Collars
The VHF collars we will use are from Advanced Telemetry Systems (Table 1). These collars are similar to VHF collars made by other manufacturers that have been used in lynx studies (Squires and Laurion 2000, Vashon et al. 2003). The advantage of VHF collars over GPS collars is a longer projected collar life available with a lower collar mass. The VHF collars cost less to purchase than GPS collars, but the cost savings is lost because animal locations are only available by flying or locating the animal from the ground. It is difficult to impossible to obtain locations at night or in stormy weather, and position accuracy is on the order of hundreds of meters.
Table 1. Characteristics of telemetry collars that will be used on this project.1The number of locations depends on the money available for aerial telemetry flights
Type Collar mass Location Frequency Collar Life Locations ATS M1960 VHF 175 Weekly 24 months 501 Lotek 3300s GPS 295 4 hours 11 months 1800 TS C200 GPS 250 6 hours 5 months 550 TS C300 GPS 350 6 hours 9 months 1150
GPS collars will be obtained from Lotek Wireless, Inc. and from Telemetry Solutions,
Inc. The advantages of the GPS collars are that locations can be obtained on
a set schedule, several locations per day can be obtained in all weather conditions,
activity measurements can also be obtained in one of the collars, and precision
of locations is on the order of meters. One apparent disadvantage is a higher
cost to purchase the collar, but this disappears when one considers the number
and precision of locations that are obtained with the GPS collar. The main
disadvantage is that the projected collar life is shorter, ranging from 5 months
to almost a year (Table 1). Two collar manufacturers are being used because
of capabilities and collaboration opportunities. The collars from Lotek were
selected because they can provide information on animal activity patterns,
and last longer before battery power is exhausted. Collars from Telemetry Solutions
(through collaboration with Dr. P.A. Zollner, Research Ecologist, N.C. Research
Station, US Forest Service, Rhinelander, WI) were selected because they are
smaller and can be used on smaller animals. The disadvantage of the Lotek collars
is their neck size limitations which forces the collars to be deployed only
on larger lynx. The Telemetry Solutions collars can be deployed on smaller
lynx, but collars suitable for smaller animals will last only about 5 months.
Collars suitable for larger animals will last about 10 months but neither version
of the Telemetry Solutions collar have an activity counter.
Both types of GPS collars will be on a schedule in which GPS locations are
collected periodically throughout the day. The Lotek collars will be on a schedule
that collects locations every 4 or 6 hours, every day until the GPS battery
is exhausted. The Telemetry Solutions collars will be on a schedule in which
locations are taken every 6 hours. Both collar types have a built in drop-off
mechanism so that if the animal is not recaptured, the collars drop off the
animal after a set period of time and can be recovered. It is our intent to
recapture and recollar Canada lynx with GPS before the collar is dropped off
automatically.