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WILDLABS logoWildlabs.net : The conservation technology network

Group

Animal Movement / Feed

Animal movement technologies are revolutionizing our understanding of wildlife, revealing insights like migration patterns, key corridors, and the impacts of mounting pressures on natural systems. As we continue to develop these tools and work toward translating movement data into actionable insights, coordination between efforts is essential. This group is a place for the animal movement community to connect and discuss our efforts to advance the field.

Group curators

discussion

Proximity detection in koalas

Julian Beaman

12 August 2021 8:01am

Hi Biologging People,  I am new to WILDLABS and excited to be here! I am researching the behavioural ecology of koalas in South Australia. I am trying to figure out if...

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discussion

R package for triangulation?

wild_ecology

29 June 2021 2:38am

What R packages are you using for wildlife radio-telemetry triangulation these days? Seems there are a few available (I last used sigloc in 2016, but its no longer on CRAN)....

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Carly Batist

16 July 2021 3:31pm

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 practices and future opportunities (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.6216).

This paper used Sound Finder -- Validation of an Acoustic Location System to Monitor Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) Long Calls (https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.22398)

And this one used a MATLAB script -- Tracking cryptic animals using acoustic multilateration: A system for long-range wolf detection (https://doi.org/10.1121/1.5092973)

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discussion

Creating a global database for drift data from pop-up satellite tags

arnault le bris

28 April 2021 2:16pm

Hello all, My name is Arnault Le Bris and I am a research scientist at the Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. I have been working for several...

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Roland Kays

4 June 2021 12:14pm

You could use Movebank for this, stream the data into a study, manage sharing settings to make some public and keep others private if needed.  Lots of non-bird data in there!

Cheers

Roland

Kate Wing

4 June 2021 6:40pm

You might also check out the Ocean Data Platform team at https://www.oceandata.earth/  They're trying to be a one-stop shop for ocean data and have recently ingested all the IOC data. EMODNet has an ingestion portal and data ambassadors who can negotiate data sharing agreements and anonymization/aggregation. Also @ThomasGray_Argos  data sharing agreements and data governance is something I work on and would be interested in talking more about the privacy/user data issues you mention. I;ve been thinking about the need for a data intermediary that can hold data safely, scrub PII, and then share it with open platforms so each sensor owner or small entitty doesn't have to negotiate their own data sharing licenses.

Thomas Gray

4 June 2021 7:15pm

@skatewing Shoot me an email, and we can discuss (tgray@woodsholegroup.com). 

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discussion

Otter survival monitoring

MClawson

2 June 2021 7:05pm

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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event

Event: The 7th International Bio-Logging Symposium

International Bio-logging Society

12 April 2021 12:00am

Submit your abstract by May 16, 2021 to participate in the 7th International Bio-Logging Symposium, held virtually this year and hosted from Honolulu, Hawaii on October 18th - 22nd. Find more details about abstract...

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discussion

Machine learning for animal tracking Kaggle competition?

KieranCambridgeSpark

17 February 2021 10:32am

Hello everyone,  My name is Kieran Garvey and I work with Cambridge Spark - a specialist AI and Data Science education provider. https://cambridgespark.com/ We are...

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Ron Efrat

28 February 2021 7:16am

Hi,

I have plenty of data which is not (yet) available to everyone. If still relevant, please contact me for more details.

ronef@post.bgu.ac.il

Carly Batist

26 March 2021 4:37pm

What kind of data are you looking for? Like just lat/long coordinates, GPS points, .shp files, etc.? I have a small amount of GPS data from focal follows of lemurs (+ behavioral context/individual ID/subgroup, etc.) over a 3 month period. It's not published as I'm only using it in conjunction with a vocal dataset I'm working with. But I imagine you're probably after much larger datasets? 

Roland Kays

9 April 2021 7:33pm

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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discussion

GPS tag modification

Charles Emogor

23 February 2021 9:56am

Any hardware engineers in here that can provide support with modifying GPS tags for pangolins? I will be deploying GPS tags on white-bellied pangolins and need to modify the point...

