The rate of loss of tags used to mark individuals is an important consideration in wildlife research and monitoring. Passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags (or microchips) generally have high retention rates; however, tag loss rates for small mammals such as insectivorous bats are poorly understood. We double-marked a population of Gould's wattled bats (Chalinolobus gouldii) with forearm bands and PIT tags (with the injection site sealed with surgical adhesive) in January and February 2020 to determine rates of subsequent tag loss over the short- (1–2 months) and medium- (13–14 months) term. Loss of PIT tags occurred in 4 (2.7%) of 146 recaptured individuals, all within 2 months of microchipping. We also recorded 1 occurrence of band loss 11 months after banding. Our study supports assertions that PIT-tag retention rates in small mammals are high, and suggests that rates of tag loss in small bat species are low when surgical adhesive is applied. Quantifying the rate of tag loss enables this variable to be incorporated into mark-recapture models. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.

中文翻译：

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食虫蝙蝠物种 PIT 标签丢失率低

用于标记个体的标签丢失率是野生动物研究和监测中的一个重要考虑因素。无源集成转发器 (PIT) 标签（或微芯片）通常具有较高的保留率；然而，对于食虫蝙蝠等小型哺乳动物的标签丢失率知之甚少。我们对 Gould's wattled bats ( Chalinolobus gouldii)的种群进行了双重标记) 于 2020 年 1 月和 2 月使用前臂带和 PIT 标签（注射部位用手术粘合剂密封），以确定短期（1-2 个月）和中期（13-14 个月）的后续标签丢失率。在重新捕获的 146 名个体中，有 4 名 (2.7%) 丢失了 PIT 标签，所有这些都发生在植入微芯片后的 2 个月内。我们还记录了 1 次条带丢失后 11 个月的情况。我们的研究支持小型哺乳动物 PIT 标签保留率高的断言，并表明当使用外科粘合剂时，小型蝙蝠物种的标签丢失率较低。量化标签丢失率使这个变量能够被纳入标记重新捕获模型。© 2021 野生动物协会。