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.
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Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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Hi Wildlabbers! We're very excited for our final episode of Tech Tutors Season 3 tomorrow 4th November at 12 PM... |
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Biologging | 2 years 5 months ago | |
Hi Everyone, I realize I'm late to the game here, but I came across this forum and I think I can help you in a way. I own... |
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Biologging | 2 years 8 months ago | |
Hi Biologging People, I am new to WILDLABS and excited to be here! I am researching the behavioural ecology of koalas in South... |
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Biologging | 2 years 8 months ago | |
This paper mentions some, and is just a great review on localization more broadly! I'd look into gibbonR and warbleR Acoustic localization of terrestrial wildlife: Current... |
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Biologging | 2 years 9 months ago | |
@skatewing Shoot me an email, and we can discuss ([email protected]). |
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Biologging | 2 years 10 months ago | |
I am wondering if anyone has ideas for river otter survival monitoring (no movement data needed) outside of implanted VHF transmitters.... |
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Biologging | 2 years 11 months ago | |
There are lots of data in Movebank that are not publically availalbe, all the grey dots in the search map. You can contact each data owner and arrange for access to the data... |
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Biologging | 3 years ago | |
Hi Matthew-- thanks. Very good suggestions. I am already going w the option of having the metal plate underneath. The tags cost a lot and I would rather go w the option that... |
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Biologging | 3 years 1 month ago | |
Hi Lars, I'm currently heat shrinking transmitters to make a simple pouch to hold a transmitter to an ear tag. Because I want to prevent damage to the ear as much as... |
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Biologging | 3 years 1 month ago | |
Hi Kyler, That's great! Thank you for the lead - I'll get in touch with them asap. Cheers, and all the best, Kas |
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Biologging | 3 years 2 months ago | |
https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rse2.191 This paper may be of interest! And the latest Oryx edition is all camera-trap papers - ... |
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Biologging | 3 years 2 months ago | |
Interesting! The µMoth initiative also seems very promising. They seem to be employed on dogs now as preparation for use on wild dogs in the Carnivore Bytes... |
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Biologging | 3 years 2 months ago |
The Wildlife Society Conference
19 June 2023 5:59am
Sustained Effort: Out with the New, In with the Old
14 June 2023 10:00am
movedesign: a tool to evaluate sampling design in biologging
12 June 2023 11:25pm
This paper discusses movedesign, a new R app intended to evaluate the effectiveness of sampling design in animal movement research projects. This tool could be incredibly helpful for biologging community members looking to increase the effectiveness of their projects by better understanding the best duration and intervals for data collection.
Wildlife tracking collar powers itself as animals roam
12 June 2023 8:27am
This article introduces an innovation in wildlife tracking, where researchers have developed a tracker powered by the movement of animals themselves, eliminating the need for battery replacements and allowing for long-term monitoring.
WILDLABS Conservation Tech Intern (The Inventory)
6 June 2023 10:43am
GPS collars are helping save Sumatra’s last wild elephants
28 May 2023 6:20pm
Rimba Satwa Foundation (RSF), an Indonesian elephant conservation NGO, is employing GPS collars on elephants to mitigate human-elephant conflicts. RSF aims to enhance collar usage, surveillance, and automation for sustained effectiveness in the long run.
Filter Last X Positions
23 May 2023 4:41pm
Filter Last X Locations - is a new super simple but super powerful moveapp.
https://moveapps.org/apps/browser/ebe11063-fd98-4d8d-a22d-f143ec434b6f
I will be using this to send me the latest positions of all active muskox collars via low bandwidth email while in the field (basically off the grid).
Animal tracking stories
22 May 2023 2:19am
Email Alerts via Moveapps
12 May 2023 2:33pm
ICCB 2023 WILDLABS Workshop: Bridging Sectors for Movement Ecology Innovation
9 May 2023 8:37pm
Collar Tracking vs. Camera Traps for Monitoring Mexican Wolves
5 May 2023 9:08pm
This article compares and contrasts the success of their wolf monitoring efforts with both collars and camera traps. The camera traps were intended to help researchers identify individual wolves within the population, but they experienced difficulties identifying both uncollared wolves and those with marked collars.
GPS collaring study of Ethiopian wolves
5 May 2023 12:55am
This news article discusses the first study to track Ethiopian wolves since 1992. The study focused on adult wolves from six packs in the Simien Mountains and used Lotek LiteTrack Iridium 250 collars. Community members working in biologging with species that are rarely studied will be especially interested in this effort to understand the wolves' behaviors and how human presence may be impacting these packs.
