Sensor:Accessory Measurements
Accessory Measurements
No Thumbnail Available
Name
Accessory Measurements
External ID
accessory-measurements
Is Location Sensor
9 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
- Data packageData from: Satellite tracking a wide‐ranging endangered vulture species to target conservation actions in the Middle East and East Africa(2019-12-02) Buechley, Evan R.; Şekercioğlu, Çağan H.Vultures comprise the most endangered avian foraging guild (obligate scavengers) and their loss from ecosystems can trigger trophic cascades, mesopredator release, and human rabies epidemics, indicating their keystone species status. Vultures’ extremely large home ranges, which often cross international borders of countries that have differing laws and capacity for wildlife conservation, makes conserving them challenging. However, satellite-tracking data can be used to identify habitat preferences and critical sites to target conservation actions. We tracked 16 Egyptian Vultures, Neophron percnopterus, in the Middle East and East Africa. We used dynamic Brownian bridge movement models to calculate home ranges and core-use areas, and we analyzed habitat use in a resource selection framework. Combined summer and winter ranges (99% utilization distributions) of all birds covered 209,800 and 274,300 km2, respectively. However, the core-use areas (50% utilization distributions) in the summer and winter ranges, accounted for only 0.4–1.1% of this area (900 and 3100 km2, respectively). These core-use areas are where the home ranges of multiple individuals overlapped and/or where individuals spent a lot of time, such as feeding and roosting sites, and are places where conservation actions could focus. Resource selection models predicted Egyptian Vulture occurrence throughout little-studied parts of the species’ range in the Middle East and East Africa, and revealed strong selection for proximity to highways, power distribution lines, and towns. While providing roosts (e.g. power pylons) and food (e.g. garbage dumps), anthropogenic features may also function as ecological traps by increasing exposure to electrocution and dietary toxins.
- Data packageData from: Study "NC Wood Stork Tracking"(2023-12-23) Schweitzer, Sara; Bryan, A. Lawrence, Jr.; Brzorad, John; Kays, RolandWe tracked two wood storks (Mycteria americana) from a breeding site in North Carolina, documenting their migrations to southern Florida. This is one of the northernmost breeding grounds for the species. Dice was tracked with a GPS/GSM/ACC tag from e-obs GmbH, and Mr Lay was tracked with a GSM-GPS tag from Microwave Telemetry Inc. Duplicates and location outliers were flagged in Movebank by manually flagging visible outliers and then using filters. First, the duplicate filter was used to flag multiple records records with matching tag ID and timestamp, with a preference to retain "eobs:status" values in the following order: A, B, C, D, blank. Second, the speed filter was run using maximum plausible speed of 50 m/s and maximum location error 100 m, using the "longest consistent track" method.
- Data packageData from: Comparison of movement strategies of three populations of white-bearded wildebeest(2020-12-01) Stabach, Jared A.; Hughey, Lacey F.; Reid, Robin S.; Worden, Jeffrey S.; Leimgruber, Peter; Boone, Randall B.The ability to move is essential for animals to find mates, escape predation, and meet energy and water demands. This is especially important across grazing systems where vegetation productivity can vary drastically between seasons or years. With grasslands undergoing significant changes due to climate change and anthropogenic development, there is an urgent need to determine the relative impacts of these pressures on the movement capacity of native herbivores. To measure these impacts, we fitted 36 white-bearded wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) with GPS collars across three study areas in southern Kenya (Amboseli Basin, Athi-Kaputiei Plains, and Mara) to test the relationship between movement (e.g., directional persistence, speed, home range crossing time) and gradients of vegetation productivity (i.e., NDVI) and anthropogenic disturbance. As expected, wildebeest moved the most (21.0 km day–1; CI: 18.7–23.3) across areas where movement was facilitated by low human footprint and necessitated by low vegetation productivity (Amboseli Basin). However, in areas with moderate vegetation productivity (Athi-Kaputiei Plains), wildebeest moved the least (13.3 km day–1; CI: 11.0–15.5). This deviation from expectations was largely explained by impediments to movement associated with a large human footprint. Notably, the movements of wildebeest in this area were also less directed than the other study populations, suggesting that anthropogenic disturbance (i.e., roads, fences, and the expansion of settlements) impacts the ability of wildebeest to move and access available resources. In areas with high vegetation productivity and moderate human footprint (Mara), we observed intermediate levels of daily movement (14.2 km day–1; CI: 12.3–16.1). Wildebeest across each of the study systems used grassland habitats outside of protected areas extensively, highlighting the importance of unprotected landscapes for conserving mobile species. These results provide unique insights into the interactive effects of climate and anthropogenic development on the movements of a dominant herbivore in East Africa and present a cautionary tale for the development of grazing ecosystems elsewhere.
