Short-term effects of GPS collars on the activity, behavior, and adrenal response of scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah)

Autor: John Newby, Tim Wacher, Melissa Songer, Peter Leimgruber, Janine L. Brown, Michael J. Byron, Jared A. Stabach, Dolores Reed, Katherine Mertes, Grant M. Connette, Steven L. Monfort, Joel L. Mota, Pierre Comizzoli, Stephanie A. Cunningham
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2019
Předmět:
Time Factors
Physiology
Social Sciences
Gps collar
Wildlife
Biochemistry
Africa
Northern
Telemetry
Medicine and Health Sciences
Metabolites
Psychology
Multidisciplinary
biology
Behavior
Animal
Animal Behavior
Eukaryota
Animal Tagging
Oryx
Navigation
Physiological Parameters
Global Positioning System
Engineering and Technology
Medicine
Research Article
Movement
Animal Types
Science
Animals
Wild
Scimitar-horned oryx
Research and Analysis Methods
Wearable Electronic Devices
Animal science
Animal welfare
biology.animal
Tissue damage
Animals
Behavior
business.industry
Biological Locomotion
Endangered Species
Body Weight
Organisms
Biology and Life Sciences
Headshaking
Metabolism
Antelopes
Animal ecology
Geographic Information Systems
Animal Studies
Electronics
Accelerometers
business
Head
Zoology
Stress
Psychological
Zdroj: PLoS ONE, Vol 15, Iss 2, p e0221843 (2020)
PLoS ONE
DOI: 10.1101/740191
Popis: GPS collars have revolutionized the field of animal ecology, providing detailed information on animal movement and the habitats necessary for species survival. GPS collars also have the potential to cause adverse effects ranging from mild irritation to severe tissue damage, reduced fitness, and death. The impact of GPS collars on the behavior, stress, or activity, however, have rarely been tested on study species prior to release. The objective of our study was to provide a comprehensive assessment of the short-term effects of GPS collars fitted on scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah), an extinct-in-the-wild antelope once widely distributed across Sahelian grasslands in North Africa. We conducted behavioral observations, assessed fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM), and evaluated high-resolution data from tri-axial accelerometers. Using a series of non-standard regression models, we illustrate clear but short-term effects to animals fitted with GPS collars. Behavioral observations highlighted a significant increase in the amount of headshaking from pre-treatment levels, returning below baseline levels during the post-treatment period (>3 days post-collaring). Similarly, FGM concentrations (i.e., stress hormones) increased after GPS collars were fitted on animals but returned to pre-collaring levels within 5 days of collaring. Lastly, tri-axial accelerometers, collecting data at eight positions per second, indicated a > 480 percent increase in the amount of hourly headshaking immediately after collaring. This post-collaring increase in headshaking was estimated to decline in magnitude within 4 hours after GPS collar fitting. These effects constitute a handling and/or habituation response (model dependent), with animals showing short-term responses in activity, behavior, and stress that dissipated within several hours to several days of being fitted with GPS collars. Importantly, none of our analyses indicated any long-term effects that would have more pressing animal welfare concerns.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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