Tracking marine mammals with electronic devices enables researchers to better understand animal movements and at-sea behavior. For pinnipeds, instruments are typically glued to the animal's hair, either directly to the pelage or via a fabric patch. These instruments are retrieved by cutting the pelage or cutting through the patch. The impact of these modifications to the pelage is presumed to be minimal and short-lived, but this has never been explicitly investigated. This study examined effects of instrument attachment on northern fur seal pelts. To assess thermal consequences of instrumentation, we determined thermal resistance of pelts in water for instruments glued directly to the pelage or with a neoprene base. For each attachment method, we measured the pelt unmodified, with instrument attached, and with instrument removed. Using a hyperbaric chamber, we measured the extent to which water could penetrate the pelt's air layer during diving. Removing the tag by cutting the pelage reduced thermal function of the pelt in water and allowed more air to escape under pressure. In contrast, a neoprene patch better maintained the insulation in water and reduced air loss under pressure. Our results suggest the use of neoprene may reduce negative consequences of instrumentation in fur seals.

中文翻译：

---

在压力下：仪器方法对海狗毛皮功能的影响

使用电子设备跟踪海洋哺乳动物使研究人员能够更好地了解动物的运动和海上行为。对于鳍足类动物，器械通常粘在动物的毛发上，要么直接粘在毛皮上，要么通过织物贴片。这些器械通过切​​割皮毛或切开贴片来取回。这些修改对毛皮的影响被认为是最小和短暂的，但这从未被明确调查过。这项研究检查了仪器附件对北方海狗毛皮的影响。为了评估仪器的热后果，我们确定了直接粘在毛皮上或使用氯丁橡胶底座的仪器毛皮在水中的热阻。对于每种连接方法，我们测量了未修改、连接仪器和移除仪器的毛皮。使用高压舱，我们测量了在潜水过程中水可以穿透毛皮空气层的程度。通过切割毛皮去除标签会降低毛皮在水中的热功能，并允许更多空气在压力下逸出。相比之下，氯丁橡胶贴片更好地保持了水中的绝缘性并减少了压力下的空气损失。我们的研究结果表明，使用氯丁橡胶可能会减少海狗器械的负面影响。