GPS Collars in Studies of Cattle Movement: Cases of Northeast Namibia and North Finland

Polojarvi, Katja; Colpaert, Alfred; Matengu, Kenneth Kamwi; Kumpula, Jouko

doi:10.1007/978-90-481-9920-4_12

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…This study proposes several approaches to understanding and quantifying grazing patterns using PLF technologies. Unlike previous studies [ 34 , 35 , 52 ], research was conducted by combining commercial GPS devices and open data sources, which makes results easily implementable in real-world livestock farming. Although the data provided by commercial devices presented some limitations, they could be overcome with specific data processing strategies, which allowed the extraction of meaningful information on animal behavior and distribution in pastures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most of these studies used high-temporal resolution GPS trackers, which record location fixes every few seconds or minutes. These devices have been proven to be fit for research purposes, but their usefulness under commercial farm conditions is limited due to several reasons, such as robustness, battery life or lack of wireless data transmission [ 34 , 35 ]. However, in recent years, great progress has been made in relation to the development of commercial GPS tracking devices, which are now capable of recording fixes over months or years and transmitting these data through low-power, wide-area (LPWA) networks [ 36 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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GPS Tracking to Monitor the Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Cattle Behavior and Their Relationship with Feces Distribution

Hassan-Vásquez

Maroto-Molina

Guerrero-Ginel

2022

Animals

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The sustainability of agrosilvopastoral systems, e.g., dehesas, is threatened. It is necessary to deepen the knowledge of grazing and its environmental impact. Precision livestock farming (PLF) technologies pose an opportunity to monitor production practices and their effects, improving decision-making to avoid or reduce environmental damage. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of the data provided by commercial GPS collars, together with information about farm characteristics and weather conditions, to characterize the distribution of cattle dung in paddocks, paying special attention to the identification of hotspots with an excessive nutrient load. Seven animals were monitored with smart collars on a dehesa farm located in Cordoba, Spain. Dung deposition was recorded weekly in 90 sampling plots (78.5 m2) distributed throughout the paddock. Grazing behavior and animal distribution were analyzed in relation to several factors, such as terrain slope, insolation or distance to water. Animal presence in sampling plots, expressed as fix, trajectory segment or time counting, was regressed with dung distribution. Cattle showed a preference for flat terrain and areas close to water, with selection indices of 0.30 and 0.46, respectively. The accumulated animal presence during the experimental period explained between 51.9 and 55.4% of the variance of dung distribution, depending on the indicator used, but other factors, such as distance to water, canopy cover or ambient temperature, also had a significant effect on the spatiotemporal dynamics of dung deposition. Regression models, including GPS data, showed determination coefficients up to 82.8% and were able to detect hotspots of dung deposition. These results are the first step in developing a decision support tool aimed at managing the distribution of dung in pastures and its environmental effects.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

GPS Tracking to Monitor the Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Cattle Behavior and Their Relationship with Feces Distribution

Hassan-Vásquez

Maroto-Molina

Guerrero-Ginel

2022

Animals

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“…The University of Kentucky began to use GPS collars for cattle tracking in the 1990s to be able to integrate spatial information into cattle management procedures ( 15 ). Using GPS collars in studies of animal movement has many benefits: individuals can be tracked over a long-term period with predefined time intervals and automatically recorded geographical positions ( 16 ), which is very helpful information on large pastures and rangelands ( 17 ). In addition, accurate and efficient information on grazing behavior can be provided by the use of GPS for monitoring of grazing animals ( 18 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Grazing Intensity and Sward Heterogeneity on the Movement Behavior of Suckler Cows on Semi-natural Grassland

et al. 2021

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Extensively grazed semi-natural grasslands contribute to a wide range of ecosystem services, including the preservation of biodiversity and provision of livestock feed. Depending on the grazing intensity, cattle are set in motion to fulfill their nutritional needs. In this way, they influence the vegetation composition, while at the same time the foraging behavior is affected by the vegetation. A better understanding of the relationship between grazing intensity and animal behavior is an essential component for strategies to improve the value of semi-natural grasslands and for gaining insights for the development of smart farming technologies. The long-term cattle grazing experiment “FORBIOBEN” with its replicated three paddock-scale (1 ha) grazing intensities [moderate (M), lenient (L), very lenient (VL)] was used to investigate the movement behavior of suckler cows during four grazing periods between 2017 and 2020. For this, pregnant suckler cows (Fleckvieh) were equipped with Vectronics GPS Plus (VECTRONIC Aerospace GmbH, Berlin) collars, which recorded the position of the animals at defined time intervals. The main outcomes were that with an increase in the grazing intensity, the herbage on offer declined and, consequently the herbage allowance. However, the spatial heterogeneity of the herbage on offer decreased with increasing grazing intensity (M < VL) which means that the amount of available herbage was lower but more evenly distributed under moderate grazing. Further, there was a tendency that the moderate grazing intensity was associated with the highest effort of walking compared to lenient and very lenient grazing in three out of four grazing periods. We found a strong (p < 0.001) negative correlation among walking distance vs. herbage variability across all treatments × periods. Consequently, the grazing intensity itself was not a good predictor of walking distances which were mainly a result of the available herbage, its distribution or heterogeneity. Future smart farming livestock management systems will, therefore, likely require interfaces with the grassland growth rates and heterogeneity benchmarks if decisions based on livestock movement should be reliable.

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“…An extensive amount of literature can be found on animal tracking such as the work of [13][14][15][16] based on GPS. Specifically, most modern-day cattle tracking is done by attaching a GPS collar to the neck of the animal, as presented in [17,18]. Apart from the use of GPS collars, some other studies have used leg sensors [19] and ear sensors [18] for behaviour monitoring and location monitoring.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Range-Based Algorithm for Autonomous Navigation of an Aerial Drone to Approach and Follow a Herd of Cattle

Gnanasekera

Katupitiya

Savkin

et al. 2021

Sensors

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This paper proposes an algorithm that will allow an autonomous aerial drone to approach and follow a steady or moving herd of cattle using only range measurements. The algorithm is also insensitive to the complexity of the herd’s movement and the measurement noise. Once arrived at the herd of cattle, the aerial drone can follow it to a desired destination. The primary motivation for the development of this algorithm is to use simple, inexpensive and robust sensing hence range sensors. The algorithm does not depend on the accuracy of the range measurements, rather the rate of change of range measurements. The proposed method is based on sliding mode control which provides robustness. A mathematical analysis, simulations and experimental results with a real aerial drone are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

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GPS Collars in Studies of Cattle Movement: Cases of Northeast Namibia and North Finland

Cited by 5 publications

References 24 publications

GPS Tracking to Monitor the Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Cattle Behavior and Their Relationship with Feces Distribution

GPS Tracking to Monitor the Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Cattle Behavior and Their Relationship with Feces Distribution

The Effect of Grazing Intensity and Sward Heterogeneity on the Movement Behavior of Suckler Cows on Semi-natural Grassland

A Range-Based Algorithm for Autonomous Navigation of an Aerial Drone to Approach and Follow a Herd of Cattle

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