Envisioning the Future of Aquatic Animal Tracking: Technology, Science, and Application

Supplementing electronic tagging with conventional tagging to redesign fishery closed areas

Improved estimation of discard mortality rates with in situ experiments involving electronic and traditional tagging

Invasive species alter ecosystem structure and function when they establish in new habitats. Although preventing or managing invasions is extremely important for maintaining biodiversity, doing so is difficult and requires efficient intervention. Remote monitoring of free-living animals with electronic tags (i.e. tags that transmit data remotely or log them for future retrieval) can contribute important knowledge about invasive animal biology. A quantitative literature review identified instances in which electronic tagging has contributed to studying invasions. Electronic tags were generally used for one of four purposes: (1) characterize spatial ecology; (2) identify interactions; (3) assess risk potential; or (4) evaluate management options. Overall, electronic tags have considerable potential for developing, refining, and evaluating invasion management strategies that contribute to conservation efforts. We explore the role of electronic tags as a component of integrated control program design and implementation for invasive animals.

Using movement data from electronic tags in fisheries stock assessment: A review of models, technology and experimental design

Electronic Tagging and Tracking of Animals in Inland Waters

The advent of 'intelligent,' electronic data bearing tags is set to revolutionize the way industrial and retail products are identified and tracked throughout their life cycles. The dominant system for unique identification today is the bar code, which is based on printed symbology and regulated by the International Article Numbering Association. Bar codes provide users with significant operational advantages and generate considerable added value to packaging companies, product manufacturers, distributors and retailers, across supply chains in many different sectors, from retailing, to baggage handling and industrial components, e.g., for vehicles or aircraft. Electronic tags offer the potential to: (1) record and store more complex data about the product or any modifications which occur during its life cycle; (2) access (and up-date) stored data in real time in a way which does not involve contact with the product or article; (3) overcome the limitations imposed by systems which rely on line-of-sight access to stored data. Companies are now beginning to consider how electronic data tags can be used, not only to improve the efficiency of their supply chain processes, but also to revolutionize the way they do business. This paper reviews the applications and business opportunities for electronic tags and outlines CEST's strategy for achieving an 'open' standard which will ensure that tags from different vendors can co-exist on an international basis.

Electronic tags that archive or transmit stored data to satellites have advanced the mapping of habitats used by highly migratory fish in pelagic ecosystems. Here we report on the electronic tagging of 772 Atlantic bluefin tuna in the western Atlantic Ocean in an effort to identify population structure. Reporting electronic tags provided accurate location data that show the extensive migrations of individual fish (n = 330). Geoposition data delineate two populations, one using spawning grounds in the Gulf of Mexico and another from the Mediterranean Sea. Transatlantic movements of western-tagged bluefin tuna reveal site fidelity to known spawning areas in the Mediterranean Sea. Bluefin tuna that occupy western spawning grounds move to central and eastern Atlantic foraging grounds. Our results are consistent with two populations of bluefin tuna with distinct spawning areas that overlap on North Atlantic foraging grounds. Electronic tagging locations, when combined with US pelagic longline observer and logbook catch data, identify hot spots for spawning bluefin tuna in the northern slope waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Restrictions on the time and area where longlining occurs would reduce incidental catch mortalities on western spawning grounds.

Predation is a fundamental aspect of ecology that drives ecosystem structure and function. A better understanding of predation can be facilitated by using electronic tags that log or transmit positions of predator or prey species in natural settings, however, there are special considerations that must be made to avoid biased estimates. We provide an overview of the tools available for studying predation with electronic tags including the tag types and analytical tools that can be used to identify where, when and how prey are killed by predators. We also discuss considerations for experimental design when studying predation using electronic tags, including how to minimize effects of capture and tagging procedures. Ongoing innovation and integration of sensors for tags will provide more detailed data about the performance of tagged predators and the fate of tagged prey. Where analysts can effectively resolve the timing of predation using state‐of‐the‐art tags and analytical tools, we foresee exciting advances in our understanding of animal demographics, evolutionary trajectories and management systems. Prospects to develop new tools and approaches for tracking predation while designing studies to more effectively limit bias are an important frontier for understanding ecosystems and addressing human–wildlife conflicts. Given great uncertainties about environmental change and intensifying conflicts between humans and predators, effective study designs integrating electronic tagging to study predation have a promising future in fundamental and applied ecology.