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Harold Tay

28 February 2021 9:49am

Hi Carl,

Thanks, I think I see what you mean.  I would probably do as you have done, glue the tag onto a fibreglass plate, and screw that plate onto a scale.  For glue, silicone caulking or epoxy putty can be used, my preference would be caulking because it's easier to extricate the tag from it when the time comes.

As for the mounting plate, my preference is fibreglass of the sort used in electronics, as this can be glued to.  For making the screw holes, if you have trouble with them splintering, I've heard that you can melt a clean hole using a heated iron nail, instead of drilling.

Thanks,

-harold

Matthew Stanton

13 March 2021 6:42am

Hi Carl, 

Is there any reason you cannot screw the GPS unit directly to a scale through the three existing holes? You could use a quick setting glue between the scale and GPS, not for strength but to ensure there is nothing that can get between the scale and GPS to bust it off. Maybe quick set epoxy but even just gap filler might do the job.

I just realised how old this thread is so maybe you have already solved the issue.

Matthew

Charles Emogor

20 March 2021 11:02am

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 I am sure would ensure I can retrieve them. 

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discussion

Heat shrinking "stuff" to collars

Lars Holst Hansen

25 February 2021 10:07am

Hello all, I wonder if anyone has experience they would share on heat shrinking "stuff" to animal telemetry collars. I guess some types of heat shrink will be...

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Matthew Stanton

13 March 2021 7:16am

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 possible, I figured it was desirable to have a material that would break before the ear does but I have not put this to the test. Two units deployed so far without an issue except for an intermittent fault with one of the transmitters. Hopefully not caused by the heatshrink. I think the biggest issue with heat-shrinking to a collar is that the heatshrink goes hard (at least the stuff I used) and will pull the collar toward the shape of the hard object you are attaching. A bit of preplanning and adding the desired shape before applying the heat should resolve that.

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discussion

Getting VHF transmitters in a quick turnaround time

Kasim Rafiq

26 February 2021 1:14pm

Hi everyone,  Due to an unfortunate series of events, I need to get 25 x VHF transmitters (just the pingers - no collar) on a single frequency in around a 4 week...

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Kyler Abernathy

26 February 2021 2:45pm

Hi Kas,

Advanced Telemetry Systems has been able to get me transmitters in less than 4 weeks a few times.  It does depend on how busy they are, though, so not guaranteed.

Good luck,

Kyler

Kasim Rafiq

1 March 2021 1:23pm

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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discussion

What to consider when planning our project for endangered, rarely seen species

Taniabird

5 February 2021 10:52am

Hi all, We currently have 12 camera traps deployed in key areas within a National Park to monitor our target species (an endangered thrush), the locations are meant to be...

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Carly Batist

26 February 2021 3:36pm

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 - https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/issue/4E2CEA9634F17EEBB58E5A871ABB21CA

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discussion

Gunshot detector on elephant tracking collars

John Probert

28 June 2017 4:36pm

Hello all! I ju st read this article on a new type of tracking collar to be deployed on elephants that can detect gunshots. Have any of you heard of this kind of tech integration...

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discussion

Animal location and activity tracking devices – could these be useful for conservation studies?

mirandaleaf

30 May 2018 4:50pm

I have been working on sensors for remote tracking of livestock activity and location. They work in enclosed environments or for large areas. It feels like this technology could...

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Meredith Semel

31 May 2018 6:37pm

Hi!

I am in the process of creating remote tracking devices to study activity and social behavior in lemurs. I would be happy to chat and learn more about your study system / try to offer any insight about tracking devices.

-Meredith 

Lars Holst Hansen

25 February 2021 9:57am

LoRa based cattle tracking tags made by Moovement are used for bison in the US by Hila Shamon.

Their biggest limitation as I see it is that they need continous connection to the LoRa stations as they do not log locations.

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discussion

Internship opportunities for PhD students

Dongmin (Dennis) Kim

12 January 2021 4:12pm

Hi everyone,  I am a 2nd-year Ph.D. student from the Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (EEB) program at the University of Minnesota. Unlike lots of Ph.D. students in my...

