Mammals show faster recovery from capture and tagging in human-disturbed landscapes

Wildlife tagging provides critical insights into animal movement ecology, physiology, and behavior amid global ecosystem changes. However, the stress induced by capture, handling, and tagging can impact post-release locomotion and activity and, consequently, the interpretation of study results. Here, we analyze post-tagging effects on 1585 individuals of 42 terrestrial mammal species using collar-collected GPS and accelerometer data. Species-specific displacements and overall dynamic body acceleration, as a proxy for activity, were assessed over 20 days post-release to quantify disturbance intensity, recovery duration, and speed. Differences were evaluated, considering species-specific traits and the human footprint of the study region. Over 70% of the analyzed species exhibited significant behavioral changes following collaring events. Herbivores traveled farther with variable activity reactions, while omnivores and carnivores were initially less active and mobile. Recovery duration proved brief, with alterations diminishing within 4-7 tracking days for most species. Herbivores, particularly males, showed quicker displacement recovery (4 days) but slower activity recovery (7 days). Individuals in high human footprint areas displayed faster recovery, indicating adaptation to human disturbance. Our findings emphasize the necessity of extending tracking periods beyond 1 week and particular caution in remote study areas or herbivore-focused research, specifically in smaller mammals.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2024-09-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52381-8
Citations
21
Primary Topic
Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
9.64

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article

Mammals show faster recovery from capture and tagging in human-disturbed landscapes

Sophia Kimmig, Laurel E. K. Serieys, Nuria Selva, Leif Sönnichsen et al.
21 citations
Nature Communications
Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
9.64
article

Mammals show faster recovery from capture and tagging in human-disturbed landscapes

Sophia Kimmig, Laurel E. K. Serieys, Nuria Selva, Leif Sönnichsen, Rob Slotow, Niels Blaum, Joe Premier, Agnieszka Sergiel, Rafał Kowalczyk, Marco Heurich, Marco Apollonio, Benoît Goossens, Adam T. Ford, Kirk A. Olson, Abi Tamim Vanak, Christer M. Rolandsen, Jasja Dekker, Lynne A. Isbell, Joerg Melzheimer, Katharina Kasper, Christoph Lobas, Jana A. Eccard, Anette Krop-Benesch, Peter Sunde, Niels Martin Schmidt, Petra Kaczensky, Bruno Bassano, Maria Thaker, Tyler R. Petroelje, Claudia Fichtel, Martin Duľa, Peter M. Kappeler, Lars Haugaard, Marlee A. Tucker, Mikkel Stelvig, Leopold Obermair, Maxi Tomowski, Christopher C. Wilmers, Miloš Ježek, Benedikt Gehr, Adam W. Ferguson, Peter Lokeny, Sonia Saı̈d, Lennart Pyritz, Nicolas Morellet, Laura R. Bidner, Tomasz Kamiński, Tomasz Zwijacz‐Kozica, Garrett M. Street, Filip Zięba, Anne Berger, Rudy Brogi, Jan Pufelski, Stefano Grignolio, Floris M. van Beest, Wayne M. Getz, Dean E. Beyer, Nathan J. Svoboda, Janosch Arnold, Carolin Scholz, Molly M. McDonough, Max Kröschel, Leon M. F. Barthel, Meaghan N. Evans, Jacob R. Goheen, Florian Jeltsch, Francesca Brivio, Todd M. Kautz, Morten Heim, Peter Linderoth, Maurizio Ramanzin, Wiebke Ullmann, Dedan Ngatia, Petter Kjellander, Nicholas L. Fowler, Bettina Wachter, Jane Dentinger, Krzysztof Schmidt, Jonas Stiegler, Cara A. Gallagher, Nadine Schubert, Václav Silovský, Morgan Hauptfleisch, Anders Jarnemo, Erling J. Solberg, Bayarbaatar Buuveibaatar, Mia-Lana Lührs, Konstantin Börner, Robert Hering, Stephen L. Webb, Nancy A. Barker, Stephanie Kramer‐Schadt, Robin Sandfort, Manuel Roeleke, Francesca Cagnacci, Stephen Blake, Jarred F Duquette, Kidan C Patanant, Manuel Pina, Josep Piqué, René Janssen, John C. Payne, Jerrold L. Belant, Thomas Müller, Mark Hewison, Stephanie S Matsushima
article en
21 citations

