One of the most exciting aspects of the TOPP program has been bringing together so many scientists, from so many different areas of expertise, to better understand how marine animals use the ocean.  A highlight of this effort was in September, 2008 when TOPP hosted the Biologging III conference.  A total of 235 attendees representing 20 nations delivered 103 oral and 45 poster presentations, describing a wide variety of biologging applications on 89 different animal species.  Today the journal Endangered Species Research published a theme section with a collection of the papers from the Biologging III conference. 

Recent biologging studies featured in the theme section fall into one of four major themes.  The first are examples of advances in biologging technology, where partnerships between engineers and researchers have resulted in the development of more sophisticated types of tags, allowing new types of studies.  For instance, the use of tri-axial (three-dimensional) accelerometer tags has allowed scientists to study detailed movements of imperial cormorants, and to identify mating events in free-living nurse sharks.  One researcher even used this technology to document beak movements of loggerhead turtles – enabling detailed analysis of their breathing and feeding patterns in the wild. 

A second major theme is that of physiology, behavioral ecology and population structure.  The ability to apply instruments to animals and actively record physiological parameters such as body temperature, oxygen utilization or heart rate has provided important net knowledge about how animals function in the wild.  This collection includes papers on Weddell seals in eastern Antarctica, harbor seals, Mediterranean monk seals and Stellar sea lions in the northern Gulf of Alaska.  There is also the first biologging study of Blainville’s beaked whales around Hawaii, where they are sometimes exposed to sonar from naval vessels. 

The third theme focuses on the ability of a tagged animal to record useful data about its surrounding environments – sometimes referred to as, “Animals as ocean sensors.”  Elephant seals, for example, can sample the water column up to 60 times per day, reaching depths of 1000 m or more under their own power, across broad expanses of the ocean that are difficult to reach by ship or other conventional means.  Such data are now being incorporated into global ocean databases, and are being used by the oceanographic community to better understand ocean circulation.  Specific studies in the collection focus on the data from northern elephant seals, juvenile Stellar sea lions, olive ridley sea turtles and Atlantic bluefin tuna. 

The fourth theme is the use of biologging science for the conservation of threatened and endangered species.  By providing a detailed understanding of how animals utilize their environment, biologging science offers resource managers and policymakers a valuable tool for identifying critical habitat areas, key for the recovery of such populations.  Several of the papers focus on sea turtles, including hawksbill turtles tagged on the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, juvenile green turtles from off the coast of North Carolina, loggerhead turtles in the Mediterranean and leatherback turtles tagged on their nesting grounds in Costa Rica.  Other conservation-related studies focused on dolphins, river sharks, European minks and Mohave desert tortises – demonstrating the growing importance of this field across a variety of issues and habitats. 

The theme section can be viewed at http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v10/.