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Proceedings of the 5th Bio-Logging Science Symposium

Edited by: Prof Daniel Costa, Dr Yan Ropert-Coudert 

This thematic issue collects scientific articles that were presented at the 5th International Bio-logging Science (BLS) Symposium, held in Strasbourg in September 2014. BLS symposia foster scientists that work with data-recording devices embarked onto freely living animals, including human, to record biological activity of the carrier and/or the physical parameters of its immediate surroundings. Besides methodological, technical and analytical aspects, BLS is also interested in promoting the scientific advances obtained through the use of bio-loggers. As such, the diversity of the BLS presentations meant that the Proceedings had to distribute over two BioMed Central journals:  New Content Item Animal Biotelemetry  and  New Content Item Movement Ecology.


Animal Biotelemetry: Dan Costa and Christian Rutz.
Movement Ecology: Yan Ropert-Coudert, Akiko Kato and Mark Hindell


  1. In animals, recoil motion resulting from underwater propulsion can destabilise trajectory and decrease locomotory performance. The posture of diving seabirds fluctuates simultaneously with their appendage beat...

    Authors: Takuji Noda, Dale M. Kikuchi, Akinori Takahashi, Hiromichi Mitamura and Nobuaki Arai
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2016 4:10
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. The migratory patterns of animals are changing in response to global environmental change with many species forming resident populations in areas where they were once migratory. The white stork (Ciconia ciconia) ...

    Authors: Nathalie I. Gilbert, Ricardo A. Correia, João Paulo Silva, Carlos Pacheco, Inês Catry, Philip W. Atkinson, Jenny A. Gill and Aldina M. A. Franco
    Citation: Movement Ecology 2016 4:7
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. Determining the habitat use of mobile marine species is important for understanding responses to climate change and aids the implementation of management and conservation measures. Inference of preferred habi...

    Authors: Lara L. Sousa, Nuno Queiroz, Gonzalo Mucientes, Nicolas E. Humphries and David W. Sims
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2016 4:7
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. Animal telemetry is the science of elucidating the movements and behavior of animals in relation to their environment or habitat. Here, we focus on telemetry of aquatic species (marine mammals, sharks, fish, s...

    Authors: Barbara A. Block, Christopher M. Holbrook, Samantha E. Simmons, Kim N. Holland, Jerald S. Ault, Daniel P. Costa, Bruce R. Mate, Andrew C. Seitz, Michael D. Arendt, John C. Payne, Behzad Mahmoudi, Peter Moore, James M. Price, J. Jacob Levenson, Doug Wilson and Randall E. Kochevar
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2016 4:6
    Content type: Commentary Published on:

  5. Investigation of early transmission failure from animal-borne, satellite transmitters should reveal vital information about the reliability of the technology, and the risk of application to the animal. Current...

    Authors: Gerald L. Kooyman, Birgitte I. McDonald and Kimberly T. Goetz
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2015 3:54
    Content type: Short communication Published on:

  6. Motion detecting archival data loggers such as accelerometers have become increasingly important in animal biotelemetry and offer unique insights into animal behavior, energetics, and kinematics. However, chal...

    Authors: Salvador J. Jorgensen, Adrian C. Gleiss, Paul E. Kanive, Taylor K. Chapple, Scot D. Anderson, Juan M. Ezcurra, W. Tyler Brandt and Barbara A. Block
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2015 3:52
    Content type: Research Published on:

  8. Marine environments are inherently dynamic, yet marine predators are often long-lived and employ strategies where consistency, individual specialization, routine migrations, and spatial memory are key componen...

    Authors: Rachael A. Orben, Rosana Paredes, Daniel D. Roby, David B. Irons and Scott A. Shaffer
    Citation: Movement Ecology 2015 3:36
    Content type: Research Published on:

  9. Accurate estimates of thermoregulatory costs in air and water are necessary to predict the impacts of changing habitats to individuals and populations of ice-obligate seals. Investigations that would provide s...

    Authors: Allyson G. Hindle, Markus Horning and Jo-Ann E. Mellish
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2015 3:50
    Content type: Research Published on:

  10. Knifing is a behaviour whereby a shark swims directly at the surface with its dorsal fin out of the water. While this behaviour has been reported in a number of species, information on the frequency and timing...

