Improving Large Cetacean Implantable Satellite Tag Designs to Maximize Tag Robustness and Minimize Health Effects to Individual Animals
Abstract
LONG-TERM GOALS: Develop robust satellite tags that can compensate for shearing forces at the blubber-muscle interface and minimize physical and physiological effects of body penetrating tags to individual animals. OBJECTIVES: (1) Design, build, and test robust blubber and/or muscle penetrating tags, which will (a) resolve structural limitations of existing designs (e.g. those found during the Gulf of Maine humpback follow-up study) and (b) minimize tissue trauma while extending retention time; (2) Evaluate structural integrity of designs created in Objective (1) during laboratory experiments and in cetacean carcasses; (3) Examine structural tissue damage in the blubber, sub-dermal sheath and muscle caused by penetrating dummy implantable tags in cetacean carcasses, including manipulation to simulate live motion; (4) Assess performance of the new tags in populations of large cetaceans where extensive follow-up studies can be performed (e.g. Gulf of Maine humpback whales and eastern Pacific gray whales).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 2013
- Accession Number
- ADA597818
Entities
People
- Alexandre N. Zerbini
- Michael J Moore
Organizations
- Cascadia Research