Abstract

Wildlife tagging provides critical insights into animal movement ecology, physiology, and behavior amid global ecosystem changes. However, the stress induced by capture, handling, and tagging can impact post-release locomotion and activity and, consequently, the interpretation of study results. Here, we analyze post-tagging effects on 1585 individuals of 42 terrestrial mammal species using collar-collected GPS and accelerometer data. Species-specific displacements and overall dynamic body acceleration, as a proxy for activity, were assessed over 20 days post-release to quantify disturbance intensity, recovery duration, and speed. Differences were evaluated, considering species-specific traits and the human footprint of the study region. Over 70% of the analyzed species exhibited significant behavioral changes following collaring events. Herbivores traveled farther with variable activity reactions, while omnivores and carnivores were initially less active and mobile. Recovery duration proved brief, with alterations diminishing within 4-7 tracking days for most species. Herbivores, particularly males, showed quicker displacement recovery (4 days) but slower activity recovery (7 days). Individuals in high human footprint areas displayed faster recovery, indicating adaptation to human disturbance. Our findings emphasize the necessity of extending tracking periods beyond 1 week and particular caution in remote study areas or herbivore-focused research, specifically in smaller mammals.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 15(1)
Namibia University of Science and Technology (NA), Fondazione Edmund Mach (IT), Alaska Department of Fish and Game (US), Goethe University Frankfurt (DE), University of Wyoming (US), Panthera Corporation (US), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ES), Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology (AT), University of Padua (IT), Radboud University Nijmegen (NL), University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (AT), University of Sassari (IT), University of Freiburg (DE), University of Potsdam (DE), Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées (FR), University of California, San Francisco (US), University of California, Santa Cruz (US), Bielefeld University (DE), University of Ferrara (IT), University of Zurich (CH), Aarhus University (DK), Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZ), Sabah Wildlife Department (MY), Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (US), Bavarian Forest National Park (DE), Kelowna General Hospital (CA), Roztocze National Park (PL), German Primate Center (DE), Copenhagen Zoo (DK), Radboud University Medical Center (NL), Mammal Research Institute (PL), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SE), Max Planck Institute for Ornithology (DE), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), Estación Biológica de Doñana (ES), Génomique Métabolique du Genoscope (FR), French National Agency for Water and Aquatic Environments (FR), Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences (NL), Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (DE), National Zoological Park (US), Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage (FR), Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (IN), University of Inland Norway (NO), National Biodiversity Institute (CR), Institute of Nature Conservation (PL), Saint Louis Zoo (US), Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University (DE), Gran Telescopio Canarias (Spain) (ES), Environment Park (IT), Mpala Research Center and Wildlife Foundation (KE), Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NO), Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (DE), DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance (IN), Nederlands Instituut Voor Zuivel Oonderzoek (NL), University College London (GB), Saint Louis University (US), Mendel University in Brno (CZ), Indian Institute of Science Bangalore (IN), Technical University of Munich (DE), Chicago State University (US), University of Göttingen (DE), Halmstad University (SE), Universidad de Huelva (ES), Cardiff University (GB), Okanagan University College (CA), University of California, Davis (US), Michigan State University (US), University of Palermo (IT), Texas A&M University (US), BOKU University (AT), University of KwaZulu-Natal (ZA), University of California, Berkeley (US), Mississippi State University (US), Polish Academy of Sciences (PL)
Smithsonian Institution, Mississippi State University, Instytut Biologii Ssaków Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Life in Land
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
9.64
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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