Wildlife tracking technologies have already massively advanced our understanding of the natural world, from uncovering previously mysterious migration patterns and key movement corridors to demonstrating the impacts of anthropogenic pressures and climate change. Recent advances in the development of technologies for collecting and transmitting biologging data have unlocked the potential for fine-scale data collection at a near-global scale, which when integrated with remotely sensed environmental data offers an unprecedented biological lens into ecosystem health and environmental change (Jetz et al. 2022).
New technologies on the horizon include small satellites like CubeSats, which are being investigated by NASA, the ICARUS Initiative's satellite system, and a variety of other ventures aiming to improve the coverage, accuracy, and capacity of wildlife tracking data collection. Combined with the increased availability of high-resolution environmental data and analytical developments in movement modeling, these advancements are empowering movement ecologists to ask previously unanswerable or unimaginable questions. It’s clear that this discipline sits at the precipice of major breakthroughs that could revolutionize our understanding of animal movement and the natural world.
Zoologist
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Tech & Partnerships at CWS | Tech4Good | Sustainability | Biodiversity | Climate Action | Heartfulness
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PhD candidate studying the impact of sound on fish behavior and physiology
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Conservation ecologist wanting to understand the population movements of Little Corellas in Australia
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PhD student exploring design and technology to connect people with nature and the environment
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IT Engineer at The Conservation Tech Lab in Ol Pejeta Conservancy. |Endeavoring to implement tech solutions for conservation.
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The Innovation in Practice edition of Methods in Ecology and Evolution is still seeking proposals about conservation technology
6 March 2023
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The Zoological Society of London, with the support of WILDLABS and the UK Space Agency, are proud to publish this new guide to satellite technologies for tracking wildlife.
17 February 2023
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Researchers and conservationists are embarking on a bold initiative to save the world's most trafficked wild mammal — the pangolin
16 February 2023
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As part of the AniMove eLearning programme, you are now able to stream 2022 Animal movement & remote sensing course lectures opensource.
10 February 2023
Are you stuck on an AI or ML challenge in your conservation work? Apply now for the chance to receive tailored expert advice from data scientists! Applications due 27th January 2023
18 January 2023
2
Discover how humans are working with animals – from dragonflies and ospreys to hedgehogs and jaguars – to improve our understanding of wildlife behaviour and numbers around the world, and how best to protect them.
16 January 2023
WILDLABS and Fauna & Flora International are seeking an early career Vietnamese conservationist for 12-month paid internship position to grow and support the Southeast Asia regional community in our global...
11 January 2023
The University of Alaska Fairbanks is seeking a research Post Doctoral Fellow to work in collaboration with the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The position will focus on using Machine...
7 December 2022
First known baited underwater video match of an individual white shark, based on facial scars and other unique features White shark undertakes 1,100-mile (1800-km) transboundary swim from South Africa to Mozambique
25 October 2022
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Careers
This position (at California State University, Long Beach) provides data management & analysis support to Shark Lab research operations including shark tagging, active tracking, receiver data, AUV & UAV data...
24 October 2022
*New closing date!* WILDLABS and Fauna & Flora International are seeking an early career conservationist for 12-month paid internship position to grow and support the Southeast Asia regional community in our global...
19 October 2022
Oregon State University researchers have developed a new satellite tag that allows them to better track whales’ behavior, including previously unobservable feeding events during dives.