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Carly Batist

15 January 2021 3:01pm

Hi Dennis,

I actually work in the graduate career center at my university (my fellowship is doing that rather than teaching) and this is what we specialize in! I too am a PhD student moving out of academia after the PhD. Many of our office's online resources are applicable to any PhD student, not just those at the CUNY (City University of New York) Graduate Center. Check it out: cuny.is/careerplan. I'm also happy to chat or answer any questions. The Wildlabs 'Resources' page is a great place to look for internship opportunities! I would also highly recommend getting a Twitter if you don't already have one, and utilizing that. There are a bunch of hashtags (#PhDchat, #altac, etc.) that may be helpful to watch for, and then you can also follow org's so you can see when they post opportunities. 

Hope this helps! 

All the best,

Carly

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event

Workshop: Analyses of acoustic telemetry data with R

European Tracking Network

15 January 2021 12:00am

Join the European Tracking Network on January 18th 2021 at 2 PM Central European Time (1 PM GMT) for a free workshop on standardized analyses of acoustic telemetry data using the R packages actel and RSP!  The actel...

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event

Event: Wildlife Drones at ESA20

Wildlife Drones

30 November 2020 12:00am

Join Wildlife Drones at this week's Ecological Society of Australia conference! Learn about their work at the Windows into Resilience and Recovery Symposium on Wednesday, 2nd December, and participate in their virtual...

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event

Making the Most of Tech Tutors Season 2!

WILDLABS Team

30 November 2020 12:00am

WILDLABS is celebrating its five year anniversary! Throughout the rest of 2020, we'll be sharing articles, community features, and case studies showcasing the incredible projects, collaborations, and successes that this...

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event

Weekly Event: OTN Virtual Study Hall

Ocean Tracking Network

16 November 2020 12:00am

Do you track ocean species and want to meet others who are working together to solve marine conservation's big issues with telemetry? Join the Ocean Tracking Network's weekly Virtual Study Halls, taking place every...

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discussion

California Condor Conservation - Tech & Resources

Ellie Warren

18 May 2020 6:44pm

Edit: The first part of our condor feature is now live! Read it on our blog here. Hi Wildlabbers, Today we'll be sharing our first of two features on...

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Ellie Warren

12 November 2020 5:55pm

Hi all,

Just wanted to share some info about VWS's virtual chat series, if you're interesting in hearing the latest condor news about wildfire recovery efforts, how the fires impacted their camera systems, tracking, etc., and about the condor chicks who were rescued from the fires. 

The next chat is on November 19th at 4 PM PST, and you can register here. They also have an archive of past recorded chats, including a very cool #tech4wildlife one on condor photography! 

-Ellie

Thomas Gray

12 November 2020 7:18pm

Thanks Ellie - I signed up : ) 

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article

Hackathon Opportunity: Vaquita Hacks

WILDLABS Team

10 November 2020 12:00am

Do you have innovative #tech4wildlife ideas that could save one of the most endangered species on earth from extinction? Apply now to join Vaquita Hack, a hackathon for students and early career conservationists!  This...

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discussion

Drop off pods on collars

Egil Droge

7 September 2020 1:41pm

Hi all, I know there are various drop off mechanisms for collars, with time releases, remotely triggered or through wear and tear. However, all of the ones I find (Lotek,...

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Rob Appleby

29 September 2020 11:03pm

Thanks for the details Thomas. I am fairly happy with the nichrome release mechanism we use, but it's always good to have alternatives, and the explosive approach could be much more useful for others. Appreciate all the information. 

Cheers,

Rob

Thomas Gray

30 September 2020 8:02pm

Yup - my pleasure. 

Egil Droge

1 October 2020 6:44pm

Thanks Thomas. The option of desertstar seems strong, and it needs to be strong for the animals I work with (large carnivores). Indeed the pod would need to be designed to fit the collar type, but that's not impossible.

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