Tracking animals in freshwater with electronic tags: past, present and future

Abstract

Considerable technical developments over the past half century have enabled widespread application of electronic tags to the study of animals in the wild, including in freshwater environments. We review the constraints associated with freshwater telemetry and biologging and the technical developments relevant to their use. Technical constraints for tracking animals are often influenced by the characteristics of the animals being studied and the environment they inhabit. Collectively, they influence which and how technologies can be used and their relative effectiveness. Although radio telemetry has historically been the most commonly used technology in freshwater, passive integrated transponder (PIT) technology, acoustic telemetry and biologgers are becoming more popular. Most telemetry studies have focused on fish, although an increasing number have focused on other taxa, such as turtles, crustaceans and molluscs. Key technical developments for freshwater systems include: miniaturization of tags for tracking small-size life stages and species, fixed stations and coded tags for tracking large samples of animals over long distances and large temporal scales, inexpensive PIT systems that enable mass tagging to yield population-and community-level relevant sample sizes, incorporation of sensors into electronic tags, validation of tag attachment procedures with a focus on maintaining animal welfare, incorporation of different techniques (for example, genetics, stable isotopes) and peripheral technologies (for example, geographic information systems, hydroacoustics), development of novel analytical techniques, and extensive international collaboration. Innovations are still needed in tag miniaturization, data analysis and visualization, and in tracking animals over larger spatial scales (for example, pelagic areas of lakes) and in challenging environments (for example, large dynamic floodplain systems, under ice). There seems to be a particular need for adapting various global positioning system and satellite tagging approaches to freshwater. Electronic tagging provides a mechanism to collect detailed information from imperilled animals and species that have no direct economic value. Current and future advances will continue to improve our knowledge of the natural history of aquatic animals and ecological processes in freshwater ecosystems while facilitating evidence-based resource management and conservation.

Spatio‐temporal temperature variation influences juvenile steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) use of thermal refuges

“…Future studies on thermal refuges should focus on understanding what mechanisms are driving this individual variation, especially vis-à -vis relative resource availability between habitats and density-dependent effects, as well as the population level consequences of this variability. In addition, size-dependent diel behavioral shifts indicate the need to assess thermal refuge use at fine spatial and temporal scales; we propose that using temperaturesensitive tags to infer an animal's location may be an effective and innovative method to track habitat use in thermally heterogeneous environments such as thermal refuges, especially as these types of tags become smaller and more affordable (Cooke et al 2013).…”

Probability of acoustic transmitter detections by receiver lines in Lake Huron: results of multi-year field tests and simulations

“…In aquatic systems, fishes move across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales to obtain transitory resources, avoid predators, and respond to physical constraints imposed by the environment [3,4]. Recent advances in acoustic telemetry technology and methodology have improved understanding of fish movements at spatial and temporal scales that were previously not possible and have provided insights into fish habitat use, spawning, site fidelity, and migration [5][6][7][8]. Furthermore, advancements in animal biologging and telemetry technology have provided insight into development and structure of social interactions of many terrestrial animals [9].…”

Real-time nodes permit adaptive management of endangered species of fishes

“…Although this technology was first used to ascertain the degree of residency of highly mobile species at biotic "hot-spots" in the ocean [4], it has been used even more frequently to determine rates of movement and reachspecific survival of adult anadromous fishes on their upstream migrations to their spawning sites within rivers and juveniles migrating downstream to the ocean [5]. By 2012, there were 378 published studies utilizing this methodology [6].…”