Explore the vast range of titles available.

We assessed the feasibility of marking ruby-throated hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. We trapped 27 hummingbirds at feeding stations on a 2.0-ha study site. We subcutaneously implanted each hummingbird with a 0.067-g RFID tag and released it at the capture site. We deployed RFID transceiver systems at 5 feeding stations and electronically monitored tagged hummingbird activity continuously on the study site through 3 summers. Post-release relocation rate exceeded expectations based on previous leg band recovery data, and bird activity data acquisition was consistent and reliable and required minimum labor.

In an attempt to standardize elements of the station routine, the book describes the procedures used in passerine and wader ringing stations. It offers a comparative analysis of versatile evaluation techniques such as measurements, orientation experiments and monitoring. The authors meticulously analyze different methods used to track birds, including catching passerines with mist-nets in land and wetland habitat, as well as the use of the Heligoland trap. The monograph, as a successful bid to establish a bird station routine that is favourable to both birds and ringers, will benefit all professional and amateur ringers.

Currently, the deployment of tracking devices is one of the most frequently used approaches to study movement ecology of birds. Recent miniaturization of light‐level geolocators enabled studying small bird species whose migratory patterns were widely unknown. However, geolocators may reduce vital rates in tagged birds and may bias obtained movement data. There is a need for a thorough assessment of the potential tag effects on small birds, as previous meta‐analyses did not evaluate unpublished data and impact of multiple life‐history traits, focused mainly on large species and the number of published studies tagging small birds has increased substantially. We quantitatively reviewed 549 records extracted from 74 published and 48 unpublished studies on over 7,800 tagged and 17,800 control individuals to examine the effects of geolocator tagging on small bird species (body mass <100 g). We calculated the effect of tagging on apparent survival, condition, phenology and breeding performance and identified the most important predictors of the magnitude of effect sizes. Even though the effects were not statistically significant in phylogenetically controlled models, we found a weak negative impact of geolocators on apparent survival. The negative effect on apparent survival was stronger with increasing relative load of the device and with geolocators attached using elastic harnesses. Moreover, tagging effects were stronger in smaller species. In conclusion, we found a weak effect on apparent survival of tagged birds and managed to pinpoint key aspects and drivers of tagging effects. We provide recommendations for establishing matched control group for proper effect size assessment in future studies and outline various aspects of tagging that need further investigation. Finally, our results encourage further use of geolocators on small bird species but the ethical aspects and scientific benefits should always be considered. Tagging slightly reduces only apparent survival of treated birds. The authors found stronger tagging effects when relatively heavier tags were used and no differences between published and unpublished studies. Finally, they call for the control group establishment in all future studies and provide guidelines for the selection of control individuals.

Biologging has revealed many of the mysteries surrounding seabird behavior far from land. However, tagging seabirds with biologgers may influence the very traits they are designed to observe. Such ‘tag effects’ are often argued to be minimal below a threshold of 3% of body mass. Nonetheless, few studies carefully separate handling from tagging effects, so the effect of tag size is often confounded with the effect of handling. Puffins, including rhinoceros auklets Cerorhinca monocerata, are notoriously difficult to work with due to high nest abandonment rates. To examine tagging and handling effects in rhinoceros auklets, we compared abandonment rates of individuals equipped with a GPS weighing ~2.3% of body mass with abandonment rates of birds handled but not equipped, and of birds not handled at all (controls). We used the egg flotation technique to estimate egg development and predict hatching date, thus allowing treatments to be applied at the appropriate time. Handling more than doubled abandonment rates compared to control birds, and tagging more than doubled abandonment rates compared to birds that were handled but not tagged. Abandonment rates decreased as incubation progressed and were lowest during chick-rearing. We conclude that both handling and tagging of auklets increase abandonment, and that effects are lowest during chick-rearing.

Collisions with powerlines affect birds worldwide, including countries such as Belgium where a nationwide model indicated high avian collision risk in the IJzerbroeken region (seasonally flooded riverside wetlands). Large numbers of waterbirds winter in this area, which is crossed by a 70-kV transmission line. To manage avian collision risk, the transmission system operator, Elia, installed AB Hammarprodukter’s FireFly™ FF line markers incorporating reflective, glow-in-the-dark, high contrast, and moving elements intended to increase the visibility of the transmission line to flying birds. We evaluated the effectiveness of FireFly line markers by comparing the numbers of avian carcasses found during 11 surveys annually in 2001 and 2018 (22 total surveys) before line markers were installed compared with 11 surveys conducted in 2021 after line marking. Before line marking, we found 30 avian carcasses attributable to collision in 2001 and 113 in 2018. After, we found six carcasses attributable to collision in 2021. In 2021, FireFly line markers correlated with a reduction in collision rate, depending on the pre-treatment year and species group, of at least 85% and up to 100%. The line was composed of two configurations, with half of the spans (two-thirds of the monitored line length) supported by tall pylons with shield wires, and half of the spans supported by shorter pylons without shield wires. After line marking, six collisions (100% in 2021) occurred on spans supported by tall pylons, and none (0%) occurred on spans supported by short pylons. Thus, in 2021, FireFly line markers correlated with an observed mortality reduction of at least 73% and up to 100%, depending on the configuration being considered. These findings suggest FireFly line markers substantially reduced wintering bird collisions in our study area.