    Authors: Thomas K. Doyle, Ashley Bennison, Mark Jessopp, Damien Haberlin and Luke A. Harman
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2015 3:46
    Content type: Short Communication Published on:

  12. In order to understand the impact of grazing livestock on pasture ecosystems, it is essential to quantify pasture use intensity at a fine spatial scale and the factors influencing its distribution. The observa...

    Authors: Hermel Homburger, Andreas Lüscher, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen and Manuel K. Schneider
    Citation: Movement Ecology 2015 3:35
    Content type: Research Published on:

  13. In the last decade, thousands of satellite-relayed data loggers (SRDLs) have been deployed, providing large datasets on marine predator movement patterns at sea and their diving behaviour. However, the latter ...

    Authors: Karine Heerah, Mark Hindell, Christophe Guinet and Jean-Benoît Charrassin
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2015 3:42
    Content type: Research Published on:

  14. Our research focuses on mechanisms that promote and stabilize social behavior, fitness consequences of cooperation, and how interactions with conspecifics structure groups and populations. To this end, we stud...

    Authors: Barbara König, Anna K. Lindholm, Patricia C. Lopes, Akos Dobay, Sally Steinert and Frank Jens-Uwe Buschmann
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2015 3:39
    Content type: Telemetry case report Published on:

  15. Understanding the responses of marine vertebrates to spatial and temporal variability of primary productivity is fundamental for their conservation and for predicting how they will be affected by climate chang...

    Authors: Michelle E. Lander, Todd Lindstrom, Matthew Rutishauser, Albert Franzheim and Melinda Holland
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2015 3:40
    Content type: Telemetry case report Published on:

  17. Climate-driven environmental change in the North Pacific has been well documented, with marked effects on the habitat and foraging behavior of marine predators. However, the mechanistic linkages connecting cli...

    Authors: Lesley H. Thorne, Elliott L. Hazen, Steven J. Bograd, David G. Foley, Melinda G. Conners, Michelle A. Kappes, Hyemi M. Kim, Daniel P. Costa, Yann Tremblay and Scott A. Shaffer
    Citation: Movement Ecology 2015 3:27
    Content type: Research Published on:

  19. Understanding movement patterns of species requires that the spatial and temporal scales of experimental designs are appropriate to the proposed ecological questions. Previous research on large-scale movements...

    Authors: Leanne M. Currey, Michelle R. Heupel, Colin A. Simpfendorfer and Ashley J. Williams
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2015 3:41
    Content type: Research Published on:

  20. Although there have been recent advances in the development of animal-attached ‘proximity’ tags to remotely record the interactions of multiple individuals, the efficacy of these devices depends on the instrum...

    Authors: Sascha K. Hooker, Tatsiana Barychka, Mark J. Jessopp and Iain J. Staniland
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2015 3:37
    Content type: Research Published on:

  21. Attachment of external devices can have negative consequences for the health and fitness of subjects, but these effects are often overlooked. In preparation for a field study with small sea ducks, we investiga...

    Authors: Manfred R. Enstipp, January Frost, Tuula E. Hollmén, Russel D. Andrews and Charles Frost
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2015 3:36
    Content type: Research Published on:

  22. An animal-borne video recording system has recently been developed to study the behavior of free-ranging animals. In contrast to other types of sensor data (i.e., acceleration), video images offer the advantag...

    Authors: Junichi Okuyama, Kana Nakajima, Kenta Matsui, Yuichi Nakamura, Kazuaki Kondo, Takahiro Koizumi and Nobuaki Arai
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2015 3:35
    Content type: Research Published on:

  23. The spatiotemporal distribution of animals is dependent on a suite of factors, including the distribution of resources, interactions within and between species, physiological limitations, and requirements for ...

    Authors: Michelle A. Kappes, Scott A. Shaffer, Yann Tremblay, David G. Foley, Daniel M. Palacios, Steven J. Bograd and Daniel P. Costa
    Citation: Movement Ecology 2015 3:34
    Content type: Research Published on:

  24. Argos is a dedicated system for geo-localization and data collection of platform terminal transmitters (PTTs). The system exploits a constellation of polar-orbiting satellites recording the messages transmitte...

