Dataset Information

Assessing the post-release effects of capture, handling and placement of satellite telemetry devices on narwhal (Monodon monoceros) movement behaviour.

ABSTRACT: Animal-borne telemetry devices have become a popular and valuable means for studying the cryptic lives of cetaceans. Evaluating the effect of capture, handling and tagging procedures remains largely unassessed across species. Here, we examine the effect of capture, handling and tagging activities on an iconic Arctic cetacean, the narwhal (Monodon monoceros), which has previously been shown to exhibit an extreme response to extended capture and handling. Using accelerometry-derived metrics of behaviour, including activity level, energy expenditure and swimming activity, we quantify the post-release responses and time to recovery of 19 individuals following capture and tagging activities considering the intrinsic covariates of sex and individual size and the extrinsic covariates of handling time and presence of a 'bolt-on' satellite telemetry device. From accelerometer-derived behaviour, most narwhals appeared to return to mean baseline behaviour (recovery) within 24 hours after release, which was supported by longer-term measures of diving data. None of the covariates measured, however, had an effect on the time individuals took to recover following release. Using generalized additive models to describe changes in behaviour over time, we found handling time to be a significant predictor of activity levels, energy expenditure and swimming behaviour following release. Individuals held for the longest period (>40 min) were found to display the largest effect in behaviour immediately following release with respect to swimming behaviour and activity levels. We also found some support for relationships between activity levels, energy expenditure and swimming activity and two other covariates: sex and the attachment of a bolt-on configuration satellite tags. Our results indicate that narwhals recover relatively quickly following capture, handling and tagging procedures, but we suggest that researchers should minimize handling time and further investigation is needed on how to mitigate potential effects of bolt-on satellite tags in these sensitive species.

SUBMITTER: Shuert CR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7905160 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Assessing the post-release effects of capture, handling and placement of satellite telemetry devices on narwhal <i>(Monodon monoceros)</i> movement behaviour.

Shuert Courtney R CR Marcoux Marianne M Hussey Nigel E NE Watt Cortney A CA Auger-Méthé Marie M

Conservation physiology 20210107 1

Animal-borne telemetry devices have become a popular and valuable means for studying the cryptic lives of cetaceans. Evaluating the effect of capture, handling and tagging procedures remains largely unassessed across species. Here, we examine the effect of capture, handling and tagging activities on an iconic Arctic cetacean, the narwhal (<i>Monodon monoceros</i>), which has previously been shown to exhibit an extreme response to extended capture and handling. Using accelerometry-derived metrics ...[more]

PMID: 33659061

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Project description:Background:Acoustic telemetry technologies are being increasingly deployed to study a variety of aquatic taxa including fishes, reptiles, and marine mammals. Large cooperative telemetry networks produce vast quantities of data useful in the study of movement, resource selection and species distribution. Efficient use of acoustic telemetry data requires estimation of acoustic source locations from detections at receivers (i.e., "localization"). Multiple processes provide information for localization estimation including detection/non-detection data at receivers, information on signal rate, and an underlying movement model describing how individuals move and utilize space. Frequently, however, localization methods only integrate a subset of these processes and do not utilize the full spatial encounter history information available from receiver arrays. Methods:In this paper we draw analogies between the challenges of acoustic telemetry localization and newly developed methods of spatial capture-recapture (SCR). We develop a framework for localization that integrates explicit sub-models for movement, signal (or cue) rate, and detection probability, based on acoustic telemetry spatial encounter history data. This method, which we call movement-assisted localization, makes efficient use of the full encounter history data available from acoustic receiver arrays, provides localizations with fewer than three detections, and even allows for predictions to be made of the position of an individual when it was not detected at all. We demonstrate these concepts by developing generalizable Bayesian formulations of the SCR movement-assisted localization model to address study-specific challenges common in acoustic telemetry studies. Results:Simulation studies show that movement-assisted localization models improve point-wise RMSE of localization estimates by >50% and greatly increased the precision of estimated trajectories compared to localization using only the detection history of a given signal. Additionally, integrating a signal rate sub-model reduced biases in the estimation of movement, signal rate, and detection parameters observed in independent localization models. Conclusions:Movement-assisted localization provides a flexible framework to maximize the use of acoustic telemetry data. Conceptualizing localization within an SCR framework allows extensions to a variety of data collection protocols, improves the efficiency of studies interested in movement, resource selection, and space-use, and provides a unifying framework for modeling acoustic data.

Dataset Information

Assessing the post-release effects of capture, handling and placement of satellite telemetry devices on narwhal (Monodon monoceros) movement behaviour.

Publications

Assessing the post-release effects of capture, handling and placement of satellite telemetry devices on narwhal <i>(Monodon monoceros)</i> movement behaviour.

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