Electronic tags have been used widely for more than a decade in studies of diverse marine species. However, despite significant investment in tagging programs and hardware, data management aspects have received insufficient attention, leaving researchers without a comprehensive toolset to manage their data easily. The growing volume of these data holdings, the large diversity of tag types and data formats, and the general lack of data management resources are not only complicating integration and synthesis of electronic tagging data in support of resource management applications but potentially threatening the integrity and longer-term access to these valuable datasets. To address this critical gap, Tagbase has been developed as a well-rounded, yet accessible data management solution for electronic tagging applications. It is based on a unified relational model that accommodates a suite of manufacturer tag data formats in addition to deployment metadata and reprocessed geopositions. Tagbase includes an integrated set of tools for importing tag datasets into the system effortlessly, and provides reporting utilities to interactively view standard outputs in graphical and tabular form. Data from the system can also be easily exported or dynamically coupled to GIS and other analysis packages. Tagbase is scalable and has been ported to a range of database management systems to support the needs of the tagging community, from individual investigators to large scale tagging programs. Tagbase represents a mature initiative with users at several institutions involved in marine electronic tagging research.

Considerable technical developments over the past half century have enabled widespread application of electronic tags to the study of animals in the wild, including in freshwater environments. We review the constraints associated with freshwater telemetry and biologging and the technical developments relevant to their use. Technical constraints for tracking animals are often influenced by the characteristics of the animals being studied and the environment they inhabit. Collectively, they influence which and how technologies can be used and their relative effectiveness. Although radio telemetry has historically been the most commonly used technology in freshwater, passive integrated transponder (PIT) technology, acoustic telemetry and biologgers are becoming more popular. Most telemetry studies have focused on fish, although an increasing number have focused on other taxa, such as turtles, crustaceans and molluscs. Key technical developments for freshwater systems include: miniaturization of tags for tracking small-size life stages and species, fixed stations and coded tags for tracking large samples of animals over long distances and large temporal scales, inexpensive PIT systems that enable mass tagging to yield population- and community-level relevant sample sizes, incorporation of sensors into electronic tags, validation of tag attachment procedures with a focus on maintaining animal welfare, incorporation of different techniques (for example, genetics, stable isotopes) and peripheral technologies (for example, geographic information systems, hydroacoustics), development of novel analytical techniques, and extensive international collaboration. Innovations are still needed in tag miniaturization, data analysis and visualization, and in tracking animals over larger spatial scales (for example, pelagic areas of lakes) and in challenging environments (for example, large dynamic floodplain systems, under ice). There seems to be a particular need for adapting various global positioning system and satellite tagging approaches to freshwater. Electronic tagging provides a mechanism to collect detailed information from imperilled animals and species that have no direct economic value. Current and future advances will continue to improve our knowledge of the natural history of aquatic animals and ecological processes in freshwater ecosystems while facilitating evidence-based resource management and conservation.

Conventional tagging data has documented long distance movements (including trans-Atlantic movements) in blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) and yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) within the Atlantic. Swordfish (Xiphius gladius) have also been shown to move substantial distances, although primarily in a north-south direction. There is, however, a paucity of data for wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri). In the past several years, electronic archival (i.e., data recording) tags have significantly advanced our understanding of the behavior and movement patterns of large pelagic fishes. Data from electronic arcltival tags have generally corroborated conventional tagging data with respect to long distance movements, as well as the daily vertical movement patterns previously obtained through acoustic telemetry. Taken together, it is now possible to define ''habitat envelopes" for pelagic species and to correct nominal catch rates for changes in gear vulnerability due to differences in gear targeting. In general, there is a broad spectrum of vertical movement patterns: blue marlin and yellowfin tuna generally remain within the uniform temperature surface layer (although blue marlin occasionally descend to below 300 m), wahoo have less vertical range and appear to remain above 50 m most of the time, whereas swordfish mirror the vertical movements of the organisms of the deep-scattering layer remaining within about 20–30 m of the surface at night but descending to 700–1100 m during the day. Tagging data demonstrates that many large pelagic fish species move through the waters of other jurisdictions thus requiring a regional and international approach to assessment and management. The primary organization which undertakes this function in the Atlantic Ocean is the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), which is responsible for the assessment and management of tunas, swordfish and billfishes.

Post-release survivorship of Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) captured in the California recreational fishery

Lately electronic tagging policy for the sexual offenders was introduced in order to reduce and prevent sexual offences. However, most sexual offences against children happening these days are committed by the tagged offenders whose identities have been released. So, for the crime prevention, we need measures with which we could minimize the suffers more promptly and actively. This paper suggests a new system to relieve the sexual abuse related anxiety of the children and solve the problems that electronic bracelet has. Existing bracelets are only worn by serious criminals, and it's only for risk management and positioning, there is no way to protect the children who are the potential victims of sexual abuse and there actually happened some cases. So we suggest also letting the students(children) wear the LBS(Location Based Service) and USN(Ubiquitous Sensor Network) technology based electronic bracelets to monitor and figure out dangerous situations intelligently, so that we could prevent sexual offences against children beforehand, and while a crime is happening, we could judge the situation of the crime intelligently and take swift action to minimize the suffer. And by checking students' attendance and position, guardians could know where their children are in real time and could protect the children from not only sexual offences but also violent crimes against children like kidnapping. The overall system is like follows : RFID Tag for children monitors the approach of offenders. While an offender's RFID tag is approaching, it will transmit the situation and position as the first warning message to the control center and the guardians. When the offender is going far away, it turns to monitoring mode, and if the tag of the child or the offender is taken off or the child and offender stay at one position for 3~5 minutes or longer, then it will consider this as a dangerous situation, then transmit the emergency situations and position as the second warning message to the control center and the guardians, and ask for the dispatch of police to prevent the crime at the initial stage. The RFID module of criminals' electronic bracelets is RFID TAG, and the RFID module for the children is RFID receiver(reader), so wherever the offenders are, if an offender is at a place within 20m from a child, RFID module for children will transmit the situation every certain periods to the control center by the automatic response of the receiver. As for the positioning module, outdoors GPS or mobile communications module(CELL module)is used and UWB, WI-FI based module is used indoors. The sensor is set under the purpose of making it possible to measure the position coordinates even indoors, so that one could send his real time situation and position to the server of central control center. By using the RFID electronic roll book system of educational institutions and safety system installed at home, children's position and situation can be checked. When the child leaves for school, attendance can be checked through the electronic roll book, and when school is over the information is sent to the guardians. And using RFID access control turnstiles installed at the apartment or entrance of the house, the arrival of the children could be checked and the information is transmitted to the guardians. If the student is absent or didn't arrive at home, the information of the child is sent to the central control center from the electronic roll book or access control turnstiles, and look for the position of the child's electronic bracelet using GPS or mobile communications module, then send the information to the guardians and teacher so that they could report to the police immediately if necessary. Central management and control system is built under the purpose of monitoring dangerous situations and guardians' checking. It saves the warning and pattern data to figure out the areas with dangerous situation, and could help introduce crime prevention systems like CCTV with the highest priority. And by DB establishment personal data could be saved, the frequency of first and second warnings made, the terminal ID of the specific child and offender, warning made position, situation (like approaching, taken off of the electronic bracelet, same position for a certain time) and so on could be recorded, and the data is going to be used for preventing crimes. Even though we've already introduced electronic tagging to prevent recurrence of child sexual offences, but the crimes continuously occur. So I suggest this system to prevent crimes beforehand concerning the children's safety. If we make electronic bracelets easy to use and carry, and set the price reasonably so that many children can use, then lots of criminals could be prevented and we can protect the children easily. By preventing criminals before happening, it is going to be a helpful system for our safe life.

The sub-structure of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) stocks in the North Sea has important consequences for fisheries management as the Common Fisheries Policy moves towards a more regional approach. We investigated the movements, distribution and behaviour of cod in the southern North Sea (ICES IVc) and English Channel (ICES VIId) by re-analysing historic data from conventional tagging experiments, and by conducting new experiments with electronic tags. Cod tagged and released in IVc showed a northwards shift in distribution during the feeding season consistent with a homing migration away from spawning grounds along the coasts of the UK and the Netherlands. In contrast, cod tagged and released in VIId did not exhibit a consistent pattern of seasonal movement. Many cod released in VIId were subsequently recaptured close to their release position, although some moved out of the Channel and into the southern North Sea. Overlap between the recapture areas of cod released in the different management areas was no more than 25% in either the spawning or feeding season. Behavioural data from electronic tags suggest that cod in IVc make use of tidal streams to migrate northwards and eastwards in spring, whereas selective tidal stream transport was rarely exhibited by cod tagged and released in VIId. Overall, the evidence suggests that there are behavioural differences between cod in IVc and VIId that limit the mixing of cod from these two areas during the feeding and spawning seasons.

Behavioural Insights Based on the Use of Electronic Tags.- Using Telemetry to Monitor Movements and Habitat Use of Cultured and Wild Juvenile Winter Flounder in a Shallow Estuary.- Comparative Behavior of Wild and Hatchery Reared White Sea Bream (Diplodus sargus) Released on Artificial Reefs Off the Algarve (Southern Portugal).- Survival, Migration Speed and Swimming Depth of Atlantic Salmon Kelts During Sea Entry and Fjord Migration.- Small Scale Vertical Behaviour of Juvenile Albacore in Relation to Their Biotic Environment in the Bay of Biscay.- A Review of Acoustic Telemetry Technology and a Perspective on its Diversification Relative to Coastal Tracking Arrays.- The Ocean Tracking Network - Adding Marine Animal Movements to the Global Ocean Observing System.- Observations of the Behaviour of European Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) in the North Sea.- Vertical Movements and Habitat Utilization of Skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis), Yellowfin (Thunnus albacares), and Bigeye (Thunnus obesus) Tunas in the Equatorial Eastern Pacific Ocean, Ascertained Through Archival Tag Data.- Investigations of Horizontal Movements of Atlantic Swordfish Using Pop-up Satellite Archival Tags.- Vertical Behavior and the Observation of FAD Effects on Tropical Tuna in the Warm-Pool of the Western Pacific Ocean.- Effects of T-bar and DST Tagging on Survival and Growth of European Hake.- Body Temperature of the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus L.) in the Western Mediterranean.- Multi-Channel Data-Logging: Towards Determination of Behaviour and Metabolic Rate in Free-Swimming Sharks.- Harnessing the Sun: Testing a Novel Attachment Method to Record Fine Scale Movements in Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola).- An Archival Tag for Monitoring Key Behaviours (Feeding and Spawning) in Fish.- Geolocation Methods.- Lessons from a Prototype Geolocation Problem.- Geolocating Fish Using Hidden Markov Models and Data Storage Tags.- State Space Model for Light Based Tracking of Marine Animals: Validation on Swimming and Diving Creatures.- Removing Bias in Latitude Estimated from Solar Irradiance Time Series.- Positioning Pelagic Fish from Sunrise and Sunset Times: Complex Observation Errors Call for Constrained, Robust Modeling.- Summary Report of aWorkshop on Geolocation Methods for Marine Animals.- Applications of Electronic Tags to Fisheries Management.- Developing Integrated Database Systems for the Management of Electronic Tagging Data.- Electronic Tagging Data Supporting Flexible Spatial Management in an Australian Longline Fishery.- Correction Factors Derived from Acoustic Tag Data for a Juvenile Southern Bluefin Tuna Abundance Index in SouthernWestern Australia.- A Multi-Scale Study of Red Porgy Movements and Habitat Use, and Its Application to the Design of Marine Reserve Networks.- Erratum.