4 October 2022
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Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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I thought I would share this little piece on our use of passive RECCO reflectors on GPS collars for muskoxen in Greenland:The RECCO... |
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Biologging | 1 day ago | |
Hi again Emily,@tom_august just pointed to this PhD thesis in another post that could be of interest to you also:All the best,Rob |
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Biologging | 2 days 8 hours ago | |
Oh, great link! Been doing marine projects recently and a big headache is protecting submerged electronics. I've kind of heard of many of those techniques, but great to see them... |
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Biologging, Marine Conservation, Sensors | 5 days 13 hours ago | |
Our project in very short is, setting up a sensor network for monitoring airborne biomass, mainly insects, birds and bats in near realtime, and to develop a forecast model to be... |
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Autonomous Camera Traps for Insects, Biologging, Remote Sensing & GIS, Sensors | 6 days 7 hours ago | |
I have enjoyed the recent podcast on Monique the first animal(s) to carry a satellite collar, the ICARUS project etc. Also, regarding... |
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Biologging | 6 days 7 hours ago | |
Thanks Thomas! I haven't found any wing-tag avian trackers like I described. Although, similar models have been made for terrestrial animals in the form of ear tags. I... |
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Biologging | 1 week ago | |
Hi Andrea! Although I am a keen user and observer of the Moveapps initiative, my R or Python coding skills are next to non- existing. I am therefore not likely to be contributing... |
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Biologging, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Data management and processing tools , Emerging Tech, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Open Source Solutions, Software and Mobile Apps | 2 weeks 6 days ago | |
These are really small acoustic tags. (Lotek Wireless, Sonotronics, and the JSATs design are examples of similar manufacturers/products.) These tags will only work in water... |
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Biologging | 1 month ago | |
There is now a really nice paper on the SnapperGPS: |
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Biologging | 1 month 1 week ago | |
Hi,I am a Ph.D. student researching causes for the population decline in American Oystercatchers in Virginia. I am using a combination of... |
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Biologging | 1 month 3 weeks ago | |
Hi Huascar, how are you? there's limitations on snakes since their body form and behaviour, if you leave a VHF or GPS tag as an external fixation it will get tangled with roths... |
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Biologging | 1 month 3 weeks ago | |
I Rob, I just saw your message today (19 Jan 2023)! It's a bit late to reply but I wanted to make sure the tag manufacturer got the credit on the quality of their work. I'm not... |
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Biologging | 2 months ago |
Passive RECCO reflectors - harmonic radar
25 March 2023 9:07pm
RFID Tech for small animals?
23 March 2023 5:40pm
24 March 2023 1:06pm
Hi Emily, I think, as you've pointed out, the read range of any tag you use is going to be pretty small. For example, the tags from Sparkfun linked to below have a read range of about 'one inch'. Alternatively, given the weight of your lizards (soooo tiny!) you could potentially consider very small VHF tags like the LB-2X from Holohil. Looking at about 2-3 weeks of battery life, but it would mean you could potentially, more easily track their movements (for example). Happy to discuss and all the best for your research.
Rob
24 March 2023 1:15pm
Hi again Emily,
@tom_august just pointed to this PhD thesis in another post that could be of interest to you also:
All the best,
Rob
Field testing of a radio telemetry system to be deployed in the sea.
24 January 2023 6:52am
3 March 2023 11:34am
Abhijit and Hari joined us at our Variety Hour show to talk in more detail about this project - check it out to learn more about how it's progressing.
21 March 2023 2:47am
Here's a link about waterproofing in the marine environment, if you haven't already discovered Ed Mallon.
21 March 2023 8:52am
Oh, great link! Been doing marine projects recently and a big headache is protecting submerged electronics. I've kind of heard of many of those techniques, but great to see them collected all in one place and with first hand experienced commentary regarding them.
Monitoring airborne biomass
14 March 2023 10:30am
14 March 2023 1:34pm
Looks like you want to have a read of this thread:
20 March 2023 2:44pm
Our project in very short is, setting up a sensor network for monitoring airborne biomass, mainly insects, birds and bats in near realtime, and to develop a forecast model to be used for mitigation with respect various types of human-wildlife conflicts (e.g. wind power, pesticide application, aviation). Our expertise is mainly in radar monitoring, but we aim on add insect camera information to be merged with the quantitative biomass measeurments by radar.
Monique - the space Elk(s)
20 March 2023 2:25pm
Wing-tags with trackers attached?
3 March 2023 1:47am
10 March 2023 2:02pm
Hey Ruth,
Can you post photos of the "wing-tags" that you are referencing and/or perhaps a link? The smallest satellite transmitter that exists today is about 2-3g in weight and really quite small. In theory, I don't see why it couldn't work...
19 March 2023 5:58am
Thanks Thomas!
I haven't found any wing-tag avian trackers like I described. Although, similar models have been made for terrestrial animals in the form of ear tags.
I am inquiring as to whether a lighter version can be made for birds. Although an obvious concern is the weight of the tracker since the wellbeing of the bird is our priority.
Proposals wanted for Innovation in Practice

6 March 2023 10:34pm
Moveapps: EMAC23 Coding Challenge
3 March 2023 7:58am
3 March 2023 3:12pm
Super initiative! I hope you get a lot of entries to this coding challenge!
6 March 2023 7:53am
Thanks Lars! Look forward to any entries from you and your colleagues. If you have an questions or suggestions, let me know.
6 March 2023 1:11pm
Hi Andrea! Although I am a keen user and observer of the Moveapps initiative, my R or Python coding skills are next to non- existing. I am therefore not likely to be contributing this time... Some day perhaps ;)
The WILDLABS Variety Hour: February 2023 - YouTube
3 March 2023 11:24am
Last week's Variety Hour is now up on youtube. It was a great session - we covered Moveapps, an awesome community project building marine biologgers, chatgpt and google earth engine vs microsoft's planetary computer. Thanks everyone who came along!
