| dc.description.abstract | To understand wildlife ecology, one common strategy is a technique known as telemetry. This technique involves attaching radio-transmitters to animals. For volant species, such as bats, transmitters are attached to their backs with an adhesive. However, one issue is that it is easy for the bats to remove the transmitter. The loss of transmitters early in surveys is not only costly, but limits the amount of data that can be collected. Thus, there is a real need to extend the length of time a transmitter remains on a bat. To address this, we conducted a two-part behavioral observation study in the bat flight facility at TCU. In part 1 from April to September 2019, we tested 1) two currently available transmitter brands and 2) three different prototype designs to determine if the overall shape and size of the transmitter impacted the length of time they remained attached. We found that regardless of transmitter brand or design, the antennas incurred a significant amount of damage, suggesting the bats used the antennas to grab and pull them off. Thus, for part 2 from August to September 2020, we conducted a series of trials to establish the effectiveness of three coatings at preventing bats from damaging the antennas. We found that transmitters did not remain attached significantly longer with cayenne pepper, nailbiting deterrent, or Tabasco sauce on the antenna, suggesting that either 1) bats were not deterred by the three coatings we selected, or 2) bats may not be chewing the antennas or putting them in their mouths to provide leverage to remove them. Overall, our study revealed that bats can and will remove transmitters by grooming them off using the antennas and we recommend that future research focuses on integrating the antenna into the body of the transmitter as a preventative measure. | |
