Accuracy of Radiotelemetry to Estimate Wolf Activity and Locations

We analyzed radiotracking data from wolves (Canis lupus) in the Białowieza Forest, Poland, to determine (1) differences between methods of estimating mean wolf activity and daily activity patterns, (2) whether activity estimated by changes in signal strength is dependent on the distance between the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of wildlife management 2002-07, Vol.66 (3), p.859-864
Main Authors: Theuerkauf, Jörn, Jȩdrzejewski, Włodzimierz
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analytical estimating
Animal behavior
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Boreal forests
Circadian rhythm
Coniferous forests
Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife
Deciduous forests
Estimate reliability
Estimation methods
Forest ecology
Forests
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects. Techniques
Methods and techniques (sampling, tagging, trapping, modelling...)
Parks, reserves, wildlife conservation. Endangered species: population survey and restocking
Sensors
Wildlife management
Wolves
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Summary:We analyzed radiotracking data from wolves (Canis lupus) in the Białowieza Forest, Poland, to determine (1) differences between methods of estimating mean wolf activity and daily activity patterns, (2) whether activity estimated by changes in signal strength is dependent on the distance between the radiotracked wolf and the tracker, (3) radiotracker influence on wolf activity estimates, and (4) accuracy of radio locations. Daily patterns of wolf activity estimated by changes in signal strength, movements, and activity sensors were similar. However, the mean time spent active estimated by changes in signal strength (55% of the time) was higher than those estimated by movements (34%) or sensors (32%). We obtained the most accurate estimates of activity by a combination of movement, signal strength, and sensor data (43%) or by combining movement and signal strength data (44%). Activity estimated by changes in signal strength did not vary with the distance between radiotracked animals and radiotrackers. The trackers had no detectable influence on activity and movements of wolves when the tracker-to-wolf distance was >200 m. There was a small but not significant influence if trackers were
ISSN:0022-541X
1937-2817
DOI:10.2307/3803150