Evidence that dorsally mounted satellite transmitters affect migration chronology of Northern Pintails

AbstractRed Kite shows a great variability in its migration strategies: most individuals in north-eastern Europe are migrants, but there is also a growing number of sedentary individuals. Here, we tagged 49 Red Kites wintering in Spain with GPS/satellite transmitters between 2013 and 2020 to study the autumn and spring migration between the breeding or summering areas in Central Europe and the wintering quarters in Spain. In first place, differences between immatures and adults were found for spring migration. Adults began the spring migration towards the northeast in February–March while the immature individuals began to migrate significantly later and showing a wider date range (February-June). Adults also takes significantly less days to arrive at their destinations (12 ± 5 days) and cover more distance per day (134.2 ± 37.1 km/day) than immatures (19 ± 11 days and 98.9 ± 21.2 km/day). In second place, we also found differences between spring and autumn migration (excluding immatures). Spring migrations were clearly faster and with less stopovers days than autumn migrations. Autumn migration began between mid-October and late November and two different behaviours were observed: most birds made a quick migration direct to the wintering areas with only some days of stopovers, but others prolonged the migration with long stops along the route. These results highlight a great variation in the migratory movements of Red Kite, not only according to age but also between individuals and seasons.

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Autumn movements of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) from Svalbard, Norway, revealed by satellite tracking

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-73996-z ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Christian Lydersen ◽

Jade Vacquié-Garcia ◽

Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen ◽

Nils Øien ◽

Christophe Guinet ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Satellite Tracking ◽

The Other ◽

Life History Strategies ◽

High Latitudes ◽

Breeding Area ◽

Balaenoptera Physalus ◽

Westerly Direction ◽

Satellite Transmitters ◽

Fin Whales ◽

Insight Into

Abstract Insight into animal movements is essential for understanding habitat use by individuals as well as population processes and species life-history strategies. In this study, we instrumented 25 fin whales with ARGOS satellite-transmitters in Svalbard, Norway, to study their movement patterns and behaviour (Area Restricted Search (ARS), transiting or unknown) during boreal autumn/early winter. Ten of the whales stayed in the tagging area (most northerly location: 81.68°N) for their entire tracking periods (max 45 days). The other 15 whales moved in a south-westerly direction; the longest track ended off the coast of northern Africa (> 5000 km from the tagging location) after 96 days. The whales engaged in ARS behaviour intermittently throughout their southward migrations. During transit phases the whales moved quickly; one individual maintained an average horizontal speed of 9.3 km/h (travelling 223 km per day) for a period of a week. This study documents that: (1) some fin whales might remain at high latitudes during winter; (2) the whales that do migrate probably feed along the way; (3) they can maintain high transiting speed for long periods and; (4) one breeding area for this species is likely located in deep, warm water some 100 km west of Morocco.

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Erratum: Biochemical and clinical responses of Common Eiders to implanted satellite transmitters

The Condor ◽

10.1650/condor-17-213.1 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 120 (1) ◽

pp. 185-187

Author(s):

Christopher J. Latty ◽

Tuula E. Hollmén ◽

Margaret R. Petersen ◽

Abby N. Powell ◽

Russel D. Andrews

Keyword(s):

Common Eiders ◽

Clinical Responses ◽

Satellite Transmitters

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Testicular migration chronology: do the right and the left testes migrate at the same time? Analysis of 164 human fetuses

BJU International ◽

10.1111/bju.12574 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 113 (4) ◽

pp. 650-653 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Luciano A. Favorito ◽

Francisco J.B. Sampaio

Keyword(s):

Human Fetuses ◽

Time Analysis ◽

Testicular Migration ◽

Migration Chronology ◽

The Right

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Survival of Female Northern Pintails Wintering in Southwestern Louisiana

Journal of Wildlife Management ◽

10.2307/3802018 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 62 (4) ◽

pp. 1512 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Robert R. Cox ◽

Alan D. Afton ◽

Richard M. Pace

Keyword(s):

Northern Pintails

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September-March Survival of Female Northern Pintails Radiotagged in San Joaquin Valley, California

Journal of Wildlife Management ◽

10.2307/3803154 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 66 (3) ◽

pp. 901 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Joseph P. Fleskes ◽

Robert L. Jarvis ◽

David S. Gilmer

Keyword(s):

