@article{340c6759c9044658a6eb9c943c52e27f,
title = "Variable terrestrial GPS telemetry detection rates: Addressing the probability of successful acquisitions",
abstract = "Studies using global positioning system (GPS) telemetry rarely result in 100% fix success rates (FSR), which may bias datasets because data loss is systematic rather than a random process. Previous spatially explicit models developed to correct for sampling bias have been limited to small study areas, a small range of data loss, or were study-area specific. We modeled environmental effects on FSR from desert to alpine biomes, investigated the full range of potential data loss (0–100% FSR), and evaluated whether animal body position can contribute to lower FSR because of changes in antenna orientation based on GPS detection rates for 4 focal species: cougars (Puma concolor), desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni), Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni), and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). Terrain exposure and height of over story vegetation were the most influential factors affecting FSR. Model evaluation showed a strong correlation (0.88) between observed and predicted FSR and no significant differences between predicted and observed FSRs using 2 independent validation datasets. We found that cougars and canyon-dwelling bighorn sheep may select for environmental features that influence their detectability by GPS technology, mule deer may select against these features, and elk appear to be nonselective. We observed temporal patterns in missed fixes only for cougars. We provide a model for cougars, predicting fix success by time of day that is likely due to circadian changes in collar orientation and selection of daybed sites. We also provide a model predicting the probability of GPS fix acquisitions given environmental conditions, which had a strong relationship (r 2 = 0.82) with deployed collar FSRs across species. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.",
keywords = "GPS telemetry, cougar, desert bighorn sheep, elk, location bias, mountain lion, mule deer",
author = "Ironside, {Kirsten E.} and Mattson, {David J.} and David Choate and David Stoner and Terence Arundel and Jered Hansen and Tad Theimer and Brandon Holton and Brian Jansen and Sexton, {Joseph O.} and Kathleen Longshore and Edwards, {Thomas C.} and Michael Peters",
note = "Funding Information: This study was funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Biodiversity and Ecological Forecasting Program (Climate and Biological Response, grant no. NNH10ZFA001N). We thank the Utah Division of Wildlife Services for contributing GPS telemetry datasets for our analysis, especially T. Messmer and J. Pettee for the elk data. We thank the Utah National Guard and Kennecott Utah Copper for collared deer data and test collars in the Oquirrhs Mountains and the Fishlake National Forest for deer collars on Monroe Mountain. Financial support for the collection of cougar datasets was provided by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Park-Oriented Biological Support program, the USGS Colorado Plateau Research Station, the National Park Service (NPS) Cooperative Conservation Initiative, the Summerlee Foundation, the Wilburforce Foundation, the USGS Southwest Biological Science Center, the USGS Fire Research Program, the Johnson Family Foundation, and the Department of Energy. Material and other in-kind support has been provided by the United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, the Grand Canyon Trust, Northern Arizona University, Arizona Game and Fish Department, and the NPS Flagstaff Area National Monuments. The NPS provided funding for the collection of bighorn sheep telemetry data in the Grand Canyon. Funding for bighorn sheep telemetry data in Nevada was provided by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. We thank Mickey Agha for field work assistance. We thank F. Colchero, D. Olson, C. Yackulic, J. Lovich, A. Whipple, and 3 anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. We thank the associate editor, A. Rodgers, and 2 anonymous reviewers for their contributions and improvements to the manuscript. The use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Wildlife Society, 2017",
year = "2017",
month = jun,
doi = "10.1002/wsb.758",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "41",
pages = "329--341",
journal = "Wildlife Society Bulletin",
issn = "0091-7648",
publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",
number = "2",
}