Moveapps EMAC23 Coding Challenge – Participate now!
3 March 2023 7:45am
Tiny trackers for fish - other applications?
22 February 2023 9:48pm
24 February 2023 3:40pm
These are really small acoustic tags. (Lotek Wireless, Sonotronics, and the JSATs design are examples of similar manufacturers/products.) These tags will only work in water because they require water in order to propagate their signal. Of course that means you need receivers in order to pick up the signal, so usually organizations will have a string or strings of strategically placed receivers to pick up the acoustic tags (mouths of rivers is a common location). I think the Ocean Tracking Network (OTN) operates some of the largest sets of receivers. Others are managed by the institution themselves, various regional IOOS offices, and/or similar.
They could work on really small sea turtles, but you are limited to tracking them based on the range of the receivers (which for smaller tags is even more limited, measured in meters or hundreds of meters). Lotek Wireless recently started producing their "Sunbird" line which has been used on some relatively small turtles. You can look at the work that Upwell is doing as an example of satellite-based tracking with very small turtles.
Birds...out of the question : (
Download Now: A Best Practice Guide to Satellite Technologies for Tracking Wildlife

17 February 2023 10:29am
17 February 2023 11:34am
20 February 2023 9:34am
Operation Pangolin launches to save world's most trafficked wild mammal
16 February 2023 7:51pm
17 February 2023 1:50am
pseudoranges
31 January 2023 9:10pm
1 February 2023 6:26pm
Although it is not explicitly stated anywhere, I believe SnapperGPS uses similar "pseudorange" methods.
2 February 2023 3:24am
Thank you very much for finding these materials. I also tried to find similar techniques using pseudorange positioning a few months ago, but unfortunately I did not find so many papers and such creative works at that time. Your materials seemed to open it up for me. most sincere thanks!
16 February 2023 9:35am
There is now a really nice paper on the SnapperGPS:
The Variety Hour: February
14 February 2023 6:26pm
AniMove 2022 Course Lectures Available to Stream

10 February 2023 1:27pm
AniMove Summer School 2023
10 February 2023 1:19pm
New tutorial on Firetail 10 - annotation of acceleration data
8 February 2023 12:18pm
Hi! I created a new tutorial video on how to annotate high density acceleration data using Firetail 10 (www.firetail.de). In particular, I cover
* how to automatically segment your data
* how to edit and modify annotations
* how to transfer models across individuals
* how to overlay external and video annotations
If you like to follow the tutorial, grab
* your movebank account
* this study: https://www.movebank.org/cms/webapp?gwt_fragment=page=studies,path=stud…
* the free edition of Firetail from firetail.de
Crowdfunding for GPS loggers for a threatened shorebird
3 February 2023 3:54pm
Telemetry and tracking Snakes
30 January 2023 2:44pm
31 January 2023 6:29pm
Hi Huascar!
I have no experience with tracking snakes.
If I was you, I would start by having a look at a goggle scholar search like this:
Another place to ask for advice from experienced users would be to find some snake tracking researchers on
Good luck!
2 February 2023 1:47pm
Hi Huascar, how are you? there's limitations on snakes since their body form and behaviour, if you leave a VHF or GPS tag as an external fixation it will get tangled with roths and branches and it will fall, besides you have to suture and it can cause infections.
So far you only got implanted VHF transmitters, that's the most common, lonlasting and safe fixation method.
There's an alternative of using Tegaderm as a external fixation method but with ecdysis will eventually remove it.
any doubts please write me [email protected]
Advanced Field School in Computational Ecology
25 January 2023 2:54pm
Repository for 3D models of tracking devices
14 September 2017 2:29pm
3 October 2017 6:33pm
3D model of custome-made GeoTrak GT-65GS-GPS with slanted front face (adapted from http://www.geotrakinc.com/products/solarGPS/PTT-65g-solarGPS.html).
Known flaws: Size and shape of attachment loops are not correct: the actual material is too thin to allow for a strong 3D printing so I decided to make the loops thicker; the actual loop hole is also slightly wider. Base of antenna is shorter than actual one. Actual device has smoother angles and slightly convex top (where the solar panels are).
The 3D print will need to be sanded to smoothen the edges and to get the soft angles of the original design. I also designed the tag with a hole where the back solar panels should be: this is to add weight (metals nuts and bolts) to reach a final mass of 65g.
