Group

Biologging / Feed

Real-time tracking of animal movements is enabling more effective and efficient wildlife monitoring for management, security, and research. As devices get smaller and prices drop, the possibilities for using biologging on a larger scale have grown, and so have the possibilities for increasing customisation to meet specific research needs. Likewise, real-time tracking of illegal wildlife trade, timber, and fish products as they move from source to consumer can shed light on trafficking routes and actors, as well as support enforcement, making tracking gear a powerful tool beyond the field.

discussion

Telemetry and tracking Snakes

Telemetry and Tracking  SnakesHi everyone , am improving a project about spacial ecology on viper snakes of Lachesis genera. We dont know wich tecnology for tracking its more...

2 0

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]

See full post
discussion

Repository for 3D models of tracking devices

Hello everybody, This message is to start a repository for printable 3D models of tracking devices. It is never easy to get an idea of the size and...

5 0

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

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

 

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. 

See full post
Link

Firetail Fellowships

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!

4
discussion

Interview for Technologies in Conservation

Dear Wildlabs community, my name is Nikolas and I am a Master's Student from Lisbon. Like many of you, I grew up with a great passion for the wildlife that we are surrounded...

4 7

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.

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.

See full post
discussion

Wildlife Telemetry Podcasts

While browsing through the producers of wildlife telemetry, I was wondering if there were any podcasts out there on wildlife telemetry and the companies.Indeed there is!I have...

2 2
See full post
discussion

NomaTrack and the LoRa-DTN protocol

I just stumbled upon this report on using LoRa in Reindeer husbandry in Scandinavia wich could be useful for wildlife uses too. "The NomaTrack design combines the...

7 0

LoRA is registered in most places. With Starlink offering more and more service it would be possible in the future to transmit remote images through satellite once it is available in Madagascar. Power consumption of Starlink is big though.

Hi Carly!

Since LoRa and LoRaWAN are meant for low bandwidth data it is not really feasible to use for transmitting remote audio and image data. It could be very valuable to have metadata like battery levels and trap "levelness" sent back to get an idea of the power and physical state of the traps. I am dreaming of something like this for our remote camera traps used for monitoring arctic fox dens in Greenland. They are not rarely turned over by muskox and polar bear and we are consequently loosing important data.

See full post
discussion

GPS tacking tag for turtle doves - any recommendations?

I'm looking for recommendations for a GPS tracking device that would work on turtle doves migration from UK to Sub Saharan Africa and back.  Thanks Chris

8 0

Hi Chris,

I can say I've had some good experience with the Lotek Pinpoint tags that Rob mentioned.

You could also get in touch with ICARUS program at Max Planck (https://www.icarus.mpg.de/en).  They've developed a new tracking system, with their own first reciever on the ISS.  I think there are some limitations on the availability of their tags now as they're still ramping up their program.

Kyler

Hi all! Just wanted to add in that @gracieermi and I maintain a conservation tech directory that includes all the tracking/telemetry companies we've come across so far - conservationtech.directory. 

Currently listed doing a search of the directory - 

Cellular Tracking Technologies - https://celltracktech.com/ 

Advanced Telemetry Systems (ATS) - ​​https://atstrack.com/index.html

Ecotone Telemetry - http://www.ecotone-telemetry.com/index.php/en/oferta/obroze-telemetryczne

GPS Collars - https://www.gps-collars.com/ 

Lotek - https://www.lotek.com/

Microwave Telemetry - https://www.microwavetelemetry.com/

Milsar - https://milsar.com/

Technosmart Europe - https://www.technosmart.eu/

Telemetry Solutions - https://www.telemetrysolutions.com/

Telenax - https://telenax.com/

Telonics - https://www.telonics.com/index.php

Tigrinus - https://www.tigrinus.com.br/

Titley Scientific - https://www.titley-scientific.com/us/products/wildlife-tracking

Wildlife Computers - https://wildlifecomputers.com/

Xerius Tracking - http://www.xeriustracking.fr/

North Star - http://www.northstarst.com/

Migrate Tech - http://www.migratetech.co.uk/ 

e-obs GmbH - https://e-obs.de/

Africa Wildlife Tracking - https://awt.co.za/ 

Holohil - https://www.holohil.com/

Wildlife Materials - https://wildlifematerials.com/

Vectronic Aerospace/Vectronics - https://www.vectronic-aerospace.com/

Kiwi Track - https://kiwitrack.weebly.com/

The solution with an ICARUS antenna on the ISS is on hold. It is planned that the GRACE-I will be the new satellite system to support the ICARUS: 

GRACE-I is planned to be launched in 2027.

This mentions possible intermittent solutions:

I am a bit puzzled there is no mentioning of GRACE-I on ICARUS' own website:

See full post
discussion

Designing non-standard tracking collars

Hello,   I'm wondering if anyone in this community has designed tracking collars for species that a standard conventional collar might not work for, and if so, are...

2 0

Hi,

i've build collars for quite a few "non-standard" collared species. I tend to modify cheap consumer GPS devices to do so. It's a few years old now, but attached is a link to a video I made on modifying GPS devices for wildlife.

https://youtu.be/UaSvS0grVjw

feel free to email me with any specific questions you have.

 

Have a look at this for an example of unconventional tracker designs:

See full post
discussion

GPS collars for goats

Hi everyone, WILDLABS newbie, so please bear with me. Currently inherited a project focusing on making grazing better managed / more sustainable on a tiny (67 sqkm),...

29 0

We were the world first commercial direct to satellite ear tag. There are collar base solutions that work direct to satellite. 

