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Implications of Woodrats and Other Scavengers for Avian Telemetry Studies
Author(s) -
LARSEN RANDY T.,
BENTLEY DANIEL F.,
FLINDERS JERRAN T.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the journal of wildlife management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1937-2817
pISSN - 0022-541X
DOI - 10.2193/2007-415
Subject(s) - telemetry , ecology , zoology , biology , geography , telecommunications , computer science
During 2 years of radiotelemetry research on chukars ( Alectoris chukar ) in western Utah, USA, we found 28% of retrieved radios ( n = 78) in rubbish nests of woodrats ( Neotoma spp. ). Such movement and disturbance of carcasses and radios by woodrats and other species has implications for radiotelemetry studies. We evaluated spatio‐temporal movement of 51 radiocollars attached to chukar carcasses in western Utah. Most (80%) carcasses were scavenged within one week and by the end of 3 weeks 25 (50%) had been retrieved from woodrat middens. Scavenging activity can both obscure important clues needed to identify causes of mortality and bias telemetry studies by delaying onset of mortality signals.