- Data packageData from: Study "Rhinoceros Auklet North American Pacific Coast (GLS)"(2024-10-18) Hipfner, J. Mark; Crossin, Glenn T.; Studholme, Katharine R.; Drever, Mark C.; Domalik, Alice D.; Cross, Cayle J.R.; Beck, Jessie N.; Bradley, Russell W.; Carle, Ryan D.; Good, Thomas P.; Hatch, Scott A.; Hodum, Peter J.; Pearson, Scott F.; Rojek, Nora A.; Slater, Leslie; Will, Alexis P.Models of migratory behavior predict trade-offs between fitness costs and benefits with respect to migration distance. Shorter migration distances may confer a fitness benefit by facilitating earlier breeding, however this is rarely investigated. We tested this hypothesis using a large-scale geolocation (GLS) dataset from 109 rhinoceros auklets (Cerorhinca monocerata), a differen- tially migrating seabird, that was tagged at 12 breeding colonies along the Pacific Coast of North America, spanning southern California to the eastern Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Using GLS-based position estimates, we determined the geographic centroid of the pelagic areas occupied by birds in winter (1 January–28 February) and then calculated the distance between their winter- ing centroids and colony of origin. We then used GLS light-intensity and salt-water immersion (wet/dry) data to determine each individual's date of egg-laying the following spring. Rhinoceros auklets were very widely distributed across the northeastern Pacific Ocean in winter. Among all individuals, the distance between winter centroids and breeding colonies ranged from < 100 to >2500km, being greater among individuals originating from colonies at higher latitudes. As predicted, migration distance and colony latitude were positively related to lay date: after accounting for colony-level differences in phenology, individuals that migrated shorter distances tended to lay their eggs earlier, a pattern that emerged across all populations. Our study links the migration distance of rhinoceros auklets to a fitness-related outcome, underscoring the selective pressure that migration exerts on subsequent breeding activity.
- Data packageData from: Migration strategies of the Baltic Dunlin: rapid jump migration in the autumn but slower skipping type spring migration(2017-12-31) Pakanen, Veli-Matti; Jaakkonen, Tuomo; Saarinen, Joni; Rönkä, Nelli; Thomson, Robert L.; Koivula, KariMigration during spring is usually faster than during autumn because of competition for breeding territories. In some cases, however, the costs and benefits associated with the environment can lead to slower spring migration, but examples are quite rare. We compared seasonal migration strategies of the endangered Baltic population of the dunlin (Calidris alpina schinzii) using light-level geolocator data from 26 individuals breeding in Finland. Autumn migration was faster, with individuals showing a “jump” and “skipping” migration strategy characterised by fewer stationary periods, shorter total stopping time and faster flight. Spring migration was slower, with individuals using a “skipping” strategy. The duration of migration was longer for early departing birds during spring but not during autumn suggesting that early spring migrants are prevented from arriving to the breeding areas or that fueling conditions are worse on the stopover sites for early arriving individuals. Dunlins showed high migratory connectivity. All individuals had one long staging at the Wadden Sea in the autumn after which half of the individuals flew 4500 km non-stop to Banc d'Arguin, Mauritania. The other half stopped briefly on the Atlantic coast on their way to Mauritania. One bird wintered on the coast of Portugal. Nine individuals that carried geolocators for two years were site faithful to their final non-breeding sites. Based on the strategies during the non-breeding period we identified, Baltic dunlin may be especially vulnerable to rapid environmental changes at the staging and non-breeding areas. Consequently, the preservation of the identified non-breeding areas is important for their conservation.
- Data packageData from: Tracking the migration of red-necked stint (Calidris ruficollis) reveals marathon flights and unexpected conservation challenges(2020-10-09) Mu, Tong; Tomkovich, Pavel S.; Loktionov, Egor Y.; Syroechkovskiy, Evgeny E.; Wilcove, David S.Effective conservation of migratory species depends on understanding both migratory connectivity and migration strategy. The Red‐necked Stint Calidris ruficollis is a small, highly migratory sandpiper of the East Asian‐Australasian Flyway, which is classified as Near Threatened due to ongoing population declines. We tracked the migration of three Red‐necked Stints breeding in southern Chukotka, Russia, using geolocators, and supplemented our tracking data with re‐sighting records of color‐flagged individuals. The three birds, all of which bred within 2km of each other, wintered in three different localities spanning nearly 5,000km. One individual completed its northward migration of >9400 km in two marathon flights; the second leg of that journey was completed in a nonstop flight of 5,350 km. The successful conservation of just this one population requires protection of wintering sites across a vast area, coupled with key staging sites along the flyway. We suggest that other migratory species may pose similar conservation challenges.
- Data packageData from: Re-colonization by common eiders (Somateria mollissima) in the Aleutian Archipelago following removal of introduced arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus)(2015-05-19) Petersen, Margaret R.; Byrd, G. Vernon; Sonsthagen, Sarah A.; Sexon, Matthew G.Islands provide refuges for populations of many species where they find safety from predators, but the introduction of predators frequently results in elimination or dramatic reductions in island-dwelling organisms. When predators are removed, re-colonization for some species occurs naturally, and inter-island phylogeographic relationships and current movement patterns can illuminate processes of colonization. We studied a case of re-colonization of common eiders (Somateria mollissima) following removal of introduced arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) in the Aleutian Archipelago, Alaska. We expected common eiders to resume nesting on islands cleared of foxes and to re-colonize from nearby islets, islands, and island groups. We thus expected common eiders to show limited genetic structure indicative of extensive mixing among island populations. Satellite telemetry was used to record current movement patterns of female common eiders from six islands across three island groups. We collected genetic data from these and other nesting common eiders at 14 microsatellite loci and the mitochondrial DNA control region to examine population genetic structure, historical fluctuations in population demography, and gene flow. Our results suggest recent interchange among islands. Analysis of microsatellite data supports satellite telemetry data of increased dispersal of common eiders to nearby areas and little between island groups. Although evidence from mtDNA is suggestive of female dispersal among island groups, gene flow is insufficient to account for recolonization and rapid population growth. Instead, near-by remnant populations of common eiders contributed substantially to population expansion, without which re-colonization would have likely occurred at a much lower rate. Genetic and morphometric data of common eiders within one island group two and three decades after re-colonization suggests reduced movement of eiders among islands and little movement between island groups after populations were re-established. We predict that re-colonization of an island group where all common eiders are extirpated could take decades.
- Data packageData from: Spatiotemporally variable snow properties drive habitat use of an Arctic mesopredator(2023-08-16) Glass, Thomas W.; Robards, Martin D.Climate change is rapidly altering the composition and availability of snow, with implications for snow-affected ecological processes, including reproduction, predation, habitat selection, and migration. How snowpack changes influence these ecological processes is mediated by physical snowpack properties, such as depth, density, hardness, and strength, each of which is in turn affected by climate change. Despite this, it remains difficult to obtain meaningful snow information relevant to the ecological processes of interest, precluding a mechanistic understanding of these effects. This problem is acute for species that rely on particular attributes of the subnivean space, for example depth, thermal resistance, and structural stability, for key life-history processes like reproduction, thermoregulation, and predation avoidance. We used a spatially explicit snow evolution model to investigate how habitat selection of a species that uses the subnivean space, the wolverine, is related to snow depth, snow density, and snow melt on Arctic tundra. We modeled these snow properties at a 10 m spatial and a daily temporal resolution for 3 years, and used integrated step selection analyses of GPS collar data from 21 wolverines to determine how these snow properties influenced habitat selection and movement. We found that wolverines selected deeper, denser snow, but only when it was not undergoing melt, bolstering the evidence that these snow properties are important to species that use the Arctic snowpack for subnivean resting sites and dens. We discuss the implications of these findings in the context of climate change impacts on subnivean species.
- Data packageData from: Common noctules exploit low levels of the aerosphere(2019-02-21) O'Mara, M. Teague; Wikelski, Martin; Kranstauber, Bart; Dechmann, Dina K.N.Aerial habitats present a challenge to find food across a large potential search volume, particularly for insectivorous bats that rely on echolocation calls with limited detection range and may forage at heights over 1000 m. To understand how bats use vertical space, we tracked one to five foraging flights of eight common noctules (Nyctalus noctula). Bats were tracked for their full foraging session (87.27 ± 24 mins) using high-resolution atmospheric pressure radio transmitters that allowed us to calculate height and wingbeat frequency. Bats used diverse flight strategies, but generally flew lower than 40 m, with scouting flights to 100 m and a maximum of 300 m. We found no influence of weather on height and high-altitude ascents were not preceded by an increase in foraging effort. Wingbeat frequency was independent from climbing or descending flight, and bats skipped wingbeats or glided in 10% of all observations. Wingbeat frequency was positively related to capture mass, and wingbeat frequency was positively related to time of night, indicating an effect of load increase over a foraging bout. Overall, individuals used a wide range of airspace including altitudes that put them at increased risk from human-made structures. Further work is needed to test the context of these flight decisions, particularly as individuals migrate throughout Europe.