Abstract:

Wildlife biologists used single-pin dorsal fin mounted satellite transmitters to track the movements of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) captured and released in Barataria Bay, Louisiana (BAR) and near Dauphin Island, Alabama (DAU). The BAR health assessment was performed for 10 days (10 – 14, 16 – 20 Jul 2018) during which 34 dolphins were captured (♀ = 13, ♂ = 21) and 19 were satellite tagged (♀ = 6, ♂ = 13). The DAU health assessment was performed for 8 days (20 – 21, 23 – 28 Sep 2018) during which 17 dolphins were captured and satellite-tagged (♀ = 9, ♂ = 8). In BAR, KiwiSat tags transmitted for a mean of 75 ± 46 (SD) days with a mean of 184 ± 151 cumulative quality locations. In DAU, SPOT satellite tags (♀ = 9, ♂ = 8) transmitted for a mean of 153 ± 37 (SD) days with a mean of 607 + 214 cumulative quality locations.

Suggested Citation:

Brian Balmer, Aaron Barleycorn, Teresa Rowles, Cynthia Smith, Eric Zolman, and Lori Schwacke. 2020. Satellite telemetry of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) captured, tagged, and released in Barataria Bay, Louisiana and near Dauphin Island, Alabama from 2018-07-10 to 2019-04-10. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/n7-15s1-9j90

Publications:

Cloyed, C. S., Balmer, B. C., Schwacke, L. H., Takeshita, R., Hohn, A., Wells, R. S., … Carmichael, R. H. (2021). Linking morbillivirus exposure to individual habitat use of common bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops truncatus ) between geographically different sites. Journal of Animal Ecology, 90(5), 1191–1204. doi:10.1111/1365-2656.13446

Purpose:

To assess fine-scale movements of dolphins in Barataria Bay, Louisiana and near Dauphin Island, Alabama to inform assessments of dolphin health, behavior, stock structure, diet, and other parameters.

Data Parameters and Units:

Platform ID No. Argos Platform Transmitter Terminal identifier, which is a unique number identifying your instrument. Platform Not applicable to this dataset (Artifact from Argos output) Prg No. The Argos Program number that the PTT id belongs to. Pass dur. (s) Duration of the satellite pass (seconds) Msg Date Date and time that the message was received by Argos. Sat. The name of the Argos satellite that received the message. Alarm The message alarm level: N = None, D = Detection, C = Confirmation Format name The message's format name. Loc. date Date and time of location. Longitude Longitude calculated by Argos for the satellite pass of interest. Latitude Latitude calculated by Argos for the satellite pass of interest. Altitude Altitude of location calculated by Argos. Not applicable to marine deployments. Heading Not applicable to this dataset (Artifact from Argos output) Speed Not applicable to this dataset (Artifact from Argos output) Loc. quality Class of location generated by Argos for the satellite pass containing this message. When Argos determines a location, an estimated error is calculated as described in the Argos User’s Manual. Frequency Measured frequency of the Argos pass (Hz). Long. 1 Longitude of tag (same as 'Longitude'). Lat. sol. 1 Longitude of tag (same as 'Latitude') Long. 2 Argos DI messages contain a second longitude value, since their location algorithm can generate two possible positions. This is the second longitude value. Lat. sol. 2 Argos DI messages contain a second latitude value, since their location algorithm can generate two possible positions. This is the second latitude value. Loc. idx Location quality index (0…99). Nopc Number of likely checks. Comp. Number of duplicate messages in this satellite pass. Msg Number of messages received in this satellite pass. > - 120 DB Number of messages with a signal strength > -1200 dB. Best level dB level of best message in the pass. Delta freq. Same as 'Frequency.' Error radius If the position is best represented as a circle, this field gives the radius of that circle in meters. Semi-major axis If the estimated position error is best expressed as an ellipse, this field gives the length in meters of the semi-major elliptical axis (one half of the major axis). Semi-minor axis If the estimated position error is best expressed as an ellipse, this field gives the length in meters of the semi-minor elliptical axis (one half of the minor axis). Ellipse orientation The angle in degrees of the ellipse from true north, proceeding clockwise (0 to 360). A blank field represents 0 degrees. GDOP Geometric Dilution of Precision. Raw data Argos message in hexadecimal format. SENSOR 01 Raw message data. SENSOR 02 Raw message data. SENSOR 03 Raw message data. SENSOR 04 Raw message data. SENSOR 05 Raw message data. SENSOR 06 Raw message data. SENSOR 07 Raw message data. For more information, please refer to Argos User's Manual at https://www.argos-system.org/manual/

Methods:

Satellite transmitter specifications, programming, and attachment protocols have been detailed previously (Balmer et al. 2014; Wells et al. 2017). The KiwiSat 202 K2F and SPOT-299 tags had a projected battery life of 168 days and 280 days, respectively. To increase battery life and provide the highest quality location data, we programmed transmitters in the Advanced Research and Global Observation Satellite (ARGOS) data collection and location system (Collecte Localisation Satellites [CLS] 2011) to specifically target transmission windows with optimal satellite pass durations. The BAR KiwiSat 202 K2F tags were programmed for 4, 1-hour transmission windows (1300 – 1659 UTC) and the DAU SPOT-299 tags were programmed for 6, 1-hour transmission windows (0100 – 0259, 1300 – 1659 UTC). Tags were attached 38.4 mm from the trailing edge of the dorsal fin and affixed to the lower third of the dorsal fin. To reduce bio growth, we coated tags with Propspeed (Oceanmax, Ltd., Auckland, NZ) (excluding the saltwater switches). Telemetry data were received from the ARGOS CLS system. We then filtered the telemetry data through the Douglas ARGOS-filter algorithm (Douglas., 2006), which evaluates the plausibility of locations based upon spatial redundancy, ARGOS Location Class (LC), movement rates across time, and angle of movement between locations (Udevitz et al. 2009). ARGOS LC 3, 2, and 1 data were used for subsequent spatial analyses, with estimated errors of < 250 m, 250 – 500 m, and 500 – 1500 m, respectively.

Provenance and Historical References:

Balmer, B. C., Wells, R. S., Howle, L. E., Barleycorn, A. A., McLellan, W. A., Ann Pabst, D., Rowles, T.K., Schwacke, L.H., Townsend, F.I., Westgate, A.J. & Zolman, E.S. (2013). Advances in cetacean telemetry: A review of single-pin transmitter attachment techniques on small cetaceans and development of a new satellite-linked transmitter design. Marine Mammal Science, 30(2), 656–673. doi:10.1111/mms.12072 Douglas, D., (2006). The Douglas Argos-filter algorithm, version 7.03. US Geological Survey, Anchorage, Alaska. Udevitz, M. S., Jay, C. V., Fischbach, A. S., & Garlich-Miller, J. L. (2009). Modeling haul-out behavior of walruses in Bering Sea ice. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 87(12), 1111–1128. doi:10.1139/z09-098 Wells, R., Schwacke, L., Rowles, T., Balmer, B., Zolman, E., Speakman, T., Townsend, F.I., Tumlin, M.C., Barleycorn, A., & Wilkinson, K.A. (2017). Ranging patterns of common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Endangered Species Research, 33, 159–180. doi:10.3354/esr00732

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