Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T10:33:45.546Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Comparison between telemetry and spot-mapping to determine space use of the Kenyan endemic Hinde's babbler

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2018

Christina Fischer  and
Jan Christian Habel Open the ORCID record for Jan Christian Habel [Opens in a new window]
Christina Fischer
Affiliation:
Restoration Ecology, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technische Universität München, Emil-Ramann-Str. 6, D-85354 Freising, Germany
Jan Christian Habel*
Affiliation:
Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technische Universität München, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, D-85354 Freising, Germany
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

Different methods to measure species behaviour and space use may produce diverging results, and provide advantages and shortcomings. Data from spot-mapping of animals might be affected from restricted detectability of individuals in dense vegetation, while radio-tracking provides a less biased (or even unbiased) measure of space use. Here we compare results from spot-mapping and telemetry of four family groups (i.e. five individuals belonging to these four family groups), respectively of the Kenyan endemic cooperative-breeding bird Hinde's babbler, Turdoides hindei. Data from spot-mapping showed that the space use of T. hindei is mostly restricted to riparian vegetation. Home-range sizes calculated from telemetry were five times larger if compared with data obtained from spot-mapping. Telemetry data showed that T. hindei also moves across agricultural land, and mean and maximum displacements are larger if compared with data obtained from spot-mapping. Several reasons might lead to these differences: (1) Telemetry data also consider rare long-distance excursions, while (2) observers of spot-mapping might fail to observe long-distance movements and thus underestimate home-range sizes as well as displacement distances; (3) results from telemetry might become blurred from measurement error during the triangulation of fixes. Our study confirms that both methods provide advantages, but also shortcomings, which need to be considered when selecting a method to elaborate a research question.

Keywords

displacementhabitat fragmentationhabitat selectionhome rangeKenyamovement behaviour
Type
Short Communication
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 34 , Issue 6 , November 2018 , pp. 395 - 399
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

BIBBY, C. J., BURGESS, N. D., HILL, D. A. & MUSTOE, S. 2000. Bird census techniques. (Second edition). Academic Press, London. 420 pp.Google Scholar
BUCKLAND, S. T., MARSDEN, S. J. & GREEN, R. E. 2008. Estimating bird abundance: making methods work. Bird Conservation International 18:91–108.Google Scholar
HANSBAUER, M. M., STORCH, I., PIMENTEL, R. G. & METZGER, J. P. 2008. Comparative range use by three Atlantic Forest understory bird species in relation to forest fragmentation. Journal of Tropical Ecology 24:291–299.Google Scholar
JELTSCH, F., BONTE, D., PE'ER, G., REINEKING, B., LEIMGRUBER, P., BALKENHOL, N., SCHRÖDER, B., BUCHMANN, C. M., MUELLER, T., BLAUM, N., ZURELL, D., BÖHNING-GAESE, K., WIEGAND, T., ECCARD, J. A., HOFER, H., REEG, J., EGGERS, U. & BAUER, S. 2013. Integrating movement ecology with biodiversity research – exploring new avenues to address spatiotemporal biodiversity dynamics. Movement Ecology 1:1–13.Google Scholar
KENWARD, R. E. 2001. A manual for wildlife radio tagging. Academic Press, London. 307 pp.Google Scholar
MANU, S. & CRESSWELL, W. 2013. Diurnal patterns of mass gain in tropical granivores suggest avoidance of high midday temperatures during foraging, rather than the starvation-predation risk trade-off. Ostrich 84:95–100.Google Scholar
REDPATH, S. M., YOUNG, J., EVELY, A., ADAMS, W. M., SUTHERLAND, W. J., WHITEHOUSE, A., AMAR, A., LAMBERT, R. A., LINNELL, J. D. C., WATT, A. & GUTIERREZ, R. J. 2013. Understanding and managing conservation conflicts. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 28:100–109.Google Scholar
SHAW, P., NJOROGE, P., OTIENO, V. & MLAMBA, E. 2014. The range, abundance and habitat of Hinde's babbler Turdoides hindei: fine-scale changes in abundance during 2000–2011 reflect temporal variation in scrub cover. Bird Conservation International 24:453–465.Google Scholar
VANDER WAL, E. & RODGERS, A. R. 2012. An individual-based quantitative approach for delineating core areas of animal space use. Ecological Modelling 224:48–53.Google Scholar
WITHEY, J. C., BLOXTON, T. D. & MARZLUFF, J. M. 2001. Effects of tagging and location error in wildlife radiotelemetry studies. Pp. 43–74 in Millspaugh, J. J. & Marzluff, J. M. (eds). Radio tracking and animal populations. Academic Press, San Diego.Google Scholar