    Authors: Rémy Lopez, Jean-Pierre Malardé, Patrick Danès and Philippe Gaspar
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2015 3:32
    Content type: Research Published on:

  25. Soft-bodied marine invertebrates comprise a keystone component of ocean ecosystems; however, we know little of their behaviors and physiological responses within their natural habitat. Quantifying ocean condit...

    Authors: T. Aran Mooney, Kakani Katija, K. Alex Shorter, Thomas Hurst, Jorge Fontes and Pedro Afonso
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2015 3:31
    Content type: Research Published on:

  27. In the open ocean, eddies and associated structures (fronts, filaments) have strong influences on the foraging activities of top-predators through the enhancement and the distribution of marine productivity, z...

    Authors: Cecile Bon, Alice Della Penna, Francesco d’Ovidio, John Y.P. Arnould, Timothée Poupart and Charles-André Bost
    Citation: Movement Ecology 2015 3:32
    Content type: Research Published on:

  28. Detailed information about animal location and movement is often crucial in studies of natural behaviour and how animals respond to anthropogenic activities. Dead-reckoning can be used to infer such detailed i...

    Authors: Paul J. Wensveen, Len Thomas and Patrick J. O. Miller
    Citation: Movement Ecology 2015 3:31
    Content type: Methodology article Published on:

  29. Marine predators are ecosystem sentinels because their foraging behaviour and reproductive success reflect the variability occurring in the lower trophic levels of the ecosystem. In an era of environmental cha...

    Authors: Michel Widmann, Akiko Kato, Ben Raymond, Frédéric Angelier, Benjamin Arthur, Olivier Chastel, Marie Pellé, Thierry Raclot and Yan Ropert-Coudert
    Citation: Movement Ecology 2015 3:30
    Content type: Research Published on:

  30. Smart tags attached to freely-roaming animals recording multiple parameters at infra-second rates are becoming commonplace, and are transforming our understanding of the way wild animals behave. Interpretation...

    Authors: James S. Walker, Mark W. Jones, Robert S. Laramee, Mark D. Holton, Emily LC Shepard, Hannah J. Williams, D. Michael Scantlebury, Nikki, J. Marks, Elizabeth A. Magowan, Iain E. Maguire, Owen R. Bidder, Agustina Di Virgilio and Rory P. Wilson
    Citation: Movement Ecology 2015 3:29
    Content type: Software article Published on:

  31. To meet the minimum energetic requirements needed to support parents and their provisioned offspring, the timing of breeding in birds typically coincides with periods of high food abundance. Seasonality and sy...

    Authors: Melinda G. Conners, Elliott L. Hazen, Daniel P. Costa and Scott A. Shaffer
    Citation: Movement Ecology 2015 3:28
    Content type: Research Published on:

  32. Behaviour and time spent active and inactive are key factors in animal ecology, with important consequences for bioenergetics. For the first time, here, we equipped the gastropod Tectus (= Trochus) niloticus with...

    Authors: Aurélie Jolivet, Laurent Chauvaud, Julien Thébault, Anthony A. Robson, Pascal Dumas, George Amos and Anne Lorrain
    Citation: Movement Ecology 2015 3:26
    Content type: Research Published on:

  33. Whether, and how, animals move requires them to assess their environment to determine the most appropriate action and trajectory, although the precise way the environment is scanned has been little studied. We...

    Authors: Gwendoline Ixia Wilson, Brad Norman, James Walker, Hannah J. Williams, M. D. Holton, D. Clarke and Rory P. Wilson
    Citation: Movement Ecology 2015 3:24
    Content type: Research Published on:

  34. Research on wild animal ecology is increasingly employing GPS telemetry in order to determine animal movement. However, GPS systems record position intermittently, providing no information on latent position o...

    Authors: O. R. Bidder, J. S. Walker, M. W. Jones, M. D. Holton, P. Urge, D. M. Scantlebury, N. J. Marks, E. A. Magowan, I. E. Maguire and R. P. Wilson
    Citation: Movement Ecology 2015 3:23
    Content type: Methodology article Published on:

  35. The energy requirements of free-ranging marine mammals are challenging to measure due to cryptic and far-ranging feeding habits, but are important to quantify given the potential impacts of high-level predator...

