A versatile telemetry system for continuous measurement of heart rate, body temperature and locomotor activity in free-ranging ruminants

Signer, Claudio; Ruf, T.; Schober, Franz; Fluch, Gerhard; Paumann, Thomas; Arnold, Walter

doi:10.1111/j.2041-210x.2009.00010.x

Cited by 58 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 29 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These devices record temperature during passage through the gastrointestinal tract and have been used widely on relatively large species and in humans [10,63,64]. Recording duration is determined by gut passage rate, which may vary from hours to weeks but in large ruminants devices have been retained for up to 4 years (retention time was actually improved by increasing the size of the device) [56]. The extent to which gastrointestinal temperature reflects core temperature is dependent on food ingestion and subsequent digestion (and fermentation in the case of ruminants).…”

Section: Gastrointestinal Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The extent to which gastrointestinal temperature reflects core temperature is dependent on food ingestion and subsequent digestion (and fermentation in the case of ruminants). The temperature recorded may be filtered to account for these processes and thereby provide informative longer term recording of core temperature [56]. Radio-telemetry pills have the advantage that temperature can be recorded externally and do not require recovery of the pill.…”

Section: Gastrointestinal Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One disadvantage with data loggers is that animals must normally be recaptured for data retrieval, which can be difficult or even impossible for some species. Technological solutions have been developed to remedy this, for example using UHF transmission of temperature data to a telemetry collar that can then transmit data by VHF [56] or implanted archive tags on pinnipeds that float to the sea surface and transmit data by satellite when the animal dies [57].…”

Section: Data Loggersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Radio-telemetry pills have the advantage that temperature can be recorded externally and do not require recovery of the pill. Systems that provide a combination of radio-telemetry and data logger output have been custom built for this purpose [56,64]. By far the greatest application of gastrointestinal sensors in wild species has been to detect feeding events in marine endotherms, to which these devices are especially appropriate as the stomach temperature of these animals drops temporarily during the ingestion of cooler ectothermic prey [65][66][67].…”

Section: Gastrointestinal Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Challenges of measuring body temperatures of free-ranging birds and mammals

2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The thermal physiology of most birds and mammals is characterised by considerable spatial and temporal variation in body temperature. Body temperature is, therefore, a key parameter in physiological, behavioural and ecological research. Temperature measurements on freely moving or free-ranging animals in the wild are challenging but can be undertaken using a range of techniques. Internal temperature may be sampled using thermometry, surgically implanted loggers or transmitters, gastrointestinal or non-surgically placed devices. Less invasive approaches measure peripheral temperature with subcutaneous passive integrated transponder tags or skin surface-mounted radio transmitters and data loggers, or use infrared thermography to record surface temperature. Choice of technique is determined by focal research question and region of interest that reflects appropriate physiological or behavioural causal mechanisms of temperature change, as well as welfare and logistical considerations. Particularly required are further studies that provide opportunities of continuously sampling from multiple sites from within the body. This will increase our understanding of thermoregulation and temperature variation in different parts of the body and how these temperatures may change in response to physiological, behavioural and environmental parameters. Technological advances that continue to reduce the size and remote sensing capability of temperature recorders will greatly benefit field research.

show abstract

Section: Gastrointestinal Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Gastrointestinal Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Data Loggersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Gastrointestinal Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Challenges of measuring body temperatures of free-ranging birds and mammals

2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Baseline core temperature gradually increases each time when the stress-inducing handling or probe insertion must be repeated 23 . Recent developments in temperature recording equipment that allow accessing data remotely may provide a solution, at least for large animals 24 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal Imaging to Study Stress Non-invasively in Unrestrained Birds

Jerem

Herborn

McCafferty

et al. 2015

JoVE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Stress, a central concept in biology, describes a suite of emergency responses to challenges. Among other responses, stress leads to a change in blood flow that results in a net influx of blood to key organs and an increase in core temperature. This stress-induced hyperthermia is used to assess stress. However, measuring core temperature is invasive. As blood flow is redirected to the core, the periphery of the body can cool. This paper describes a protocol where peripheral body temperature is measured non-invasively in wild blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) using infrared thermography. In the field we created a set-up bringing the birds to an ideal position in front of the camera by using a baited box. The camera takes a short thermal video recording of the undisturbed bird before applying a mild stressor (closing the box and therefore capturing the bird), and the bird's response to being trapped is recorded. The bare skin of the eye-region is the warmest area in the image. This allows an automated extraction of the maximum eye-region temperature from each image frame, followed by further steps of manual data filtering removing the most common sources of errors (motion blur, blinking). This protocol provides a time series of eye-region temperature with a fine temporal resolution that allows us to study the dynamics of the stress response non-invasively. Further work needs to demonstrate the usefulness of the method to assess stress, for instance to investigate whether eye-region temperature response is proportional to the strength of the stressor. If this can be confirmed, it will provide a valuable alternative method of stress assessment in animals and will be useful to a wide range of researchers from ecologists, conservation biologists, physiologists to animal welfare researchers.

show abstract

Post‐migratory nonbreeding movements of birds: A review and case study

Teitelbaum

Bachner

Hall

2023

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Seasonal migrations are fascinating and ecologically important, but many migratory species are declining as climate change and land-use change alter the habitats used by migrants across the annual cycle. While some migratory birds use a single wintering site, others undertake large-scale post-migratory movements during the nonbreeding season. Technological advances that enable tracking individual birds are uncovering more examples of post-migratory nonbreeding movements. Documenting these movements is important for conservation, which requires understanding when and where migrants use habitats throughout their range. Here, we reviewed existing literature and collected information on the post-migratory nonbreeding movements of 92 migratory bird species from 18 orders across six continents. Among these records, the most commonly reported drivers of movements were resource availability and climate. This strong dependence of post-migratory nonbreeding movements on birds' abiotic and biotic environments suggests that environmental change will impact the patterns of these movements and potentially the fitness of species that undertake them. We also reviewed post-migratory nonbreeding movements in North Americanbreeding thrushes from the genus Catharus to examine the drivers of these movements in five closely related migratory species. We find that species that are less territorial are more likely to use multiple sites during the nonbreeding season; however, there is little evidence for dietary, evolutionary, or environmental differences between thrush species that move during winter and those that are stationary. While we believe our study represents the most comprehensive list of species exhibiting post-migratory nonbreeding movements to date, biases in sampling, a lack of common terminology for these movements, and the still-nascent availability of inexpensive, lightweight tracking devices mean that there are probably more populations that undertake such movements. Future research into the consequences of post-migratory nonbreeding movements for individual fitness and ecosystem services would advance our understanding of their conservation importance and their evolution.

show abstract

A versatile telemetry system for continuous measurement of heart rate, body temperature and locomotor activity in free-ranging ruminants

Cited by 58 publications

References 29 publications

Challenges of measuring body temperatures of free-ranging birds and mammals

Challenges of measuring body temperatures of free-ranging birds and mammals

Thermal Imaging to Study Stress Non-invasively in Unrestrained Birds

Post‐migratory nonbreeding movements of birds: A review and case study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About