First observation of fouling of externally attached radio transmitters in an African river

Authors

  • Francois Jakob Jacobs Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Private Bag 5147, Kamutjonga Inland Fisheries Institute, Divundu, Namibia; 2. South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Private Bag 1015, Makhanda 6140, South Africa
  • Olaf Lawrence Friedrich Weyl DSI/NRF Research Chair for Inland Fisheries and Freshwater Ecology, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Private Bag 1015, Makhanda 6140, South Africa
  • Eva Marita Ulvan Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), PO Box 5685 Torgarden, NO-7485 Trondheim, Norway
  • Clinton Hay 1. University of Namibia, Private Bag 13301, Windhoek, Namibia; 2. Namibia Nature Foundation, PO Box 245, Windhoek, Namibia
  • Tor Fredrik Naesje 1. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), PO Box 5685 Torgarden, NO-7485 Trondheim, Norway; 2. South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Private Bag 1015, Makhanda 6140, South Africa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17159/wsa/2020.v46.i4.9082

Keywords:

freshwater, fouling, Kavango River, tagging, tigerfish, Namibia

Abstract

Fouling of externally attached tags is an important consideration in long-term tagging studies as it may affect fish behaviour and well-being. Two externally attached radio transmitters on African tigerfish Hydrocynus vittatus were covered with short green algae, after the fish were recaptured 49 and 64 days after tagging in the Kavango River, Namibia. This is the first observation of fouling on external radio transmitters from any African river which highlights the importance of conducting studies that evaluate the various health or behavioural effects resulting from tagging.

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Published

2020-10-27

Issue

Vol. 46 No. 4 October (2020): Water SA

Section

Short communication

License

Copyright (c) 2020 Francois Jakob Jacobs, Olaf Lawrence Friedrich Weyl, Eva Marita Ulvan, Clinton Hay, Tor Fredrik Naesje

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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How to Cite

Francois Jakob Jacobs (2020) “First observation of fouling of externally attached radio transmitters in an African river ”, Water SA, 46(4 October). doi:10.17159/wsa/2020.v46.i4.9082.