I have no experience with LoraWAN tracking myself but just wanted share a few relevant links for a LoraWAN wildlife use case and a few suppliers of LoraWAN trackers:

An alternative to LoraWAN could be UHF based systems like:

 

10 min fix intervals is quite high. You may need solar powered devices to keep up this high frequency.

Good luck!

See full post
discussion

Margo Luminous Beta Launch: New Tracking Collar Manufacturer

Hi Wildlabs Community, Very excited to announce that we've released the beta version of our new Luminous tracking collar! Our beta release is already nearly fully...

9 0

Hi @Lars_Holst_Hansen  I can provide an update. The initial beta units have completed testing and production of commercial units has begun. Low volumes so far but we are quickly ramping up.

The official launch should be in next month or so. 

If you would like you can email [email protected] 

To be notified early as soon as we have units available. 

Brett

Thanks Brett! I am not looking to buy anything any time soon but I am always curious to follow any new progress and developments in the market of biologgers.

Regarding the accelerometry I am curious to know which frequencies are supported. Have you considered magnetometry, too? This could obviously be useful in dead reckoning but also for inferring behavioural states (as shown in this paper).

No problem. I believe Jared was wanting to share more about our experience developing a collar on Wildlabs when there is time. I'm more on the mechanical end of things. Right now we are focused on reliability and longevity. Thanks for the paper I'll check it out! 

See full post
discussion

Workshop Invite: Building Partnerships between Conservation Tech and the UK Space Sector

Hi everyone, In collaboration with our partners over at the Satellite Applications Catapult, we are hosting an in person workshop to build strategic partnerships for...

3 2

Hi Steph,

If it's not too late, I'm very interested in this workshop.

Best,

V

See full post
careers

Shark Lab Data Analyst

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...

0
See full post
discussion

Water leakage in aquatic tags at deeper depths

Hi FolksDoes anyone have experience building their own aquatic tags? We are building a GPS-LoRa telemetry system. Although all the functions are working properly, we are having...

6 0

I'll add -  avoid fast curing resins/epoxies for, at least, two reasons: 

1. The exothermic reaction between the two compounds can cause sensor issues (ie: heat).

2. Air bubbles will form (and cure) more easily in fast curing compounds.

Thanks Thomas!! We do use slow curing resins with no heat generation

See full post
careers

Conservation Technology Intern (Vietnam) 

Meredith S. Palmer
*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...

0
See full post
discussion

Rainforest SigFox available for use

Hi EveryoneJust FYI that right now we now have a SigFox gateway running to create an IoT network at the Los Amigos field station in lowland Peruvian Amazon.  Amazing forest,...

4 2

Hi Roland,

This is really amazing, great to hear about your set-up! I'm just wondering what the overall cost was to set up this system? Just thinking in terms of setting up something similar in other parks and what they should expect with regard to price. Would also be great to hear about the overall effort, e.g., hours/team members required. It would be great to have this act as a blueprint for other organizations/research stations wishing to deploy a similar system within their respective national parks/areas/etc.! 

Hi Rolland,

Interested too, but why did you choose SigFox (a private network) rather than LoRa (open network)? 

Sigfox currently has some financial troubles that, don't know what it will become in the long term.

Hi Everyone,

We chose sigfox becuase it seems to have better range and is plug-play, whereas LoRa requires more custom programming and updating.  Getting a gateway cost us $2000 for a year's lease + deposit. We covered solar power.  There are also some 'minigateways' you can purchase but I don't know how they compare in range (plan to test).  So far we are happy with the performance, in that it has worked consistency with no outages  (once we stabilized the power supply).  I think the annual costs are about $10 per tag.  We are working on a paper that will describe this in more detail.  So far just using for tracking tags but also looking at a trap sensor.

cheers

Roland

See full post
discussion

Humidity/Temperature/Light Level logger

I am looking for a small logger that can collect humidity, temperature, and light levels while being hung from a fishing line over a cliff. I have found units that can collect the...

1 0

Hi David,

I've used our monitoring platform, PRTG (www.paessler.com), with environmental sensors for a server room, which included temperature and humidity. The monitoring platform is free up to a certain amount of sensors, so if this would be all you were using it for then it would be completely free of cost. Some hardware devices for environmental monitoring they have listed in one of their knowledge base articles are listed below, none of which I've used, but perhaps one of these would work, and if not, it will put you on the right track if you wanted to pursue this type of solution for what you are looking to do:

"All of these vendors offer physical sensors that can provide data about their environment. Connected to some kind of SNMP-enabled “management box” these sensors become network-enabled."

Cheers!

Rick

See full post
discussion

Live Q&A Discussion on Ceres Tag: An animal monitoring Solution!

Hey Everyone,Are you ready for this next Live Q&A Session? If you're looking for an effective animal monitoring solution, you might want to Join us here in a few minutes...

40 1

Is there any sort of automatic drop-off mechanism for the tags? Or does the animal need to be re-captured to take the tag off?

Hi Carly,

There are no built in automatic drop-off mechanism for the tags. We do have customers that have purchased and incorporated the tag into different types of harness and collars. 

Happy to discuss further with you to understand your use case. Head over to www.cerestag.com and there is a "let's talk" button. 

See full post
discussion

Conservation Tech Directory - new update!

New directory update from @gracieermi & I! And an extra special one as we've just passed our 1-year anniversary! Super exciting to see how far this has come! Check it out:...

2 2

Congrats on the milestone Carly and Gracie!

See full post