Attached files:
gt-65gs-gps_slanted_3d.skp_.pdf: SketchUp 2016 file. Change file name back to .skp
gt-65gs-gps_slanted_for_3d_print.stl_.pdf: Printing file. Change file name back to .stl
Yvan


20 September 2018 6:01pm
Hi Yvan,
Steph directed me to this awesome resource. These units look so well made! Are you potting in the solar panels? Also, if you are interested, we've been working on a timed drop-off for avian tracking devices similar to this, which I am happy to share details about.
Anyway, in the spirit of your efforts, we've uploaded some collar housing designs and associated .stl files to our Website here: https://www.wildspy.com.au/resources.php
Shall add more as we design more.
Great initiative Yvan!
Cheers,
Rob
19 January 2023 10:38pm
I Rob, I just saw your message today (19 Jan 2023)! It's a bit late to reply but I wanted to make sure the tag manufacturer got the credit on the quality of their work. I'm not the manufacturer (just a user): these are made by Keith LeSage at Geotrak Inc, North Carolina, USA. We've beein working with them for about 10 years now and all their tags are as good looking as these.
Firetail Fellowships
19 January 2023 12:11pm
I'm a software engineer/data scientist at Schäuffelhut Berger. We're developing Firetail a software for GPS and acceleration visualization and behavioral annotation.
We have just launched our Firetail Fellowship Program which may be a great way to get access to a full Firetail license for your student project. Let me know if you have questions or comments on this!
Apply Now: AI for Conservation Office Hours
18 January 2023 5:15pm
How do I fit GPS satellite tags to remotely monitor giraffe movements?
18 January 2023 9:05am
Interview for Technologies in Conservation
24 November 2022 10:07am
16 January 2023 2:42pm
I'd be happy to chat with you if you wanted! My expertise is within passive acoustic monitoring particularly. The Conservation Tech Directory might be useful for you in identifying relevant actors within the space.
16 January 2023 5:16pm
Happy to contribute [email protected]
17 January 2023 5:12pm
My original background is in ecology and conservation, and am now in the elected leadership of the Gathering for Open Science Hardware which convenes researchers developing open source tech for science. I am not working on a specific piece of technology right now, but am happy to contribute some higher-level views for your interview if that helps.
Wildlife Telemetry Podcasts
9 January 2023 11:49am
9 January 2023 12:22pm
There is also this one:
featuring @ThomasGray_Argos
Very cool, Thomas!
16 January 2023 5:04pm
Hey, I know that guy : )
How tracking technology is transforming our understanding of animal behaviour

16 January 2023 3:14pm
Case Study on Monitoring Aquatic Species with Gliders and Biologging Gear
13 January 2023 3:51am
Here's a fascinating new case study on Ocean Tracking Network's work with underwater gliders to track tagged marine species like crabs. If you're interested in biologging, marine tech, or fisheries' tech usage, take a few minutes to read this!
extending battery life with solar panels
27 February 2019 7:47am
4 January 2023 2:14pm
Hi Matthew,
I am not entirely sure how the collars have failed since we loose them after failure despite a big effort in recapturing the animals. In one case where we did recapture, the UHF long range communication was gone but data was downloaded after the collar came in near visinity of the base station. Ecotone makes a similar collar with a drop-off mechanism but I have not tried it.
12 January 2023 1:56pm
Hi Peter, we manufacture solar powered Iridium trackers for birds, crocs/alligators and collars for various species. Our longest standing unit is a 55g unit on a Vulture and has been going for 4 years, providing data on an hourly basis. Our croc units include a pressure/depth sensor and provide details of depth and time at depth. Most of our devices include a VHF transmitter which is fully configurable over the air (you can change frequency, pulse duration, pulse interval and operation times - good for security).
12 January 2023 3:08pm
Hi Greg! Your Iridium tags sounds really interesting. I tried looking you up on
but there is not much to be found. Can you provide more details and images of your tags?
Cheers, Lars
23 March 2023 6:42pm
Hi Emily,
Signposting a few other convos and resources that might be useful while we wait for some folks to chime in!
Vikram's work might be helpful, he's super lovely and I'm sure he'd be happy to answer questions or speak with you if you think it's a path to go down
If you decide to go down the RFID route, there are quite a few convos if you drop RFID into our search - here's one with lots of advice that might be helpful:
I also swear there was someone in Kate Jone's lab who was popping tiny tags on locusts, @TaliaSpeaker who did that photo belong to?
Steph