Data from: A new acoustic telemetry tag that identifies carrier mortality by monitoring activity level

Current acoustic telemetry technology relies on complex data modelling,
interpretation of environmental sensor data, or the occurrence of a
predation event to determine the death of a studied individual. We present
a new acoustic telemetry tag capable of detecting whether its carrier
stops moving for long enough to presume the organism has died, and of
reporting the time elapsed since movement ceased. This tag was designed to
increase the power of acoustic telemetry for investigating population
dynamics and ecological threat processes in aquatic ecosystems by making
it easier to establish when, where, and how the animals of interest die.
We present a field test of these tags conducted in a freshwater lake in
New Brunswick, Canada, using a combination of fixed-position tags together
with tags implanted into two species of salmonid fish. We demonstrate that
the new tag achieves its main objective of indicating mortality events,
but that the programming of the inactivity sensor needs careful
consideration for species that are routinely inactive for extended
periods. The tag will be a valuable addition to the acoustic telemetry
toolbox, and we describe example applications for its use in studying the
survival of migratory salmonids. --