Lessons and Experiences from the Design, Implementation, and Deployment of a Wildlife Tracking System

Thinking small: Next-generation sensor networks close the size gap in vertebrate biologging

“…These analyses show that 11 localization nodes over an area of 1.5 ha in a forested habitat might be sufficient to construct high-resolution trajectories comparable in quality to a heavyduty GPS tracker, which would only last for a few hours using a 15 g device, or to reverse GPS in open desert habitats [10]. Only moderate resources and human effort are needed to cover an area of a few hectares.…”

“…Consistently, there have been numerous applications for WSNs in wildlife monitoring ("biologging") since the early 2000s [9]. In the last decade, more sophisticated approaches have created powerful monitoring systems, e.g., for high-resolution tracking [10] and fully automated logging of social encounters [11,12]. The major challenge in developing efficient wireless biologging networks (WBNs) is to design ultra-low power communication networks in order to maximize performance, minimize energy consumption, and reduce tag mass.…”

Biologging Special Feature

“…These cross-disciplinary teams could lead to fresh insights into a wide range of research fields enabling, for example (a) assessments of anthropogenic pollution impacts in wildlife (e.g. oil spills, Montevecchi et al, 2011;Montevecchi et al, 2012; marine debris ingestion, Fukuoka et al, 2016) Bijleveld, Gabrielson, & Cortopassi, 2019;Toledo, Kishon, Orchan, Shohat & Nathan, 2016), and biologgers with improved sensors to measure speed, reduce the impact of devices on tagged animals, enable lifetime tracking, and novel approaches for real-time processing and remote transmission of data (Williams et al, 2020). Similarly, a strong advancement of the theoretical and mathematical foundations of movement ecology, combined with improved computational methods, will be required to take full advantage of the unprecedentedly rich and complex types and amounts of data now collected by modern biologging tags.…”

Florida's Strategic Position for Collaborative Automated Telemetry Tracking of Avian Movements Across the Americas

“…Within the system or network, small (0.25-3 g) digitally coded transmitters on single VHF frequencies are used to detect and infer the trajectory of animal movements within a collaboratively maintained and ever-growing global array of more than 700 monitoring stations (Taylor et al 2017;Mackenzie 2018). Although other large-scale automated telemetry systems have been used elsewhere (Kays et al 2011;Ř eřucha et al 2015;Toledo et al 2016), Motus is the most accessible and fastest growing system in the Americas. It has facilitated new insights into the migration routes, rates, and stopover behavior of individual migratory birds.…”