San Joaquin Valley ◽

Northern Pintails

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Performance and Accuracy Evaluation of Small Satellite Transmitters

Journal of Wildlife Management ◽

10.2307/3802854 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 63 (4) ◽

pp. 1349 ◽

Cited By ~ 66

Author(s):

Michael W. Britten ◽

Patricia L. Kennedy ◽

Skip Ambrose

Keyword(s):

Accuracy Evaluation ◽

Small Satellite ◽

Satellite Transmitters

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Influence of individual biological traits on GPS fix-loss errors in wild bird tracking

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-76455-x ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ruth García-Jiménez ◽

Antoni Margalida ◽

Juan M. Pérez-García

Keyword(s):

Loss Rate ◽

Satellite Telemetry ◽

Foraging Strategy ◽

Biological Traits ◽

Ecological Traits ◽

Location Data ◽

Global Positioning ◽

Satellite Transmitters ◽

Technical Factors ◽

Solar Powered

AbstractIn recent decades, global positioning system (GPS) location data and satellite telemetry systems for data transmission have become fundamental in the study of basic ecological traits in wildlife biology. Evaluating GPS location errors is essential in assessing detailed information about the behaviour of an animal species such as migration, habitat selection, species distribution or foraging strategy. While many studies of the influence of environmental and technical factors on the fix errors of solar-powered GPS transmitters have been published, few studies have focussed on the performance of GPS systems in relation to a species’ biological traits. Here, we evaluate the possible effects of the biological traits of a large raptor on the frequency of lost fixes—the fix-loss rate (FLR). We analysed 95,686 records obtained from 20 Bearded Vultures Gypaetus barbatus tracked with 17 solar-powered satellite transmitters in the Pyrenees (Spain, France and Andorra), between 2006 and 2019 to evaluate the influence of biological, technical, and environmental factors on the fix-loss rate of transmitters. We show that combined effects of technical factors and the biological traits of birds explained 23% of the deviance observed. As expected, the transmitter usage time significantly increased errors in the fix-loss rate, although the flight activity of birds revealed an unexpected trade-off: the greater the proportion of fixes recorded from perched birds, the lower the FLR. This finding seems related with the fact that territorial and breeding birds spend significantly more time flying than non-territorial individuals. The fix success rate is apparently due to the interactions between a complex of factors. Non-territorial adults and subadults, males, and breeding individuals showed a significantly lower FLR than juveniles-immatures females, territorial birds or non-breeding individuals. Animal telemetry tracking studies should include error analyses before reaching any ecological conclusions or hypotheses about spatial distribution.

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The summer foraging ranges of adult spectacled petrels Procellaria conspicillata

Antarctic Science ◽

10.1017/s0954102013000266 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 23-32 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Tim A. Reid ◽

Robert A. Ronconi ◽

Richard J. Cuthbert ◽

Peter G. Ryan

Keyword(s):

South America ◽

South Atlantic ◽

Breeding Birds ◽

Shelf Break ◽

Fishing Activity ◽

Breeding Grounds ◽

Satellite Transmitters ◽

Longline Fisheries ◽

Central South ◽

Foraging Ranges

AbstractSatellite transmitters were attached to eight adult spectacled petrels Procellaria conspicillata Gould captured during the early incubation period at their breeding grounds on Inaccessible Island, one of the Tristan da Cunha Islands in the central South Atlantic Ocean. Data on their at-sea distribution was obtained for up to six months. All birds remained within the South Atlantic from 24–44°S, with most between 25 and 40°S. Breeding birds mainly foraged in oceanic waters, but failed breeders or non-breeders concentrated their foraging activity over the Rio Grande Rise and the Walvis Ridge and along the shelf break off the east coast of South America. Little foraging occurred along the Benguela shelf break off southern Africa. Non-breeders favoured relatively warm water with low chlorophyll concentrations, reducing the risk of bycatch in fisheries. Tracked birds spent 16% of their time in areas with high levels of tuna longline fishing activity, with overlap greater for non-breeding birds (22%) than breeding birds (3%). Birds in this study foraged in shallower waters along the continental shelf edge off South America than spectacled petrels tracked in this area in winter, potentially increasing their risk of exposure to demersal longline fisheries in this area in summer.

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