the highest levels of exposure to anthropogenic development. The habitat and s...

Authors: Samantha EM Munroe, Colin A Simpfendorfer, James Moloney and Michelle R Heupel

Home range, habitat use, and movement patterns of non-native Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park, Florida, USA

Studies on the spatial ecology of invasive species provide critical information for conservation managers such as habitat preferences and identification of native species at risk of predation. To understand th...

Authors: Kristen M Hart, Michael S Cherkiss, Brian J Smith, Frank J Mazzotti, Ikuko Fujisaki, Ray W Snow and Michael E Dorcas

Movements and space use of giant trevally in coral reef habitats and the importance of environmental drivers

Effective conservation of large predators requires a broad understanding of their ecology. Caranx ignobilis is a large marine predator well represented in coral reef environments, yet they are poorly studied. Pas...

Authors: Elodie JI Lédée, Michelle R Heupel, Andrew J Tobin and Colin A Simpfendorfer

Behaviour-time budget and functional habitat use of a free-ranging European badger(Meles meles)

The European badger (Meles meles) is involved in the maintenance of bovine tuberculosis infection and onward spread to cattle. However, little is known about how transmission occurs. One possible route could be t...

Authors: David W McClune, Nikki J Marks, Richard J Delahay, W Ian Montgomery and David M Scantlebury

Close proximity detection interference with acoustic telemetry: the importance of considering tag power output in low ambient noise environments

When employing acoustic telemetry to study aquatic species, understanding the functional dynamics of the monitoring system is essential for effective study design, data interpretation, and analysis. Typically,...

Authors: Steven Thomas Kessel, Nigel Edward Hussey, Dale Mitchell Webber, Samuel Harvey Gruber, Joy Michelle Young, Malcolm John Smale and Aaron Thomas Fisk

Oversimplification of complex harvest modeling issues outlined in Welch et al. (2014)

In their paper, ‘Migration behavior of maturing sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka) and Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) in Cook Inlet, Alaska, and implications for management,’ Welch et al. (Anim. Biotelem. 2:18, 2014) ...

Authors: T Mark Willette, Pat Shields and Eric C Volk

Bahamas connection: residence areas selected by breeding female loggerheads tagged in Dry Tortugas National Park, USA

Delineation of home ranges, residence and foraging areas, and migration corridors is important for understanding the habitat needs for a given species. Recently, many population segments of Northwest Atlantic ...

Authors: Kristen M Hart, Autumn R Sartain and Ikuko Fujisaki

Satellite telemetry reveals physical processes driving billfish behavior

Pop-up satellite archival transmitting (PSAT) tags are capable of storing high-resolution behavioral and environmental information for extended periods of time (approximately 1 year), rendering them especially...

Authors: Camrin D Braun, Maxwell B Kaplan, Andrij Z Horodysky and Joel K Llopiz

An open Web-based system for the analysis and sharing of animal tracking data

Improvements in telemetry technology are allowing us to monitor animal movements with increasing accuracy, precision and frequency. The increased complexity of the data collections, however, demands additional...

Authors: Ross G Dwyer, Charles Brooking, Wilfred Brimblecombe, Hamish A Campbell, Jane Hunter, Matthew Watts and Craig E Franklin

Migration behavior of maturing sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka) and Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) in Cook Inlet, Alaska, and implications for management

Worsening recruitment of Alaskan Chinook salmon over the past decade has created major conservation problems. In Cook Inlet, lucrative Sockeye salmon fisheries are severely limited because of Chinook bycatch, ...

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

Ontogenetic migration of a female scalloped hammerhead shark Sphyrna lewini in the Gulf of California

Little information exists on the vertical and horizontal movements of juvenile scalloped hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini). Measurements of the sizes of juveniles caught in nets close to shore and those swimming...

