The 2nd international tagging and tracking symposium was held
in San Sebastian, Spain, in October 2007, seven years after the first
symposium was held in Hawaii in 2000 (Sibert and Nielsen 2001). In the
intervening seven years, there have been major advances in both the
capability and reliability of electronic tags and analytical approaches
for geolocation of tagged animals in marine habitats. Advances such as
increased data storage capacity, sensor development, and tag
miniaturization have allowed researchers to track a much wider array of
marine animals, not just large and charismatic species. Importantly,
data returned by these tags are now being used in population analyses
and movement simulations that can be directly utilized in stock
assessments and other management applications.
Papers in this volume are divided into three sections, the first
describing insights into behavior achieved using acoustic, archival, and
novel tags, the second reporting on advances in methods of geolocation,
while the final section includes contributions where tag data have been
used in management of marine species. Accurate documentation of animal
movements and behaviors in critical marine habitats are impossible to
obtain with other technologies. The management and conservation of
marine species are critical in today's changing ocean environment and as
electronic tags become more accurate and functional for a diversity of
organisms their application continues to grow, setting new standards in
science and technology.
