Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Mar 377 > Techniques and Technologies for Studying Seabirds > Flashcards

Techniques and Technologies for Studying Seabirds Flashcards

1
Q

Why is understanding at-sea habitat use critical to understanding seabird biology, movement and conservation in seabirds?

A

Outside of the breeding system seabirds spend most of their time at sea.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Movement

A

Any tracked movement that is not migration

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Migration

A

Implies periodic two way movement to and from a given area

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Why do seabirds migrate?

A
  • To separate breeding and feeding grounds (some breeding grounds may not be as productive as feeding grounds)
  • Follow environmental conditions and foraging movements
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What are the two different types of foraging movements?

A
  • Pelagic hunters (not breeding)
  • Central-place foragers (breeding)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Describe central place foragers

A

Always return to a central place when foraging (“home-base”)
Why is this a huge constraint

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

what can influence foraging movements?

A

Oceanography: Foraging movements are closely tied to physical oceanographic features (ex: fronts, upwellings, sea mounts etc.)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Why study animal movement?

A

To understand:
- Distribution and habitat use
- Foraging search strategies
- Animal navigation
- Spread of diseases
- Conservation biology

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What are challenges in studying seabird movements?

A
  • They live most of their lives offshore
  • Most sampling is conducted at breeding locations (Why is this a problem?)
  • Difficult to catch at foraging locations
  • Differential habitat use by sex, age, and class (Breeding adults and chicks spend most of their time at the breeding colonies, juveniles and non-breeding adults spend most of their time at sea)
  • Tags must be be light weight so that they do not weigh birds down
  • Important movements occur at depth but observations take place at the surface
  • Physical environment is hard on tracking instruments
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Banding

A
  • Important for tracking same individual bird
  • No data transmission (just recognition)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What are some limitations of bird banding?

A

Banding is not an accurate depiction of birds full activity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Time Depth Recorders (TDRs)

A
  • Developed first in the 1960s (Gerry Kooyman)
  • What depth is the bird diving at and at what time (the only info is time and depth)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

VHF Tags

A
  • Radio tags (before GPS)
  • Tag sends out signals that get picked up by a receiver at fixed stations when bird flies by (you are not actively tracking the bird)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What are limitations of VHF tags

A

Low spatial resolution

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What are commonly used tagging technologies today?

A
  • Satellite tags
  • GPS tags
  • GLS tags
  • Activity loggers
  • Accelerometers
  • Magnetometers
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What are limitations of PTT tags?

A
  • The battery life is not long
  • They are big (limited to bigger bird species)
  • Low / uneven temporal resolution
  • Argos system is limited to the number of positional fixes that can be taken per day
  • Positional accuracy of Argos varies
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Argos Satellites

A
  • Provide info. on animal movement and oceanographic features
  • Actively transmit data
  • Data collection and relay system that provides global coverage by “piggy backing” on polar-orbiting satellites
  • Used since late 1980s
  • Provides data on wide variety of applications
18
Q

Icarus Satellite

A
  • Actively transmits data
  • International Cooperation for Animal Research Using Space
  • Satellite based
  • Tracks migratory patterns of animals
  • Allows the use of trackers that do not require a strong signal and can therefore be smaller (Can tag and track smaller animals)
19
Q

Archival Tags

A
  • Tags must be physically recovered (most likely during next breeding season)
  • Record detailed movement or activity data (ex: speed, depth and temperature)
20
Q

GPS Tags

A
  • High spatial resolution
  • Archival (must be retrieved to collect data)
  • Can be combined with Argos or GSM
21
Q

Geolocator Tags (GLS Tags)

A
  • Utilize light to calculate birds longitude and latitude
  • Can track seabird movements for long periods (several years)
  • Not as accurate as GPS or ARGOS
  • Cheap and small
22
Q

What are some limitations of GLS tags?

A
  • Low spatial resolution
  • Only good at measuring broad-scale migration patterns
23
Q

Activity or Immersion Loggers

A
  • Wet/dry sensor
  • Indicates if a bird is in flight or in water (foraging)
  • Can be used with GPS tags to identify foraging locations
24
Q

What are some limitations of activity or immersion loggers?

A

Must be combined with tracking data to establish high resolution movements

25
Q

Accelerometer

A
  • Measures change in velocity of the body over time
  • Provided detailed high resolution information on 3D movements
  • Improvements in size and weight have allowed them to be deployed on smaller seabirds
26
Q

What are some limitations of accelerometers?

A
  • Limited battery life
  • Short duration deployments only
27
Q

What are accelerometers typically used for?

A
  • Examine specific behaviors (ex: flapping flight)
  • To estimate energetic expenditure
28
Q

Magnetometers

A
  • Can identify the heading of a bird (North or South)
  • Ex: Albatross dynamic flight
29
Q

What effects do tags have on seabirds?

A

Tags can affect:
- Movement
- Behavior
- Health

30
Q

Explain why tagging is considered to be data rich?

A
  • It is easier to get money (funding) for tagging seabirds (data collection) than it is to analyze that data
31
Q

Describe stable isotope analysis in tissues

A
  • Can be conducted on different tissues ( skin, egg yolk, bone etc.)
  • Measurements of tissues from the same individual can be used to provide dietary information over different time scales
  • Metabolically inactive tissues (hair, skin, whiskers, nails, feathers etc.) reflect diet only during growth period
32
Q

How can stable isotopes be used to trace animal migrations?

A
  • Foodweb isotopic signatures are reflected in the tissues of organisms
  • Isotopic signatures can vary spatially
  • Organisms moving between distinct foodwebs carry information on the location of previous feeding grounds for periods that depend on the turnover rates for the tissue of interest (ex: bones have a longer turnover rate than blood)
33
Q

What is an isoscape?

A

A map that tells you weal habitat birds are feeding in

34
Q

How can mercury be used to track habitat use?

A
  • Methylmercury accumulates in aquatic but not terrestrial foods
  • Can identify terrestrial vs. marine foraging habitats
35
Q

Eularian tagging technique

A
  • Fixed in space
  • Can gain information about a large number of individuals at a particular location
36
Q

Lagrangian tagging technique

A
  • Moving with an individual
  • Can gather information about a small number of individuals across a large area
37
Q

What are the advantages of studying seabirds at breeding colonies?

A
  • Gain information on how individual level behavior translates into population processes
38
Q

What techniques can be used to study seabirds at breeding colonies?

A
  • Nest balances
  • Egg loggers
  • Autonomous acoustic sensors
  • Radar
39
Q

Nest balances

A
  • Remotely measures chick (or adult) mass between feedings (can quantify meal mass)
  • Can learn about meal mass at different foraging locations for different trip durations when combined with tracking studies
40
Q

Egg loggers

A
  • Egg turning and incubation are critical to embryo development and hatching success (how is this different between species and how does it impact reproductive success)
  • Developed using 3D accelerometers, magnetometers, and temperature loggers
41
Q

Autonomous acoustic sensors

A
  • Record vocalizations
  • Can estimate abundances
42
Q

Radar

A
  • Can study movements of seabirds for many years
  • Useful for nocturnal species that return to nest sites at night
  • Can be used to identify bird species

Mar 377 (16 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions