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Effects of attached data‐loggers on the activity budgets of captive Humboldt penguins
Author(s) -
Simeone Alejandro,
Wilson Rory P.,
Knauf Gabriele,
Knauf Werner,
Schützendübe Jeannine
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
zoo biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.5
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1098-2361
pISSN - 0733-3188
DOI - 10.1002/zoo.10044
Subject(s) - biology , data logger , energetics , time budget , fishery , ecology , fish <actinopterygii> , zoology , captive breeding , habitat , endangered species , computer science , operating system
Although they can provide valuable information on at‐sea ecology, data‐loggers may adversely affect energetics, diving performance, and breeding success of equipped birds. With the aim of determining the effects of leg‐attached data‐loggers on the activity budgets of Humboldt penguins ( Spheniscus humboldti ) while on land, we equipped birds kept at the Landau Zoo, Landau, Germany, with such devices. We followed them during sample periods and recorded the occurrence and length of behaviors. Birds quickly habituated to the devices within 1 day of deployment, and mean rates of device‐pecking were low (0.7–1.7 pecks/hr), with device‐induced behaviors accounting for <1% of the mean daily activity budget. The method of device attachment appears behaviorally less stressful than the traditional tape‐based system in which devices are normally attached to the penguin's back. By facilitating the testing of newly developed data‐loggers on captive birds, or the development of methods for device attachment, zoos and aquaria may strengthen their role in animal conservation by helping research on free‐ranging animals. Zoo Biol 21:365–373, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.