Collisions of birds with power transmission and distribution lines have been documented for many species, and cause millions of casualties worldwide. Attempts to reduce mortality from such collisions include placing bird flight diverters (i.e., wire markers in the form of, e.g., spirals, swivels, plates, or spheres) on static and some electrified wires to increase their visibility. Although studies of the effectiveness of such devices have yielded contradictory results, the implementation of flight diverters is increasing rapidly. We reviewed the results of studies in which transmission or distribution wires were marked and conducted a meta-analysis to examine the effectiveness of flight diverters in reducing bird mortality. We included in our meta-analysis all studies in which researchers searched for carcasses of birds killed by a collision with wires.In those studies that also included data on flight frequency, we examined 8 covariates of effectiveness: source of data, study design, alternate design (if marked and unmarked spans were alternated in the same line), periodicity of searches for carcasses, width of the search transect, and number of species, lines, and stretches of wire searched. The presence of flight diverters was associated with a decrease in bird collisions. At unmarked lines, there were 0.21 deaths/1000 birds (n = 339,830) that flew among lines or over lines. At marked lines, the mortality rate was 78% lower (n = 1,060,746). Only the number of species studied had a significant influence on effect size; this was larger in studies that addressed more species. When comparing mortality at marked and unmarked lines, we recommend use of the same time intervals and habitats and standardizing the periodicity of carcass searches. La colision de aves con tendidos eléctricos tanto de transmision como de distribución ha sido documentada en numerosas especies y causa millones de muertes en todo el mundo. Los intentos para reducir la mortalidad causada por dichas colisiones incluyen la colocacion de dispositivos anticolision (i. e., marcadores en cables con forma de espiral, dispositivos giratorios, platillos o esferas) en los cables de tierra, asi como, a veces, en los conductores, para aumentar su visibilidad. Aunque los estudios llevados a cabo sobre la efectividad de tales medidas han llegado a conclusiones contradictorias, la instalacion de dispositivos anticolision esta aumentando rapidamente. Revisamos los resultados de los estudios en los que se seualizaron cables de transmisión de distribución y llevamos a cabo un metanalisis para examinar la eficacia de los dispositivos anticolisión a la hora de reducir la mortalidad. Incluimos en nuestro metanalisis todos los trabajos en los que los investigadores realizaron una búsqueda de aves muertas tras colisionar con los cables. En aquellos estudios que además incluyeron frecuencias de vuelo, examinamos 8 covariables de la efectividad: origen de los datos, diseño del estudio, diseno altemado (si los vanos senalizados banda de busqueda, y numéro de especies, tendidos y tramos muestreados. La instalacion de dispositivos anticolision estuvo ligada a un descenso en el numéro de aves colisionadas. En los tendidos sin señalizar,bubo 0.21 muertes/1,000 aves (n = 339,830) que cruzaron los cables. En los tendidos marcados, la mortalidad fue un 78% inferior (n = 1,060,746). Sólo el núméro de especies estudiadas tuvo una influencia significativa en el tamaño del efecto; éste fue mayor en aquellos trabajos que estudiaron más especies. Cuando se compare la mortalidad en tendidos señalizados y sin señalizar, recomendamos que se usen los mismos intervalos de tiempo y habitats y que se estandarice la periodicidad de la búsqueda de cadaveres.

