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Use of satellite telemetry on small-bodied waterfowl in Australia

journal contribution
posted on 2009-01-01, 00:00 authored by David RoshierDavid Roshier, W Martin
The nomadic or dispersive movements of many Australian waterfowl in response to irregular environmental cues make satellite telemetry studies the only means by which these long-distance movements can be tracked in real time. Unlike some large-bodied soaring species, attaching satellite transmitters to small-bodied waterfowl (<1 kg) is not straightforward because ducks have high wing loadings and need to maintain active flapping to stay aloft. In the present paper, we detail one harness design and attachment method that enabled us to track grey teal (Anas gracilis) for up to 879 days. In addition, we detail rates of data loss, changes in data quality over time and variation in data quality from solar-powered satellite-tags deployed on ducks in Australia and Papua New Guinea. Up to 68% of all locational fixes have a nominal accuracy of less than 1 km, and satellite-tags deployed on wild birds can provide up to 22 location fixes per day and store enough energy during the day to run continuously throughout the night.

History

Journal

Marine and freshwater research

Volume

60

Issue

4

Pagination

299 - 305

Publisher

C S I R O Publishing

Location

Collingwood, Vic.

ISSN

1323-1650

eISSN

1448-6059

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2009, CSIRO

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