Best Student Publication Award - Journal of Field Ornithology - Volume 80 (2009)

The winners of the Best Student Publication Award for Volume 80 (2009) in the Journal of Field Ornithology are Lauren Rae and Greg Mitchell of the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph, Ontario for their paper entitled Radio transmitters do not affect the body condition of Savannah Sparrows during the fall premigratory period. The paper was coauthored by Robert Mauck, Christopher Guglielmo, and Ryan Norris. The committee was impressed by the importance of the question with the fact that four measure of body condition were evaluated. Lauren completed work on this study as part of a Senior Honors Project while earning her Bachelor’s degree and has since gone on to graduate school at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Greg is completing his Ph.D. at the University of Guelph on the links between breeding season events, condition, and migratory behavior in Savannah Sparrows on Kent Island, New Brunswick.

Rae, L.F., G.W. Mitchell, R.A. Mauck, C.G. Guglielmo, and D.R. Norris. 2009. Radio transmitters do not affect the body condition of Savannah Sparrows during the fall premigratory period. Journal of Field Ornithology 80:419-426.

Radio telemetry can be a valuable tool for studying the behavior, physiology, and demography of birds. We tested the assumption that radio transmitters have no adverse effects on body condition in an island population of Savannah Sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis). To assess possible changes in condition, 20 radiotagged and 25 nontagged Savannah Sparrows were captured and recaptured throughout the postfledging period. We used four measures of condition: mass, an index of fat free dry mass (measured via heavy water dilution), pectoral muscle depth (measured via ultrasound imaging), and an index of fat mass (measured via heavy water dilution). Using both a generalized linear modeling framework and paired design, we found no significant differences in the body condition of radiotagged and nontagged adults and juveniles. Thus, our results provide evidence that radiotransmitters have no effect on the condition of Savannah Sparrows during the premigratory period.

Download and read their paper here.