Influence of Radio Collars on Survival of Sharp-Tailed Grouse

Marks, Jeffrey S.; Marks, Victoria Saab

doi:10.2307/3801035

Cited by 52 publications

(37 citation statements)

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“…However, some researchers have attributed the negative effect to the harness rather than the dorsal positioning of the transmitter. Several authors concluded radio-tags can cause adverse effects to individuals (Marks and Marks 1987, Caizergues and Ellison 1998, Bro et al 1999, and conversely others have demonstrated appropriate (e.g., weight, size, color, etc.) radio packages have no measurable effects on survival of gamebirds (Boag et al 1973, Hines and Zwickel 1985, Thirgood et al 1995, Hagen et al 2006, Terhune et al 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Greater sage‐grouse juvenile survival in Utah

et al. 2014

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Greater sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage‐grouse) adult hen and juvenile survival have been shown to have significant influence on population growth rates. However, assessing the sensitivity of population growth rates to variability in juvenile survival has proven difficult because of limited information concerning the potentially important demographic rate. Sage‐grouse survival rates are commonly assessed using necklace‐type radio transmitters. Recent technological advances have lead to increased interest in the deployment of dorsally mounted global positioning system (GPS) transmitters for studying sage‐grouse ecology. However, the use of dorsally mounted transmitters has not been thoroughly evaluated for sage‐grouse, leading to concern that birds fitted with these transmitters may experience differential mortality rates. We evaluated the effect of transmitter positioning (dorsal vs. necklace) on juvenile sage‐grouse survival using a controlled experimental design with necklace‐style and suture‐backpack very high frequency (VHF) transmitters. To evaluate the effects of temporal variation, sex, and transmitter type on juvenile sage‐grouse survival, we monitored 91 juveniles captured in south‐central Utah from 2008 to 2010. We instrumented 19 females with backpacks, 14 males with backpacks, 39 females with necklaces, and 19 males with necklaces. We used Program MARK to analyze juvenile survival data. Although effects were only marginally significant from a statistical perspective, sex (P = 0.103) and transmitter type (P = 0.09) were deemed to have biologically meaningful impacts on survival. Dorsally mounted transmitters appeared to negatively affected daily survival (βtransmitter type = −0.55, SE = 0.32). Temporal variation in juvenile sage‐grouse daily survival was best described by a quadratic trend in time, where daily survival was lowest in late September and was high overwinter. An interaction between the quadratic trend in time and year resulted in the low point of daily survival shifting within the season between years (27 vs. 17 Sep for 2008 and 2009, respectively). Overall (15 Aug–31 Mar) derived survival ranged 0.42–0.62 for females and 0.23–0.44 for males. For all years pooled, the probability death was due to predation was 0.73, reported harvest was 0.16, unreported harvest was 0.09, and other undetermined factors was 0.02. We observed 0% and 6.8% crippling loss (from hunting) in 2008 and 2009, respectively. We recommend the adoption of harvest management strategies that attempt to shift harvest away from juveniles and incorporate crippling rates. In addition, future survival studies on juvenile sage‐grouse should use caution if implementing dorsally mounted transmitters because of the potential for experimental bias. © 2014 The Wildlife Society.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Greater sage‐grouse juvenile survival in Utah

et al. 2014

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“…Adverse effects violate the fundamental assumption that marking individuals with radiotransmitters does not directly or indirectly influence the behavior of individual(s) under examination and, more importantly, the assumption that the sample under study accurately reflects the underlying biology of the entire population (White and Garrott 1990, Bunck et al 1995, Tsai et al 1999. With regard to upland game birds (Marks and Marks 1987, Marcstrom et al 1989, Carroll 1990, Burger et al 1991, Bro et al 1999, waterfowl (Sorenson 1989, Pietz et al 1993, Ward and Flint 1995, and specifically northern bobwhites , Parry et al 1997, Corteville 1998), the magnitude of transmitter effect varies among attachment methods, duration (i.e., acclimation period), and ratio of transmitter weight to body weight. The inconsistent effect potentially introduced by radiotransmitters makes it inherently germane to test these effects for individual species being researched.…”

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confidence: 99%

Factors Influencing Survival of Radiotagged and Banded Northern Bobwhites in Georgia

