TY - JOUR AU - Heggøy, Oddvar AU - Aarvak, Tomas AU - Øien, Ingar Jostein AU - Jacobsen, Karl-Otto AU - Solheim, Roar AU - Zazelenchuk, Dan AU - Stoffel, Marten AU - Kleven, Oddmund PY - 2017/09/18 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Effects of satellite transmitters on survival in Snowy Owls Bubo scandiacus JF - Ornis Norvegica JA - Ornis Norv. VL - 40 IS - 0 SE - Articles DO - 10.15845/on.v40i0.1309 UR - https://boap.uib.no/index.php/ornis/article/view/1309 SP - 33-38 AB - <p align="LEFT"><span style="color: #010202; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #010202; font-size: xx-small;">The use of tracking devices to monitor birds is extensive, but the effects of such instruments on equipped individuals are still insufficiently taken into account. Here we evaluate potential effects of backpack-mounted satellite transmitters (platform terminal transmitters; PTTs) on survival of 28 Snowy Owls </span></span><em><span style="color: #010202; font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #010202; font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #010202; font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;">Bubo scandiacus</span></span></span></em><span style="color: #010202; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #010202; font-size: xx-small;">. Six confirmed deaths were all probably related to natural and human-induced causes. Although PTT operational time was significantly shorter than expected lifetime of Snowy Owls, five owls were observed alive after transmissions ceased. Additionally four PTTs stopped due to low battery levels, indicating end of transmitter life and not owl mortality. We found no evidence of mortality caused by PTTs, but sample sizes are relatively low and detrimental effects on equipped Snowy Owls cannot be excluded. We recommend caution when instrumenting large owls.</span></span></p> ER -