Authors: E Mauricio Hoyos-Padilla, James T Ketchum, A Peter Klimley and Felipe Galván-Magaña

Extending the 2% rule: the effects of heavy internal tags on stress physiology, swimming performance, and growth in brook trout

The use of internal telemetry has greatly advanced fisheries research in the past two decades, permitting researchers to observe movements and distributions of organisms in their natural environment. For many ...

Authors: Michael G Smircich and John T Kelly

Performance of an ultrasonic telemetry positioning system under varied environmental conditions

Advances in ultrasonic telemetry, including the ability to accurately position a transmitter within an array of hydrophone receivers, have led to increased opportunities to investigate a broad spectrum of ecol...

Authors: Anna E Steel, Julia H Coates, Alex R Hearn and A Peter Klimley

Use of oviduct-inserted acoustic transmitters and positional telemetry to estimate timing and location of spawning: a feasibility study in lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush

Oviduct-inserted transmitters have shown promise for determining precise location of spawning in fishes. Use of traditional manual tracking to locate expelled oviduct transmitters is laborious and accurate est...

Authors: Thomas R Binder, Christopher M Holbrook, Scott M Miehls, Henry T Thompson and Charles C Krueger

Behavioral attributes of turbine entrainment risk for adult resident fish revealed by acoustic telemetry and state-space modeling

Fish entrainment through turbine intakes is one of the major issues for operators of hydropower facilities because it causes injury and/or mortality and adversely affects population abundance. Entrainment redu...

Authors: Eduardo G Martins, Lee F G Gutowsky, Philip M Harrison, Joanna E Mills Flemming, Ian D Jonsen, David Z Zhu, Alf Leake, David A Patterson, Michael Power and Steven J Cooke

Eyes in the sky: linking satellite oceanography and biotelemetry to explore habitat selection by basking sharks

Satellite-based oceanographic data products are a valuable source of information on potential resource availability for marine species. Satellite oceanography data may be particularly useful in biotelemetry st...

Authors: Tobey H Curtis, Stephan I Zeeman, Erin L Summers, Steven X Cadrin and Gregory B Skomal

Diving behaviour of the critically endangered tope shark Galeorhinus galeus in the Natural Reserve of Bahia San Blas, northern Patagonia

Tope sharks (Galeorhinus galeus) aggregate in large numbers during spring and summer in closed gulfs and bays in northern Patagonia; these locations are considered the main nursery areas for the species. However,...

Authors: Juan Martín Cuevas, Mirta García and Edgardo Di Giacomo

Recovery time after intra-abdominal transmitter placement for telemetric (neuro) physiological measurement in freely moving common marmosets (Callitrix jacchus)

Telemetry is very important for monitoring physiological functions in awake and freely moving laboratory animals. Although implantable transmitters reduce stress resulting from daily handling and restraint, th...

Authors: Jaco Bakker, Rianne Klomp, Milene WM Rijnbeek, Saskia S Arndt, Ingrid HCHM Philippens and Jan AM Langermans

Stomach temperature of narwhals (Monodon monoceros) during feeding events

Information on the feeding rate by free-ranging odontocetes is necessary for assessing potential conflicts with fishing activities. One way of obtaining a proxy for feeding events in homeothermic predators is ...

Authors: Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen, Nynne H Nielsen, Rikke G Hansen and Susanna B Blackwell

Home range and movements of American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) in an estuary habitat

Understanding movement patterns of free-ranging top predators throughout heterogeneous habitat is important for gaining insight into trophic interactions. We tracked the movements of five adult American alliga...

Authors: Ikuko Fujisaki, Kristen M Hart, Frank J Mazzotti, Michael S Cherkiss, Autumn R Sartain, Brian M Jeffery, Jeffrey S Beauchamp and Mathew Denton

An approach for filtering hyperbolically positioned underwater acoustic telemetry data with position precision estimates

Telemetry systems that estimate animal positions with hyperbolic positioning algorithms also provide a technology-specific estimate of position precision (e.g., horizontal position error (HPE) for the VEMCO po...

Authors: Trevor D Meckley, Christopher M Holbrook, C Michael Wagner and Thomas R Binder