title: Telemetry tag effects on juvenile lingcod Ophiodon elongatus movement: a laboratory and field study.
abstract: This study tested the behavioural effects of tagging subyearling and yearling lingcod Ophiodon elongatus with acoustic telemetry tags in laboratory tanks and in the natural environment (Puget Sound, WA). In the laboratory, tagged individuals showed less movement and feeding behaviour soon after tagging than untagged controls. The effect dissipated after c. 1 week, presumably as the tagged O. elongatus recovered from surgery or adjusted to the presence of the tags. This dissipation enabled a field study that compared early-tagged individuals with a long recovery period after tagging to recently-tagged individuals with a short recovery period after tagging. Consistent with findings from the laboratory experiment, recently tagged individuals showed less movement away from three release sites in Puget Sound than early-tagged individuals. Together, the laboratory and field results provide evidence of temporary tag effects on actual movement in the natural environment and provide a method for testing tag effects in the field. This study suggests that subyearling and yearling O. elongatus should be held for a recovery period before release. If holding after tagging is not an option, then movement data collected during the first week should be interpreted cautiously.
authors.affiliation: Manchester Research Station, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Port Orchard, WA 98366, USA. Jon.Lee@noaa.gov
authors.forename: J S F
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: E P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Tezak
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Berejikian
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D005399:Fishes / Q000502:physiology*; D020127:Recovery of Function; D013550:Swimming; D013686:Telemetry / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013997:Time Factors; D014741:Video Recording