![]() ![]() 2015) and trigger physical and psychological effects, which can alter the animals’ behaviour (Saraux et al. Yet, the capture and tagging procedure can be stressful for the animal (Fletcher and Boonstra 2006 Lapointe et al. 2014) and reduced perceived impact on tagged animals in general (Golabek et al. Increased focus on miniaturization has led to reduced size and weight of bio-loggers, extending the application range to even smaller animals (i.e. 2012 Weimerskirch 2007) with potential implications for conservation and management actions (Schofield et al. 2010) while delivering insights into animal behaviour and ecology (Shillinger et al. 2004 Ropert-Coudert and Wilson 2005) and minimal observer effects (Cagnacci et al. The general premise is that such tags allow free-living animals to be studied with only minor disturbance (Boyd et al. 2014), as well as on species that spend a considerable amount of their time in air (Nathan et al. 2014) and terrestrial habitats (Steyaert et al. Such tags can be used under challenging environmental conditions, including aquatic (Gleiss et al. 2007), general activity, behaviour and proxies for energy expenditure (Shepard et al. 2014), but may also document movement patterns (Rhodes et al. ![]() These tags can be equipped with a suite of sensors related to animal state, such as heart beat frequency and/or body temperature (Butler et al. In particular, bio-logging technology, which specifically deals with logging sensor-derived parameters from animal-attached tags, now includes systems such as implants, anchors, glue-on tags and collar or harness-mounted units (i.e. The tagging of wild animals with miniaturized electronic devices has proved pivotal to many wildlife studies and has now become a commonplace within the field of animal ecology (Cagnacci et al. Neither principal activity periods nor distances moved or lodge displacement rate changed within the first week after release, which indicates that beavers were active and post-release space use within the territory was not affected by the tagging event in this respect. Tagging effects were apparent only in activity levels of beavers, where we found lower mean ODBA values after release although the small effect size (Cohen’s d = 0.17) indicates only a minimal difference in activity. Accelerometer data was used to investigate activity levels (using mean overall dynamic body acceleration ODBA and principal activity periods), while GPS data was used to determine movement patterns (using distance moved and lodge displacement rate). We captured 29 dominant free-ranging beavers (12 females, 17 males) in Telemark county, Norway, and tagged them with GPS units ( n = 23 12 males, 11 females) and tri-axial acceleration data loggers ( n = 14 9 males, 5 females). In this study, we investigated whether tagging altered activity and movement patterns of Eurasian beavers ( Castor fiber) during the first week after release, predicting that beavers would be less active, travel shorter distances and stay closer to the lodge in the first nights after the tagging event. However, capturing and tagging can be stressful and may alter animal behaviour. Bio-logging is becoming increasingly popular amongst wildlife researchers, providing a remote way of monitoring free-ranging animals in their natural habitats.
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