    Authors: JL Maresh, T. Adachi, A. Takahashi, Y. Naito, DE Crocker, M. Horning, TM Williams and DP Costa
    Citation: Movement Ecology 2015 3:22
    Content type: Research Published on:

  37. An essential part of foraging ecology research is identifying how the distribution and abundance of prey influence predator behavior. However, in marine systems, temporal or spatial mismatches often exist betw...

    Authors: Carey E Kuhn, Jeremy T Sterling and Tonya K Zeppelin
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2015 3:26
    Content type: Research Published on:

  38. Animal movement exhibits self-similarity across a range of both spatial and temporal scales reminiscent of statistical fractals. Stressors are known to induce changes in these statistical patterns of behavior,...

    Authors: Xavier Meyer, Andrew J J MacIntosh, Akiko Kato, André Chiaradia and Yan Ropert-Coudert
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2015 3:25
    Content type: Research Published on:

  39. Leopard seals are apex predators that can alter the community structure of Antarctic coastal ecosystems. Previous behavioral studies were limited to land-based, daytime observations of foraging leopard seals....

    Authors: Douglas J Krause, Michael E Goebel, Gregory J Marshall and Kyler Abernathy
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2015 3:24
    Content type: Research Published on:

  40. For marine animals, acoustic communication is critical for many life functions, yet individual calling behavior is poorly understood for most large whale species. These topics are important for understanding w...

    Authors: Alison K Stimpert, Stacy L DeRuiter, Erin A Falcone, John Joseph, Annie B Douglas, David J Moretti, Ari S Friedlaender, John Calambokidis, Glenn Gailey, Peter L Tyack and Jeremy A Goldbogen
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2015 3:23
    Content type: Research Published on:

  41. Establishing patterns of movements of free-ranging animals in marine ecosystems is crucial for a better understanding of their feeding ecology, life history traits and conservation. As central place foragers, ...

    Authors: Maud Berlincourt and John P. Y. Arnould
    Citation: Movement Ecology 2015 3:16
    Content type: Research Published on:

  42. Developments in electronic tagging technologies have provided unprecedented insight into the movements and behavior of marine predators. Concurrent information on the prey of these tracked animals, however, is...

    Authors: Gareth L. Lawson, Luis A. Hückstädt, Andone C. Lavery, Frédéric M. Jaffré, Peter H. Wiebe, Jonathan R. Fincke, Daniel E. Crocker and Daniel P. Costa
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2015 3:22
    Content type: Research Published on:

  43. The software routines for data sampling and processing that are implemented on-board telemetry devices (tags) called Conductivity-Temperature-Depth Satellite Relay Data Loggers (CTD-SRDLs) enable the simultane...

    Authors: Theoni Photopoulou, Michael A. Fedak, Jason Matthiopoulos, Bernie McConnell and Phil Lovell
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2015 3:21
    Content type: Review Published on:

  44. American mink forage on land and in water, with aquatic prey often constituting a large proportion of their diet. Their long, thin body shape and relatively poor insulation make them vulnerable to heat loss, p...

    Authors: Joanna M Bagniewska, Lauren A Harrington, Tom Hart, Andrew L Harrington, Laura Fasola and David W Macdonald
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2015 3:18
    Content type: Research Published on:

  45. Many marine species are difficult to study because components of their lifecycles occur solely or partially outside of the observable realm of researchers. Advances in biologging tags have begun to give us gli...

    Authors: Taylor K. Chapple, Adrian C. Gleiss, Oliver J. D. Jewell, Martin Wikelski and Barbara A. Block
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2015 3:14
    Content type: Research Published on:

  46. Effective conservation of large predators requires a broad understanding of their ecology. Caranx ignobilis is a large marine predator well represented in coral reef environments, yet they are poorly studied. Pas...

    Authors: Elodie JI Lédée, Michelle R Heupel, Andrew J Tobin and Colin A Simpfendorfer
    Citation: Animal Biotelemetry 2015 3:6
    Content type: Research Published on: