Response to Streby and Kramer: Additional considerations for explaining differences in return rates of geolocator-tagged and control Cerulean Warblers

[摘要] ABSTRACT Our recent manuscript investigated geolocator-tagging effects on a small migratory warbler. Streby and Kramer (2017) suggest that a year effect may have been masked by our unequal sample sizes between years. They also argue that the difference in return rate between our geolocator-tagged and control birds was likely due to differences in harness styles used between years. We agree with their comment regarding the possibility that a year effect could have been masked by our unequal sample sizes. However, it is not possible to draw reliable conclusions from our data as to why we observed a reduced return rate for geolocator-tagged birds compared with color-banded controls, and attempts to do so are mere speculation. We also point out that both harness styles used in our study have been employed by a number of researchers who observed no reduced return rates for geolocator-tagged birds, including other species of parulid warbler. Researchers desiring to illuminate potential harness style effects on ...

[学科分类] 动物科学

[关键词] geolocator;effects;return;survival;harness