NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS T O F C E N O M M T M R E A R P C E E D NOVEMBER 2011 U N A I C T I E R D E M ST A AT E S OF DETERMINING TRANSMITTER DRAG AND BEST-PRACTICE ATTACHMENT PROCEDURES FOR SEA TURTLE BIOTELEMETRY T. Todd Jones, Brian Bostrom, Michael Carey, Brittany Imlach, Jon Mikkelsen, Peter Ostafichuk, Scott Eckert, Patrick Opay, Yonat Swimmer, Jeffery A. Seminoff, and David R. Jones NOAA-TM-NMFS-SWFSC-480 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service Southwest Fisheries Science Center The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), organized in 1970, has evolved into an agency that establishes national policies and manages and conserves our oceanic, coastal, and atmospheric resources. An organizational element within NOAA, the Office of Fisheries is responsible for fisheries policy and the direction of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). In addition to its formal publications, the NMFS uses the NOAA Technical Memorandum series to issue informal scientific and technical publications when complete formal review and editorial processing are not appropriate or feasible. Documents within this series, however, reflect sound professional work and may be referenced in the formal scientific and technical literature. Cover photo courtesy of Kara Dodge / Large Pelagics Research Center, University of New Hampshire (NMFS permit 1557-03) ATMO SP ND HE A RI C C NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS I A N D A This TM series is used for documentation and timely communication of preliminary results, interim reports, or special E M I C N purpose information. The TMs have not received complete formal review, editorial control, or detailed editing. O I S L T A R N A T O I I O T A N N U . E S C . R D E EP M AR OM TMENT OF C NOVEMBER 2011 DETERMINING TRANSMITTER DRAG AND BEST-PRACTICE ATTACHMENT PROCEDURES FOR SEA TURTLE BIOTELEMETRY T. Todd Jones1,2 , Brian Bostrom2 , Michael Carey3 , Brittany Imlach2 , Jon Mikkelsen4 , Peter Ostafichuk4 , Scott Eckert5 , Patrick Opay6 , Yonat Swimmer1 , Jeffrey Seminoff7 , and David R. Jones2 1NMFS - Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, 2570 Dole St, Honolulu, HI 96822 Corresponding author - T. Todd Jones, NMFS - ([email protected]) 2Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia 3Michael Carey Productions, 4Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of British Columbia 5WIDECAST 6Head Quarters 7NMFS - Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 3333 N. Torrey Pines Ct., La Jolla, California 92037 Affiliations 1, 6, and 7 are all part of NOAA Fisheries Service NOAA-TM-NMFS-SWFSC-480 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Gary F. Locke, Secretary National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Jane Lubchenco, Undersecretary for Oceans and Atmosphere National Marine Fisheries Service Eric C. Schwaab, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries Determining transmitter drag and best-practice attachment procedures For bibliographic purposes, this document should be cited as follows: Jones, T.T., B.L. Bostrom, M. Carey, B. Imlach, J. Mik kelsen, P. Ostafichuk, S. Eckert, P. Opay, Y. Swimmer, J.A. Seminoff, D.R. Jones. 2011. Determining transmitter drag and best practice attachment procedures for sea turtle biotelemetry studies. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SWFSC-480 http://www.swfsc.noaa.gov Technical Editor: Roy Allen Copies of this report can be obtained from: National Marine Fisheries Service Southwest Fisheries Science Center Marine Turtle Ecology & Assessment Program 3333 N. Torrey Pines Ct. La Jolla, California 92037 USA or National Technical Information Service 5258 Port Royal Road Springfield, VA 22161 (800) 553-6847 or (703) 605-6000 http://www.ntis.gov 3 Determining transmitter drag and best-practice attachment procedures PREFACE This Technical Memorandum describes the first comprehensive study to quantify the increased drag induced by attachment of biotelemetry devices to sea turtles. Drag (i.e., fluid resistance) refers to forces that oppose the relative motion of an object. Transmitters attached to the carapace of turtles as well as epibiont-related biofouling of the transmitter or its attachment method can increase hydrodynamic drag and affect lift and pitch during movements potentially altering an animal’s swimming behavior or workload. This report provides an empirical description of the increase in drag caused by multiple telemetry attachment configurations on different species of sea turtles. Additionally, we report on studies to determine the best location (i.e. that with the least amount of drag) on a turtles’ body for each telemetry attachment configuration. Determining transmitter drag and best-practice attachment procedures TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ....................................................................................................................................... 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................ 7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ 9 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 11 Background ............................................................................................................................... 11 Existing Telemetry Use & Attachment Methods ...................................................................... 12 Project Goals ............................................................................................................................. 13 MATERIALS & METHODS ....................................................................................................... 14 Turtle Casts ............................................................................................................................... 14 Frontal and Planform Area........................................................................................................ 16 Tags and Tag Codes .................................................................................................................. 16 Test Facility .............................................................................................................................. 19 Sting Balance ............................................................................................................................ 20 Measuring Drag Force .............................................................................................................. 21 Measuring Flow Patterns .......................................................................................................... 23 RESULTS ..................................................................................................................................... 23 Drag and Lift Coefficients ........................................................................................................ 23 Effect of Transmitters on the Measured Drag and Lift Coefficient .......................................... 28 Leatherback turtle (adult). ..................................................................................................... 28 Leatherback turtle (juvenile). ................................................................................................ 30 Olive ridley turtle. ................................................................................................................. 32 Green turtle (large). ............................................................................................................... 35 Green turtle (small). .............................................................................................................. 36 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................... 39 Summary of Pertinent Findings ................................................................................................ 39 Why Drag Increases .................................................................................................................. 43 Migratory Energetics ................................................................................................................ 44 Scaling Drag Force ................................................................................................................... 46 Recommendations for Tagging Turtles .................................................................................... 47 Frontal area. .......................................................................................................................... 47 Attachment materials. ........................................................................................................... 48 Shape. .................................................................................................................................... 48 Size (or species) of turtle. ..................................................................................................... 48 Tag placement. ...................................................................................................................... 49 Double tagging. ..................................................................................................................... 49 Research and development. .................................................................................................