Abstract
Tracking devices are increasingly used to monitor individual movement patterns continuously and in high resolution. However, carrying a device could potentially compromise an individual’s physiology or behaviour, thereby making tracking data unreliable for detailed behavioural measurements. To this end, we assessed the possible consequences of the application of GPS devices on offspring development in an opportunistic seabird species, the lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus), by comparing the growth and survival of nestlings of which none, one or both parents were equipped with a GPS device. We found that the developmental trajectories of the nestlings were not affected, and there were no differences in skeletal size and body mass at the fledging stage. A lack of negative effects on offspring development strongly suggests that the parental behaviour, and thus likely the foraging behaviour, did not differ between tagged and non-tagged individuals. The evidence that GPS data can be used to reliably study parental care, as well as other aspects of the bird’s behaviour, opens up new possibilities to study behavioural and evolutionary ecological questions in ever-increasing resolution.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to LifeWatch and NaturaPeople for funding of GPS devices and infrastructure; Fransisco Hernandes and Robin Houthoofdt (VLIZ) for logistical support; Peter Desmet (INBO), Bart Aelterman (INBO), Fransisco Hernandez (VLIZ) and Willem Bouten (UvABiTS) for data support; ANB, Hilbran Verstraete, Nicolas Vanermen, Marc Van de Walle, Wouter Courtens, Aurélie Dailledouze and Jorn Suijkerbuijk for their support in the field. We thank the authorities of Zeebrugge Port (MBZ) and Zeeland Seaports for their permission to access the ports, and PSA, APM, COVRA, EPZ, Pacorini and Van Citters Beheer BV for access to their sites. We are also grateful to the reviewers for their constructive comments on a previous version of the manuscript. This study was funded by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO ID: 11ZI716N and G0E1614N).
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All procedures performed in this study have been approved by the University of Antwerp ethical committee (file number 2013-73) and the University of Groningen ethical committee (file number 6986/6986A).
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Kavelaars, M.M., Stienen, E., Matheve, H. et al. GPS tracking during parental care does not affect early offspring development in lesser black-backed gulls. Mar Biol 165, 87 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-018-3347-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-018-3347-6