Animal lifestyle affects acceptable mass limits for attached tags
Creators
-
Wilson, Rory1
- Rose, Kayleigh2
-
Gunner, Richard2
- Holton, Mark2
- Marks, Nikki3
- Bennett, Nigel4
- Bell, Stephen3
- Twining, Joshua3
- Hesketh, Jamie2
- Duarte, Carlos5
- Bezodis, Neil2
- Jezek, Milos6
- Painter, Michael6
- Silovsky, Vaclav6
- Crofoot, Margaret7
- Harel, Roi7
- Arnould, John8
- Allan, Blake8
- Whisson, Desley8
- Alagaili, Abdulaziz9
- Scantlebury, David3
- 1. Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
- 2. Swansea University
- 3. Queen's University Belfast
- 4. University of Pretoria
- 5. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
- 6. Czech University of Life Sciences Prague
- 7. University of Konstanz
- 8. Deakin University
- 9. King Saud University
Description
Animal-attached devices have transformed our understanding of vertebrate ecology. To minimize any associated harm, researchers have long advocated that tag masses should not exceed 3% of carrier body mass. However, this ignores tag forces resulting from animal movement. Using data from collar-attached accelerometers on 10 diverse free-ranging terrestrial species from koalas to cheetahs, we detail a tag-based acceleration method to clarify acceptable tag mass limits. We quantify animal athleticism in terms of fractions of animal movement time devoted to different collar-recorded accelerations and convert those accelerations to forces (acceleration × tag mass) to allow derivation of any defined force limits for specified fractions of any animal's active time. Specifying that tags should exert forces that are less than 3% of the gravitational force exerted on the animal's body for 95% of the time led to corrected tag masses that should constitute between 1.6% and 2.98% of carrier mass, depending on athleticism. Strikingly, in four carnivore species encompassing two orders of magnitude in mass ( ca 2–200 kg), forces exerted by '3%' tags were equivalent to 4–19% of carrier body mass during moving, with a maximum of 54% in a hunting cheetah. This fundamentally changes how acceptable tag mass limits should be determined by ethics bodies, irrespective of the force and time limits specified.
Notes
Funding provided by: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100004052
Award Number: Sensor Initiative
Funding provided by: Royal Society
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000288
Award Number: Wolfson Lab refurbishment scheme
Funding provided by: National Trust and Forest Service NI*
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Award Number: Department of Learning and the Challenge Funding
Funding provided by: King Abdulaziz University
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100004054
Award Number: Vice Deanship of Research Chairs
Funding provided by: The Royal Society
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000288
Award Number: 2009/R3 JP090604
Funding provided by: Natural Environment Research Council
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000270
Award Number: NE/I002030/1
Funding provided by: Department for Economy Global Challenges Research Fund*
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Award Number:
Funding provided by: Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Northern Ireland
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100009748
Award Number:
Funding provided by: Department for the Economy
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100016337
Award Number: Studentship
Funding provided by: National Science Foundation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000001
Award Number: IIS-1514174
Funding provided by: David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000008
Award Number: 2016-65130 Fellowship
Funding provided by: Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100005156
Award Number: Alexander von Humboldt Professorship endowed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research
Funding provided by: Deakin University
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001778
Award Number: The advanced research supporting the forestry and wood‐processing sector's adaptation to global change
Funding provided by: EVA4.0*
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number: CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000803
Funding provided by: OPRDE*
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number: QK1910462.
Funding provided by: Department for Economy Global Challenges Research Fund
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Funding provided by: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100004052
Award Number: CAASE project under the KAUST Sensor Initiative
Funding provided by: King Abdulaziz University
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100004054
Award Number: Vice Deanship of Research Chairs
Funding provided by: Packard Foundation Fellowship
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number: 2016-65130
Funding provided by: Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Northern Ireland
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100009748
Award Number: studentships: DMS, NJM
Funding provided by: Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100005156
Award Number: Alexander von Humboldt Professorship endowed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research
Funding provided by: Department for the Economy studentship to JPT
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Funding provided by: Royal Society/Wolfson Lab refurbishment scheme
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Funding provided by: Advanced research supporting the forestry and wood-processing sector's adaptation to global change and the 4th industrial revolution
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Funding provided by: National Science Foundation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000001
Award Number: IOS-1250895
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