An at-sea assessment of Argos location accuracy for three species of large whales, and the effect of deep-diving behavior on location error
Abstract Background Argos satellite telemetry is used globally to track terrestrial and aquatic megafauna, yet the accuracy of this system has been described empirically only for a limited number of species. We used Argos-linked archival tags with Fastloc GPS deployed on free-ranging sperm (Physeter...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:7150a81d06484150b45fe6ff1507c3e1 2023-05-15T15:36:26+02:00 An at-sea assessment of Argos location accuracy for three species of large whales, and the effect of deep-diving behavior on location error Ladd M. Irvine Martha H. Winsor Tomas M. Follett Bruce R. Mate Daniel M. Palacios 2020-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/s40317-020-00207-x https://doaj.org/article/7150a81d06484150b45fe6ff1507c3e1 EN eng BMC http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40317-020-00207-x https://doaj.org/toc/2050-3385 doi:10.1186/s40317-020-00207-x 2050-3385 https://doaj.org/article/7150a81d06484150b45fe6ff1507c3e1 Animal Biotelemetry, Vol 8, Iss 1, Pp 1-17 (2020) Argos error Satellite telemetry Satellite tracking Cetaceans Blue whale Fin whale Ecology QH540-549.5 Animal biochemistry QP501-801 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/s40317-020-00207-x 2022-12-30T21:19:51Z Abstract Background Argos satellite telemetry is used globally to track terrestrial and aquatic megafauna, yet the accuracy of this system has been described empirically only for a limited number of species. We used Argos-linked archival tags with Fastloc GPS deployed on free-ranging sperm (Physeter macrocephalus), blue (Balaenoptera musculus), and fin (B. physalus) whales to derive empirical estimates of Argos location errors for these species, examine possible behavior-related differences, and test the effect of incorporating species-specific error parameters on performance of a commonly used movement model. Results Argos location errors for blue and fin whale tags were similar and were combined (n = 1712 locations) for comparison against sperm whale tags (n = 1206 locations). Location error magnitudes for tags attached to sperm whales were significantly larger than blue/fin whale tags for almost all Argos location classes (LC), ranging from 964 m versus 647 m for LC 3, respectively, to 10,569 m versus 5589 m for LC B, respectively. However, these differences were not seen while tags floated at the surface after release. Sperm whale tags were significantly colder than ambient temperature when surfacing from a dive, compared to blue/fin whale tags (16.9 °C versus 1.3 °C, respectively) leading to larger changes in tag temperature during post-dive intervals. The increased rate of tag temperature change while at the surface was correlated to increased error magnitude for sperm whales but not blue/fin whales. Movement model performance was not significantly improved by incorporating species-specific error parameters. Conclusions Location accuracy estimates for blue/fin whales were within the range estimated for other marine megafauna, but were higher for sperm whales. Thermal inertia from deep, long-duration dives likely caused transmission frequency drift and greater Argos location error in sperm whales, as tags warmed at the surface during post-dive intervals. Thus, tracks of deep-diving species may be less ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Balaenoptera musculus Blue whale Fin whale Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Animal Biotelemetry 8 1 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Argos error Satellite telemetry Satellite tracking Cetaceans Blue whale Fin whale Ecology QH540-549.5 Animal biochemistry QP501-801 |
spellingShingle |
Argos error Satellite telemetry Satellite tracking Cetaceans Blue whale Fin whale Ecology QH540-549.5 Animal biochemistry QP501-801 Ladd M. Irvine Martha H. Winsor Tomas M. Follett Bruce R. Mate Daniel M. Palacios An at-sea assessment of Argos location accuracy for three species of large whales, and the effect of deep-diving behavior on location error |
topic_facet |
Argos error Satellite telemetry Satellite tracking Cetaceans Blue whale Fin whale Ecology QH540-549.5 Animal biochemistry QP501-801 |
description |
Abstract Background Argos satellite telemetry is used globally to track terrestrial and aquatic megafauna, yet the accuracy of this system has been described empirically only for a limited number of species. We used Argos-linked archival tags with Fastloc GPS deployed on free-ranging sperm (Physeter macrocephalus), blue (Balaenoptera musculus), and fin (B. physalus) whales to derive empirical estimates of Argos location errors for these species, examine possible behavior-related differences, and test the effect of incorporating species-specific error parameters on performance of a commonly used movement model. Results Argos location errors for blue and fin whale tags were similar and were combined (n = 1712 locations) for comparison against sperm whale tags (n = 1206 locations). Location error magnitudes for tags attached to sperm whales were significantly larger than blue/fin whale tags for almost all Argos location classes (LC), ranging from 964 m versus 647 m for LC 3, respectively, to 10,569 m versus 5589 m for LC B, respectively. However, these differences were not seen while tags floated at the surface after release. Sperm whale tags were significantly colder than ambient temperature when surfacing from a dive, compared to blue/fin whale tags (16.9 °C versus 1.3 °C, respectively) leading to larger changes in tag temperature during post-dive intervals. The increased rate of tag temperature change while at the surface was correlated to increased error magnitude for sperm whales but not blue/fin whales. Movement model performance was not significantly improved by incorporating species-specific error parameters. Conclusions Location accuracy estimates for blue/fin whales were within the range estimated for other marine megafauna, but were higher for sperm whales. Thermal inertia from deep, long-duration dives likely caused transmission frequency drift and greater Argos location error in sperm whales, as tags warmed at the surface during post-dive intervals. Thus, tracks of deep-diving species may be less ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ladd M. Irvine Martha H. Winsor Tomas M. Follett Bruce R. Mate Daniel M. Palacios |
author_facet |
Ladd M. Irvine Martha H. Winsor Tomas M. Follett Bruce R. Mate Daniel M. Palacios |
author_sort |
Ladd M. Irvine |
title |
An at-sea assessment of Argos location accuracy for three species of large whales, and the effect of deep-diving behavior on location error |
title_short |
An at-sea assessment of Argos location accuracy for three species of large whales, and the effect of deep-diving behavior on location error |
title_full |
An at-sea assessment of Argos location accuracy for three species of large whales, and the effect of deep-diving behavior on location error |
title_fullStr |
An at-sea assessment of Argos location accuracy for three species of large whales, and the effect of deep-diving behavior on location error |
title_full_unstemmed |
An at-sea assessment of Argos location accuracy for three species of large whales, and the effect of deep-diving behavior on location error |
title_sort |
at-sea assessment of argos location accuracy for three species of large whales, and the effect of deep-diving behavior on location error |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40317-020-00207-x https://doaj.org/article/7150a81d06484150b45fe6ff1507c3e1 |
genre |
Balaenoptera musculus Blue whale Fin whale Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale |
genre_facet |
Balaenoptera musculus Blue whale Fin whale Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale |
op_source |
Animal Biotelemetry, Vol 8, Iss 1, Pp 1-17 (2020) |
op_relation |
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40317-020-00207-x https://doaj.org/toc/2050-3385 doi:10.1186/s40317-020-00207-x 2050-3385 https://doaj.org/article/7150a81d06484150b45fe6ff1507c3e1 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40317-020-00207-x |
container_title |
Animal Biotelemetry |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766366784202473472 |