Feathered forecast: Tech tools comb weather data for bird migrations
26 April 2023 2:50pm
Since its launch in 1999, the BirdCast project has used weather radar data to track and forecast bird migrations across the U.S. In recent years, technology such as cloud computing and machine learning have helped make the work of researchers in the project easier and more automated. The BirdCast project is now working on integrating radar data with human observations and bioacoustics to help identify the bird species traversing the skies.
Video: Virginia Tech tracking bobcats to preserve wildlife
26 April 2023 2:45pm
Quick feature of Virgina Tech project using camera traps and biologgers to track bobcats, collecting data to inform human-wildlife coexistance efforts
Better Vectronic Live Feed to Movebank
24 April 2023 9:01pm
RFID Tech for small animals?
23 March 2023 5:40pm
7 April 2023 3:57pm
22 April 2023 3:14am
Not what you asked for (sorry), but if they are cryptic then a possible first step could be to deploy capacitive sensors everywhere, to get a sense of where they like to hang out and when. I'm thinking of TTP223 touch sensors attached to a data logger.
Real-time Animal Location Data Sources?
30 March 2023 4:32am
6 April 2023 4:18pm
Thanks for the link, Amanda. That Shark page looks great. Very good point on temporal resolution and the burden of overhead of sending data in real-time, I hadn't really considered that.
21 April 2023 6:08pm
In addition to those noted, you can try the Animal Telemetry Network
Animal Telemetry Network - The U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS)
The Animal Telemetry Network works to help facilitate the collection, management, and availability of marine animal telemetry data.
The U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS)21 April 2023 8:32pm
Thank you Thomas, I'll take a look.
Catch up with The Variety Hour: April 2023
21 April 2023 10:42am
Margo Luminous Update: Next Phase BETA Release
31 March 2023 8:55pm
12 April 2023 10:57pm
Spring is our busiest time of year and we are also in the middle of an expansion currently so they may not be able to respond. Will ask when they are prepping for variety hour.
13 April 2023 5:11pm
Hi Lars,
I can chime in to answer some of your questions.
1. The web portal is here. This is only a basic placeholder while we work on a better system with login security and 2 way comms.
https://margosupplies.com/us-en/luminous/
Send me a PM to see one our test Elk in Jackson, Wyoming.
2. Our data is always transmitted sequentially, oldest samples first.
3. Currently our staff must do any remote reprogramming, just send us an email. This feature will be part of the new web portal.
4. Iridium allows up to 340 bytes per SBD transmission. Each sample is 17 bytes so we can fit 20 samples per transmission. With good signal we can clear out a backlog of data almost immediately.
5. Currently no geofencing or alerts but that is on the road map.
6. As Brett stated.
7. As Brett stated we are not going to support traditional VHF since this has caused many problems with poachers and wildlife photographers finding the animals. We are developing our own 900MHz LoRa based system which will securely transmit the devices location.This will be released in the form of a USB doggle with antenna that can be plugged into an Android device.
In regard to your questions about accelerometer and Doppler shift.
We have an onboard accelerometer sampling at 50Hz and currently this information is fed into a human calibrated pedometer algorithm. Currently it gives us a rough indicator of how busy the animal is. This sensor could be repurposed based on customer needs.
Every time an iridium device transmits information, the receiving satellite records a rough position based on doppler effect from the signal. This gives you a backup geo-location with accuracy in the kilometer range. If you use the above tool and click download CSV you can see this information.
Happy to answer any more questions.
14 April 2023 8:38am
Hi Jackson @MargoJack!
Thanks a lot for answering these questions.
Looks like you have a very interesting product!
Interesting point you raise with VHF beeing intercepted by poachers etc.
Would there be sufficient memory to log accelerometer data at something like 8Hz on-board the collar for later inference of behaviours?
Will you make versions for other LoRa frequency regions?
Cheers,
Lars
Field testing of a radio telemetry system to be deployed in the sea.
24 January 2023 6:52am
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.
12 April 2023 2:32pm
Not sure exactly how your telemetry will be deployed, but if it's going to be attached to an animal in a relatively non-invasive way, you might check with zoos or aquariums that have similar species.
I worked in that industry for a long time and we tested telemetry for seals, sea lions, polar bears and elephants. There might have been more, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head. This can help improve attachment methods and test how tough the animals will be on the equipment.
Wing-tags with trackers attached?
3 March 2023 1:47am
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.
LiteTrack 20 GPS Ear Tag | Lotek
GPS-RF Ear Tag for ungulates. As the smallest GPS ear tag in our LiteTrack family, The Lotek LiteTrack 20 Eartag provides a GPS option for ...
Lotek |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.
29 March 2023 1:20pm
4 April 2023 2:08am
Thanks Thomas, will do!
Proxies of light incidence/luminosity from camera traps
27 March 2023 8:04pm
Passive RECCO reflectors - harmonic radar
25 March 2023 9:07pm
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
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!
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