EFFECTS OF SATELLITE TRANSMITTERS ON ALBATROSSES AND PETRELS

TLDR

Miniaturized transmitter deployment has been extensively studied in penguins but remains less understood in flying seabirds, where prior work on albatrosses and petrels has reported extended foraging trips, nest desertion, and reduced flight efficiency—often linked to transmitter loads exceeding 3 % of adult mass and capture‑related stress. The authors investigated the effects of satellite platform terminal transmitter (PTT) deployment on Black‑browed and Gray‑headed albatrosses at South Georgia and reviewed recent literature on other albatrosses and petrels. In our study, PTT attachment did not significantly alter trip duration, meal mass, breeding success, or return rates, although a few individuals showed slightly longer foraging trips; such effects were mainly observed when transmitter loads exceeded 3 % of adult mass.

Abstract

Abstract Effects of deployment of miniaturized transmitters and loggers have been well studied in penguins, but much less so in flying seabirds. We examined the effects of satellite tag (platform terminal transmitter, PTT) deployment in Black-browed (Thalassarche melanophris) and Gray-headed (T. chrysostoma) albatrosses at South Georgia and reviewed the recent literature for other albatrosses and petrels. In our study, although a few individuals may have slightly extended their foraging trips, overall there was no significant difference in trip duration, meal mass, breeding success, or rate of return in the next season between birds with PTTs and controls. By comparison, most other studies of albatrosses and petrels recorded extended trip durations and, in some cases, high rates of nest desertion following PTT attachment. That occurred particularly where transmitter loads exceeded 3% of adult mass. Extended trip durations may result from reduced flight efficiency, as well as the effect of capture and temp...