Plastic waste in the marine environment: A review of sources, occurrence and effects.

The current biodiversity crisis is characterized by the decline and extinction of numer- ous animal populations and species world-wide. To aid in understanding the threats and causes of population decline and the assessment of endangerment status of a species, conservation scientists and practitioners are increasingly relying on remote assessments using biotelemetry (radio telemetry, acoustic telemetry, satellite tracking) and biologging (archival loggers) or hybrid technologies (e.g. pop-up satellite tags). These tools offer increasingly sophisticated means (e.g. large-scale telemetry arrays, fine-scale positioning, and use of physiological and environmental sensors) of evaluating the behaviour, spatial ecology, energetics, and physiology of free-living animals in their natural environ- ment. Regional, national, and international threat assessments (e.g. the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List) require basic knowledge of animal distribution, emigration, behaviour, reproductive potential, mortality rates, and habitat use, which in many cases can all be obtained through biotelemetry and biologging studies. Such studies are particularly useful for under- standing the basic biology of animals living in harsh environments (e.g. polar regions, aquatic envi- ronments), for rapidly moving or cryptic animals, and for those that undertake large-scale move- ments/migrations (e.g. birds, insects, marine mammals and fish). The premise of this paper is that biotelemetry and biologging have much to offer and should be embraced by the conservation science community to aid in assessment of threats and endangerment status. It is crucial that studies on endangered species must not further contribute to species decline or retard recovery. As such, there are complicated ethical and legal considerations that must be considered prior to implementing tracking studies on endangered wildlife. Furthermore, as many endangered animal species occur in developing countries, there is a need to develop capacity (financial support for the research and tech- nical telemetry skills) for designing and conducting tracking studies. To stem the loss of biodiversity and aid in the recovery of endangered animal populations, there is a need for innovative and inter- disciplinary research, monitoring programs and research initiatives to inform decision makers. It is clear that biotelemetry and biologging are not a panacea; however, they are valuable tools available to conservation practitioners. Used appropriately, biotelemetry and biologging have the potential to provide data that is often unattainable using other techniques, and can reduce uncertainty in the assignment of conservation status.

http://www3.carleton.ca/fecpl/pdfs/Cooke_ESR_Review.pdf

Biotelemetry and biologging in endangered species research and animal conservation: relevance to regional, national, and IUCN Red List threat assessments

The field of marine tagging and tracking has grown rapidly in recent years as tag sizes have decreased and the diversity of sensors has increased. Tag data provide a unique view on individual movement patterns, at different scales than shipboard surveys, and have been used to discover new habitat areas, characterize oceanographic features, and delineate stock struc- tures, among other purposes. Due to the necessity for small tag-to-body size ratio, tags have largely been deployed on adult animals, resulting in a relative paucity of data on earlier life his- tory stages. In this study, we reviewed tagging efforts on multiple life history stages for seabirds, marine mammals, marine turtles, and fish and enumerated studies focusing on each guild that tar- geted larvae, juveniles or hatchlings. We found that turtles and fish had higher proportion of stud- ies focusing on juveniles (>20%) than seabirds and marine mammals (<10%). On both juveniles and adults, tags were used in a targeted manner with passive and transmitting tags as the main tools for population demography and connectivity studies, while GPS and archival tags were used more frequently for habitat analyses and foraging ecology. These findings identify the need to focus on novel approaches in tagging multiple life history stages both to study marine predator ecology and to effectively manage marine populations.

/pdf/ontogeny-in-marine-tagging-and-tracking-science-technologies-37ux84g1fm.pdf

Ontogeny in marine tagging and tracking science: technologies and data gaps

Two key factors influence the diving and hence foraging ability of marine mammals: increased oxygen stores prolong aerobic metabolism and decreased metabolism slows rate of fuel consumption. In young animals, foraging ability may be physiologically limited due to low total body oxygen stores and high mass specific metabolic rates. To examine the development of dive physiology in Steller sea lions, total body oxygen stores were measured in animals from 1 to 29 months of age and used to estimate aerobic dive limit (ADL). Blood oxygen stores were determined by measuring hematocrit, hemoglobin, and plasma volume, while muscle oxygen stores were determined by measuring myoglobin concentration and total muscle mass. Around 2 years of age, juveniles attained mass specific total body oxygen stores that were similar to those of adult females; however, their estimated ADL remained less than that of adults, most likely due to their smaller size and higher mass specific metabolic rates. These findings indicate that juvenile Steller sea lion oxygen stores remain immature for more than a year, and therefore may constrain dive behavior during the transition to nutritional independence.

/pdf/ontogeny-of-total-body-oxygen-stores-and-aerobic-dive-4235pjsqgu.pdf

Ontogeny of total body oxygen stores and aerobic dive potential in Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus)

Short-term bursts of prey availability occur in many ecosystems and have potential important consequences for both predator biology and ecosystem function. Examples of prey ‘pulses’ in marine ecosystems include spawning runs of several anadromous and marine fishes, horseshoe crab spawning, and salmonid juvenile outmigrations, which are exploited by numerous species of vertebrate predators. In a few cases, the fitness or demographic consequences of such predator–prey interactions are known or inferred, but too often that information remains unknown. We explored the extent of temporal and spatial variation in one example of a pulsed marine resource: the spawning of Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii). Spawning herring provide a rich, aggregated resource to which dozens of species of vertebrate predators often exhibit strong numerical responses. However, the spawning events are often variable in both time (annual differences of several to many weeks) and space (both regional and more local differences in size and timing of events). Such variability must affect more mobile predators less than area-restricted predators, and thus its effect would vary not only among species but also within species, depending on constraints of the predator life history. Unpredictability of the prey concentrations, whatever their proximate causes, may contribute to maintenance of metapopulations of prey such as herring, if unpredictability lessens the impact of predation.

Vertebrate exploitation of pulsed marine prey: a review and the example of spawning herring

Studies of health, survival, and development of juvenile Alaskan Steller sea lions (Eametopias jubatus, SSL) require accurate estimates of age for wild-captured animals. However, the value and accuracy of several potential predictors of age have not been assessed with data from known-age free-ranging animals. During 2001-2005, forty-six individual SSL originally branded or tagged at ≤6 mo of age were recaptured by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG followed by DSL, DIAS, and WHIS (r 2 = 0.70, 0.56, and 0.45, respectively). The inclusion of a single sample from a 44-mo-old sea lion suggested quadratic relationships between age and all predictors for older animals. Only models including CTL predicted age to within 6 mo of known age. The equation Age = (-3.0112 + [0.6726 * CTL] + [0.4965 * DIAS]) allows for accurate age estimates of SSL ≤23 mo for both sexes.

A field‐based method for estimating age in free‐ranging steller sea lions (eumetopias jubatus) less than twenty‐four months of age

Population declines of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias juhatus) in western Alaska (west of 144°W) may be a result of reduced juvenile survival. We used satellite telemetry to study the at-sea distribution and movement patterns of pup (1.6–11.9 mo) and juvenile (12.0–35.1 mo) Steller sea lions. We studied trip distance, duration, and interhaul-out movements of sea lions in relation to age, sex, and month of year in the decreasing western population (WP; Prince William Sound, Kodiak, Aleutian Islands, Alaska) and the increasing eastern population (EP; Southeast Alaska). We deployed 103 satellite transmitters (29 WP; 74 EP) on sea lions between 1998 and 2001. Round trip distance and duration increased with age, trip distance was greater in the WP than the EP, trip duration was greater for females than males, and haul-out use was clustered. Changes in round trip distance and duration occurred from April to June for all age classes studied indicating that the annual timing of weaning may be less variable than the age of weaning. Overall, 90% of round trips were ≤ 15 km from haul-outs and 84% were <20 h, indicating nearshore areas adjacent to haulouts are critical to the developing juvenile.

Development of dispersal, movement patterns, and haul‐out use by pup and juvenile steller sea lions (eumetopias jubatus) in alaska

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A field‐based method for estimating age in free‐ranging steller sea lions (eumetopias jubatus) less than twenty‐four months of age

Development of dispersal, movement patterns, and haul‐out use by pup and juvenile steller sea lions (eumetopias jubatus) in alaska