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A New Low‐Cost Instream Antenna System for Tracking Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT)‐Tagged Fish in Small Streams
Author(s) -
Bond Morgan H.,
Hanson Chad V.,
Baertsch Robert,
Hayes Sean A.,
MacFarlane R. Bruce
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/t06-084.1
Subject(s) - transponder (aeronautics) , streams , environmental science , antenna (radio) , upstream (networking) , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery , computer science , telecommunications , meteorology , geography , computer network , biology
We present a new, low‐cost, low‐power, half/full‐duplex passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag interrogation antenna for use in detecting fish movements in small streams. New technology by Allflex‐USA allowed us to develop a reading system with an antenna 279.4 cm wide × 60.9 cm high that reads both common tag types used in fisheries today for about US$1,000. An instream antenna of this size and price makes high‐resolution tracking of fish movement in small streams feasible where cost and tag‐type restrictions were prohibitive. For evaluation, we placed the antenna upstream of a small estuary on the central California coast to observe the diel movements of juvenile steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss between the estuary and upstream habitats in both spring and fall months.