Backpack-mounted satellite transmitters do not affect reproductive performance in a migratory bustard

Burnside, John ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2859-7294, Guilherme, Joao, Collar, Nigel and Dolman, Paul ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9340-2791 (2019) Backpack-mounted satellite transmitters do not affect reproductive performance in a migratory bustard. European Journal of Wildlife Research, 65. ISSN 1612-4642

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Abstract

Backpack-mounted satellite transmitters (PTTs) are used extensively in the study of avian habitat use and of the movements and demography of medium- to large-bodied species, but can affect individuals’ performance and fitness. Transparent assessment of potential transmitter effects is important for both ethical accountability and confidence in, or adjustment to, life history parameter estimates. We assessed the influence of transmitters on seven reproductive parameters in Asian houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii, comparing 114 nests of 38 females carrying PTTs to 184 nests of untagged birds (non-PTT) over seven breeding seasons (2012‒2018) in Uzbekistan. There was no evidence of any influence of PTTs on: lay date (non-PTT x̅ = 91.7 Julian day ± 12.3 SD; PTT x̅ = 95.1 Julian day ± 15.7 SD); clutch size (non-PTT x̅ = 3.30 ± 0.68 SD; PTT x̅ = 3.25 ± 0.65 SD); mean egg weight at laying (non-PTT x̅ = 66.1g ± 5.4 SD; PTT x̅ = 66.4g ± 5.4 SD); nest success (non-PTT x̅ = 57.08% ± 4.3 SE; PTT x̅ = 58.24% ± 4.5 SE for nests started 2 April); egg hatchability (non-PTT x̅ = 88.3% ± 2.2 SE; PTT x̅ = 88.3% ± 2.6 SE); or chick survival to fledging from broods that had at least one surviving chick (non-PTT x̅ = 63.4% ± 4.2 SE; PTT x̅= 64.4% ± 4.7 SE). High nesting propensity (97.3% year-1 ± 1.9% SE) of tagged birds indicated minimal PTT effect on breeding probability. These findings show harness-mounted transmitters can give unbiased measures of demographic parameters of this species, and are relevant to other large-bodied, cursorial, ground-nesting birds of open habitats, particularly other bustards.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	asian houbara,chlamydotis macqueenii,satellite telemetry,nesting success,wildlife tracking,nature and landscape conservation,ecology,ecology, evolution, behavior and systematics ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2300/2309
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Environmental Biology
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	07 Dec 2019 02:18
Last Modified:	30 Sep 2024 00:17
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/73290
DOI:	10.1007/s10344-019-1332-0

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