Subject: Satellite tracking: Marine Technology Society Journal articles (fwd)
Mike Williamson (pita@www1.wheelock.edu)
Sun, 7 Jun 1998 07:56:54 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: more Marine Technology Society Journal articles
Radio-tracking manatees from land and space: Tag design,
implementation, and lessons learned from long-term study. Deutsch, CJ;
Bonde, RK; Reid, JP. MARINE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY JOURNAL. Spring 1998
v32 i1 p18-29
West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus) were tracked along the
Atlantic coast of Florida and Georgia (N = 83 manatees, n = 439 tag
deployments, 1986-1996) and in eastern Puerto Rico (N = 8, n = 43,
1992-1996) using conventional and satellite-based
radio-telemetry systems. A floating radio-tag, attached by a flexible
tether to a padded belt around the base of the tail, enabled us to
track manatees in saltwater environments. The tag incorporated VHF
(very high frequency) and ultrasonic transmitters for field
tracking and tag recovery, and an Argos satellite-monitored
transmitter for remote tracking. We located each animal in the field
about twice per week, received more than 60,000 good-quality Argos
locations, and recovered tags in over 90 percent of
deployments. The tag was designed to detach from the belt when
entangled to prevent injury or drowning, and this often led to
premature termination of tracking bouts. We had considerable success,
however, in retagging belted manatees without recapture (97
percent of 392 retagging events). Most individuals were radio-tagged
more than once (median = 3.0, maximum = 43) for a median
total duration of 7.5 months (maximum = 6.8 years). Data obtained
through Argos have been valuable in addressing questions
relating to long-distance movements, site fidelity, and identification
of high-use areas. Fine-scale analyses of manatee habitat use and
movements may require restricting the data set to the highest location
quality or developing new analytical techniques to incorporate
locational error. Field tracking provided useful ancillary data on
life-history parameters, but sample sizes were small and survival
estimates imprecise. Modification of the existing tag design to
include Global Positioning System (GPS) functionality, with its finer
spatial and temporal resolution, will offer new opportunities to
address critical research and management problems facing this
endangered species.
Reprints
Deutsch, CJ
US GEOL SURVEY
BRD, FLORIDA CARIBBEAN SCI CTR
GAINESVILLE, FL
USA
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CRITTERCAM: An animal-borne imaging and data logging system. Marshall,
GJ. MARINE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY JOURNAL. Spring 1998 v32 i1 p11-17
CRITTERCAM is an animal-borne integrated video, audio and TDR data
logging system designed for studying the behavior and ecology of large
marine vertebrates at sea where systematic human observation is
impossible. Harnessed toffee-ranging animals, CRITTERCAM enables study
of animal behavior free of potentially disturbing human presence. One
hundred sixty-nine CRITTERCAM deployments have been made on 22
species. Most work has been done with harbor seals and Hawaiian monk
seals, and to a lesser extent sperm whales (65, 25 and 25 deployments,
respectively). Deployments revealed information and insights on
habitat use, diving, foraging, reproductive and social behavior,
territoriality, vocalization, and interspecific contact.
Reprints
Marshall, GJ
NATL GEOG TELEVIS
NATL HIST UNIT
WASHINGTON, DC 20036
USA
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Animal-borne GPS and the deployment of a GPS based archiving
datalogger on Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi). Sisak, MM.
MARINE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY JOURNAL. Spring 1998 v32 i1 p30-36
The adaptations of a terrestrial animal-borne GPS (Global Positioning
System) to a marine application are detailed, including pressure
housing design and sensor suites provided to maximize fix acquisition
success. Deployment of the Marine Archiving GPS (MAG) units
on Hawaiian monk seal signifies the first deployment of a commercially
available GPS based data logger on marine mammals. Capture,
attachment and recovery procedures employed for the MAG unit are
described and collected data presented. Eight geographic position
fixes were obtained, five of which are suggested to be ''at sea''
positions. Trends in miniaturization of GPS will lead to smaller more
capable animal-borne GPS unit and a second generation of the MAG unit
currently awaiting deployment in Hawaii is described.
Reprints
Sisak, MM
LOTEK MARINE TECHNOL
ST JOHNS, NF
CANADA
USA
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Following the invisible: Electronic tracking of marine animals. Stone,
G; Kraus, SD. MARINE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY JOURNAL. Spring 1998 v32 i1
p3-4
Reprints
Stone, G
NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM
CENT WHARF
BOSTON, MA 02110
USA
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The telemetering of marine animals: Developing a new paradigm. Kraus,
SD. MARINE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY JOURNAL. Spring 1998 v32 i1 p108-109
Reprints
Kraus, SD
NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM
CENT WHARF
BOSTON, MA 02110
USA
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WhaleNet-interactive education and research utilizing advanced
technologies. Williamson, JM. MARINE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY JOURNAL.
Spring 1998 v32 i1 p106-107
Reprints
Williamson, JM
WHEELOCK COLL
BOSTON, MA 02115
USA
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Tracking aquatic vertebrates in dense tropical forest using VHF
telemetry. Martin, AR; daSilva, VMF. MARINE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY
JOURNAL. Spring 1998 v32 i1 p82-88
As part of a broad study of river dolphins and caimans in the
Brazilian Amazon rainforest, transmitters in the radio frequency range
173-174 MHz were deployed on thirty-six animals over a four-year
period. Tracking was carried out both by hand and using
automatic, scanning, directional receiving stations situated above the
forest canopy. Results were initially poor, due largely to
equipment failure in such a hot, humid environment and inexperience of
the scientific personnel in attempting such a study in dense
rainforest. However, with modified equipment and greater experience,
radio telemetry became a powerful and benign research tool
without which the study would have been very substantially weakened.
Although performance teas poorer than in open habitat,
careful design of the receiver network, aided by field-testing of
signal range under various conditions, provided knowledge of the
whereabouts of most tagged animals for most of the time. After four
deployments, expectations of at least 9-months tag longevity
and receiving stations remaining functional 90 percent of the time are
realistic, but success is critically dependent on adequate
manpower for monitoring and data-collection. Although an excellent
source of information in its own right, radio telemetry of
cetaceans yields the greatest insights when combined with intense
observational fieldwork.
Reprints
Martin, AR
UNIV ST ANDREWS
SCH ECOL & ENVIRONM BIOL, GATTY MARINE LAB,
NERC, SEA MAMMAL RES UNIT
ST ANDREWS, FIFE
SCOTLAND