Studies on bird behavior have benefited from the miniaturization of tracking devices and the opportunities for massive data collection facilitated by extensive satellite and cellular infrastructures. However, assessments of the effects of tracking devices on the behavior and survival of birds are rarely conducted and disseminated – raising animal welfare concerns, risking project failure, and hindering optimization of tracking methods within the ornithological community. We quantified the effects of tracking devices on banded dotterels Anarhynchus bicinctus – a threatened, small‐bodied (median 59 g), partially migratory shorebird native to New Zealand and a priority for conservation planning on Austral flyways. We deployed ten 1.2‐g archival GPS loggers and ten 1.8‐ to 2‐g Argos satellite transmitters on breeding dotterels in Kaikōura, New Zealand. Including leg rings and silicone‐tubing leg‐loop harness, deployments constituted 2.7–4.3% of an average individual's mass (or 1.9–3.4% for the device alone). Both tracking devices documented the curiously mixed winter strategies characteristic of banded dotterels: migrants flew north to the upper North Island or south to the Canterbury Plains, while other individuals stayed resident in Kaikōura. Compared to a control group of 74 dotterels without tracking devices, neither technology had adverse effects on subsequent breeding outcomes, annual apparent survival, behavior, or body condition, but Argos satellite trackers provided data over a longer period than archival GPS loggers. One possible reason for the absence of adverse effects could be that banded dotterels (and other Charadriinae species) primarily rely on ground‐based locomotion, characterized mainly by walking and running – movements that are less hindered by the added mass of auxiliary attachments. Our findings support the ‘3% rule' (i.e. using device weight alone as a guideline), but we suggest that deployment limits of tracking devices could be refined by considering both the species' ability to carry additional weight and its primary mode of locomotion.

Current guidelines for instrumenting birds state that external devices should not exceed 3–5% of the birds’ body mass; however, the energetic consequences of carrying any given device mass are likely to vary according to the morphology and ecology of the species concerned. We used a freeware program to estimate the mechanical power requirements of flight at the minimum power speed for 80 species of flying seabird from 8 major groups with payloads of increasing mass. Devices representing 3% of the bird’s body mass resulted in an increase in energy expenditure for flight ranging from 4.67 to 5.71% without accounting for the increase in body drag coefficient associated with external devices. This effect differed within and between seabird lineages with members of the Alcidae and Phalacrocoracidae experiencing the highest energetic costs of any increase in device mass. We propose that device effects on seabirds could be further reduced through consideration of species-specific effects of added payload and drag.

Investigator disturbance while monitoring seabirds can result in lower survival rates and breeding success, leaving lasting negative impacts on the population and biasing observations. For example, monitoring rhinoceros auklets ( Cerorhinca monocerata ) and other burrowing alcids can reduce breeding success or even survival through handling stress and damage to nesting habitat. For this reason, researchers must seek to decrease colony disturbance. Automated radio-frequency identification (RFID) via passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags is an inexpensive and reliable way to identify individual presence and record attendance behaviour, avoiding the need to recapture seabirds or visit the colony frequently. PIT tags either can be implanted subcutaneously or attached externally to leg bands, but it is unclear which method causes lower disturbance. To examine the impact of PIT tagging on rhinoceros auklets nesting in artificial burrows on Middleton Island, Alaska, we monitored burrow entrances with automated recording RFID readers to collect presence and nest attendance data. PIT-tagged (either band attachment or subcutaneous implant) and control birds had similar breeding success and chick growth rates. Breeding success was similar between nests with one or two parents marked. Birds tagged externally were detected less often than birds marked with a subcutaneous implant. We conclude that PIT tagging of rhinoceros auklets is a relatively non-invasive method for seabird monitoring, and that subcutaneous implants do not cause more disturbance than external attachment.

Biologgers enable real‐time collection of detailed behavioural and physiological data from wide‐ranging animals, including seabirds inhabiting remote regions. However, the number of studies using tracking devices has not been matched by research exploring the behavioural and fitness costs of deployment, and the effects on data reliability. We assessed how GPS loggers, video loggers, and time depth recorders (TDRs) affect the behaviour, physiology, and reproductive performance of European shags Gulosus aristotelis breeding on Sklinna, Norway. The loggers varied in mass, attachment location and deployment duration, allowing comparison of their relative effects. Birds without loggers served as controls to assess logger‐related changes in adult body mass, chick growth, reproductive success, and survival. Birds with longer‐term tail‐mounted GPS loggers and leg‐mounted TDRs showed altered foraging behaviour, including shorter trips and dives, compared to birds with tail‐mounted GPS and TDRs of the same weight, instrumented for only two days. A mean loss in body mass was experienced by adult birds regardless of the logger type used, while chick growth rate dropped to 20% of that observed in control nests when video, TDR and GPS loggers (~ 4% of body mass) were deployed together. Logger attachments did not impact reproductive success, and overall logger birds showed higher survival than controls. However, female survival was lower than that of males among birds fitted with video and long‐term GPS loggers. Our results demonstrate the importance of measuring behavioural and physiological effects that can scale over time. The advances in our understanding of animal ecology and behaviour generated by biologging have been impressive, but there is a need to consider the impacts on animal welfare and data quality. Consistent reporting of logger deployment details is essential to assess biologging impacts across species and refine protocols that account for device weight, drag and attachment location.