Asset Tracking Whales—First Deployment of a Custom-Made GPS/GSM Suction Cup Tag on Migrating Humpback Whales
The study of marine mammals is greatly enhanced through fine scale data on habitat use. Here we used a commonly available asset tracker Global Positioning System/Global Systems for Mobile Communication (GPS/GSM) integrated into a CATS suction cup tag to test its feasibility in providing real time lo...
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2021
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9060597 |
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ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/2077-1312/9/6/597/ 2023-08-20T04:07:06+02:00 Asset Tracking Whales—First Deployment of a Custom-Made GPS/GSM Suction Cup Tag on Migrating Humpback Whales Jan-Olaf Meynecke Nikolai Liebsch agris 2021-05-30 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9060597 EN eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Marine Biology https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jmse9060597 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Journal of Marine Science and Engineering; Volume 9; Issue 6; Pages: 597 suction cup tags biotelemetry biologging humpback whales fine scale movement migratory behavior Text 2021 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9060597 2023-08-01T01:50:42Z The study of marine mammals is greatly enhanced through fine scale data on habitat use. Here we used a commonly available asset tracker Global Positioning System/Global Systems for Mobile Communication (GPS/GSM) integrated into a CATS suction cup tag to test its feasibility in providing real time location position on migrating humpback whales in coastal waters of eastern Australia. During two deployments—one on a suspected male and another on a female humpback whale—the tags provided location points with relatively high accuracy for both individuals albeit different swim behavior and surface intervals. In combination with an integrated archival data logger, the tag also provided detailed information on fine scale habitat use such as dive profiles. However, surface intervals were too short to allow for an upload of location data during deployment. Further improvements of the tag design will allow remote access to location data after deployment. Preliminary results suggested location acquisition was better when the tag was positioned well above the midline of the whale body. The technology promises less expensive, more reliable and more accurate short-term tracking of humpback whales compared to satellite relay tags, and it has the potential to be deployed on other marine mammals in coastal waters. Text Humpback Whale MDPI Open Access Publishing Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 9 6 597 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
MDPI Open Access Publishing |
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ftmdpi |
language |
English |
topic |
suction cup tags biotelemetry biologging humpback whales fine scale movement migratory behavior |
spellingShingle |
suction cup tags biotelemetry biologging humpback whales fine scale movement migratory behavior Jan-Olaf Meynecke Nikolai Liebsch Asset Tracking Whales—First Deployment of a Custom-Made GPS/GSM Suction Cup Tag on Migrating Humpback Whales |
topic_facet |
suction cup tags biotelemetry biologging humpback whales fine scale movement migratory behavior |
description |
The study of marine mammals is greatly enhanced through fine scale data on habitat use. Here we used a commonly available asset tracker Global Positioning System/Global Systems for Mobile Communication (GPS/GSM) integrated into a CATS suction cup tag to test its feasibility in providing real time location position on migrating humpback whales in coastal waters of eastern Australia. During two deployments—one on a suspected male and another on a female humpback whale—the tags provided location points with relatively high accuracy for both individuals albeit different swim behavior and surface intervals. In combination with an integrated archival data logger, the tag also provided detailed information on fine scale habitat use such as dive profiles. However, surface intervals were too short to allow for an upload of location data during deployment. Further improvements of the tag design will allow remote access to location data after deployment. Preliminary results suggested location acquisition was better when the tag was positioned well above the midline of the whale body. The technology promises less expensive, more reliable and more accurate short-term tracking of humpback whales compared to satellite relay tags, and it has the potential to be deployed on other marine mammals in coastal waters. |
format |
Text |
author |
Jan-Olaf Meynecke Nikolai Liebsch |
author_facet |
Jan-Olaf Meynecke Nikolai Liebsch |
author_sort |
Jan-Olaf Meynecke |
title |
Asset Tracking Whales—First Deployment of a Custom-Made GPS/GSM Suction Cup Tag on Migrating Humpback Whales |
title_short |
Asset Tracking Whales—First Deployment of a Custom-Made GPS/GSM Suction Cup Tag on Migrating Humpback Whales |
title_full |
Asset Tracking Whales—First Deployment of a Custom-Made GPS/GSM Suction Cup Tag on Migrating Humpback Whales |
title_fullStr |
Asset Tracking Whales—First Deployment of a Custom-Made GPS/GSM Suction Cup Tag on Migrating Humpback Whales |
title_full_unstemmed |
Asset Tracking Whales—First Deployment of a Custom-Made GPS/GSM Suction Cup Tag on Migrating Humpback Whales |
title_sort |
asset tracking whales—first deployment of a custom-made gps/gsm suction cup tag on migrating humpback whales |
publisher |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9060597 |
op_coverage |
agris |
genre |
Humpback Whale |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale |
op_source |
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering; Volume 9; Issue 6; Pages: 597 |
op_relation |
Marine Biology https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jmse9060597 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9060597 |
container_title |
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
597 |
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1774718535986053120 |