Terhune

Sisson²,

Grand

et al. 2007

J Wildl Manag

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Numerous studies of behavior and ecology of northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) have depended on radiotagging and telemetry for data collection. Excluding the presumably short‐term effects of trapping, handling, and attaching radiotransmitters, researchers often assume that little bias is associated with estimating survival and behavioral parameters associated with this technique. However, researchers have not adequately examined these effects on organisms being investigated and have thus assumed demographic information obtained from such methods are valid. In light of this conjecture, it is imperative to evaluate methodological assumptions to ensure research is statistically valid and biologically meaningful. Therefore, we used Burnham's model and program MARK to analyze survival estimates of individually banded and radiotagged bobwhites during an 8‐year period (1997–2004) consisting of 6,568 individuals (2,527 radiotagged) via combined analysis of mark—recapture, dead recovery (via harvest), and radiotelemetry data to test the effects of radiotransmitters on bobwhite survival. We also compared band—recapture survival estimates to Kaplan—Meier survival estimates, and we examined the effects of various other factors (e.g., temporal, spatial) on bobwhite survival. Based on Akaike's model selection criterion, the best model including the radiotransmitter covariate (Akaike's Information Criterion adjusted for small sample size bias and overdispersion relative value = 0.72) did not explain more of the variation in survival than models without this effect. Thus, we found the effect of radiotransmitters as negligible. Bobwhite survival varied relative to spatial (e.g., site), temporal (e.g., yr and season), and gender effects. Average annual survival for the 8‐year period was 22.76% (1.50 SE) for banded‐only and 21.72% (1.49 SE) for radiotagged birds. Survival rate varied annually, ranging from 12.42% (7.51 SE) to 37.16% (8.27 SE), and seasonally, ranging from 23.82% (2.71 SE) to 65.06% (3.23 SE); however, between group (banded‐only, radiotagged) survival differences were still inconsequential. We conclude that for our study, radiotelemetry provided reliable survival estimates of an intensively managed bobwhite population, where supplemental food was provided, and this information provided useful data to make practical habitat management decisions. We believe that future radiotelemetry studies would benefit as a whole if researchers conducted similar analyses prior to presenting their results from radiotelemetry data, especially for populations that are more food limited.

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“…Radio-marked red grouses (Lagopus lagopus scoticus) showed lower activity and feeding levels (Boag 1972). In some cases [e.g., blue grouse Dendragapus obscurus (Hines and Zwickel 1985), Franklin's spruce grouse Canachites canadensis (Herzog 1979), northern bobwhites Colinus virginianus (Terhune et al 2007), lesser prairie chicken Tympanuchus pallidicinctus (Hagen et al 2006)], transmitters did not influence survival, reproduction, and movements, whereas survival was lowered in other studies [e.g., Columbian sharp-tailed grouse Tympanuchus phasianellus (Marks and Marks 1987), ring-necked pheasant females Phasianus colchicus (Warner and Etter 1983)]. Other studies compared different radio package design; for Galliformes, collars had less impact than backpacks (Marcstrom et al 1989), as briefly reviewed in Caizergues and Ellison (1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Do radio collars influence mortality and reproduction? A case with ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) in Central Italy

Venturato

Cavallini²,

Banti

et al. 2009

Eur J Wildl Res

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The effect of radio transmitters on bird survival and reproduction has been explored in the literature, and contradictory results were found. Using the Kaplan-Meier method, we estimated the mortality of female ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) in relation to radio load (percentage of total body mass). Low-load birds showed a higher survival, particularly after 2-3 months from release, thus excluding short-term effects of handling and adjusting to packages. Reproductive success was higher for birds with low loads, but the effect was less clear. The results were not influenced by age or body mass. As a rule of thumb, using radio packages lighter than 1.5% of the body mass can be considered safe for pheasants, whereas loads above 2% may have adverse effects.

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Influence of Radio Collars on Survival of Sharp-Tailed Grouse

Cited by 52 publications

References 0 publications

Greater sage‐grouse juvenile survival in Utah

Greater sage‐grouse juvenile survival in Utah

Factors Influencing Survival of Radiotagged and Banded Northern Bobwhites in Georgia

Do radio collars influence mortality and reproduction? A case with ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) in Central Italy

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