WILDLABS logoWildlabs.net : The conservation technology network

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

article

FIT Cheetahs

Larissa Slaney

4 December 2017 12:00am

A new research project is looking to investigate whether technology combined with the ancient skills and knowledge of Namibian trackers can help save cheetahs from extinction. Called FIT Cheetahs, the research project...

0
See full post
discussion

Xerius tracking technology

Nigel Butcher

23 May 2017 11:10am

If you are interested in hearing about what they do, then drop me a line as you are welcome to attend the meeting with them in Cambridge this Friday 26th May. The website is...

4 0
Stephanie O'Donnell

14 September 2017 2:26pm

Thanks for sharing these Yvan - really interesting to see your process of designing harnesses for the tags. Please do keep us updated on the project as you progress. What made you go with the Xerius tag over others that are available?  

My other comments are largely administrative, so bare with me. Sounds like it might be helpful for us to enable more types of files to be shared on WILDLABS- I'll have a look into this. Your contribution has shifted the direction of this conversation from an event invitation to practical project/information sharing discussion, so I'm also going to move this conversation into our wildlife tracking group, as I think this will make it more readily accessible to our tracking focused members if/when you update it with your finessed designs. 

 

Yvan Satgé

14 September 2017 3:49pm

Hi Steph,

My colleagues chose Xerius because they had the fastest turn-around time (the project had a late start and birds are starting to migrate soon) and cheaper prices. The tracking specs are similar to the other manufacturers of GPS-PTTs. I have never worked with Xerius tags but I visited their lab and they struck me by their attention to details and the quality of the hardware they created.

I will keep you posted.

Nigel Butcher

19 September 2017 1:30pm

Hi Yvan,

Glad you have chosen Xerius as from what I have seen their equipment is excellent and I was very impressed with their telemetry knowledge. We have one of their goniometer units and this has enabled us to locate a number of our downed satellite tagged birds.

As for making up dummy tags and testing harnesses then another option is Polymorph, especially if you are working on a limited budget after paying for a number of tags! You just drop the beads  into boiling water and mould into the shapes you require easily making holes and grooves etc. It sets rapidly and as you say the addition of nuts and bolts get you to your required weights.

https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/mindsets-polymorph-250g-n14at

 

See full post
discussion

Pit-tag automatic detector for very small animals

Claude Miaud

31 October 2016 2:27pm

Dear all very small animals (eg < 1g) cannot be equipped with VHF or GPS system to track their movements. One way is the use of passive transmitter (PIT-Tag) as emettor (...

3 0
mspencer93

1 February 2017 4:13pm

Hi Claude,

What sort of an environment will you be doing your research in, if you don't mind recapturing them again you could try using micro coded wire tags? 

Hopefully that might be of some help to you and all the best with it.

 

Matt

Robin Poches

15 September 2017 12:47am

Hi, you should explore (harmonic radar, Schottky diode 917 y 1834 MHz), the bad things it's that you can't get and ID and the receiver that uses two antennas it's really expensive (U$.7000) or use a radar system with satellite dish that would be more expensive.

Yvan Satgé

18 September 2017 4:23pm

Hi Claude,

If you are looking into cord antennas, the attached paper might be of interest (the authors are all from CNRS, which might be easier for collaborations).  A difference would be that you might need a faster sampling rate (since penguins are much slower than small mammals and take more time to cross the array of antennas).

Do keep us updated on your project. 

Yvan

See full post
discussion

PIT tag suppliers in the UK

Ollie Wearn

22 February 2017 1:19pm

Hi all,  Does anyone have any recommendations for PIT tag (+ reader) suppliers in the UK?  I've used Francis Scientific Instruments before - a very small...

7 0
Ollie Wearn

29 March 2017 11:02am

Hi Kai - I asked for a UK supplier, but thanks.

Hi everyone -

I had a recommendation for http://www.wyremicrodesign.co.uk/. Apparently used successfully for a couple of projects, and designed/built some bespoke readers. The owner can be contacted on phil.rycroft@wyremicrodesign.co.uk.

I went with Francis Scientific Instruments in the end, as they've been reliable and helpful on past projects. You can contact Mike (Francis) on fsilog@btconnect.com.

Cheers, Ollie

John Probert

29 March 2017 1:44pm

Hi Ollie,

Thank you for the update! This will be of use to other community members!

 

-John

Nigel Butcher

5 May 2017 5:24pm

Not been on Wildlabs for a long time but I recommend Eccel Technology in Leicester and even build them into bird rings. We have been using theirs.

RSPB have built a data logger around the Arduino and plan to put the design and code on Wildlabs sometime later in the year. There are many commercially available and cheap means of solely reading PIT or as they also known RFID tags.

Thanks

Nigel

 

See full post
discussion

GPS wildlife tracking on the cheap

Euan Ritchie

8 December 2016 2:54am

Hi everyone, Should this be of interest, please see our how to on making a cheap GPS device https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaSvS0grVjw The paper here https://euanritchie....

6 0
Euan Ritchie

12 April 2017 3:00pm

Hi Colin,

In short yes, they make a GSM device. The issue would be weight. What is the weight limit/minimum recording time? Best off firing further questions at Blake Allan, he knows a lot more than me! bmallan@deakin.edu.au

All the best,

Euan

See full post
discussion

Can acoustic tags be tracked by poachers

mspencer93

2 February 2017 11:08am

Hi all, Currently working on a project that may involve placing acoustic tags on critically endangered fish. I was wondering what the liklihood was that poachers could use...

2 0
John Probert

2 February 2017 12:38pm

Hi Matt,

 

This is a very broad question. Short answer, probably not. Narrowing down your problem would help community members get better context. What's the species you're working with? In which country/region is this occuring? How many of the fish are there? What are the current technologies being used to catch the fish by the poachers? 

mspencer93

2 February 2017 1:38pm

Hi, 

I would be looking at tagging a select number sturgeon fish in Georgia (Eurasia). Currently estimates have their popultion at around 10,000 and I am thinking of tagging around 30 individuals. Currently poachers use non-discriminate methods such as electro-fishing to capture them so I am right in thinking the acoustic tags should be ok?

Thank you for all your help,

Matt

See full post
discussion

Pangolin Tagging Challenges

Priya S Balasubramanian

13 January 2017 4:02pm

Hi! I'm looking for information on Pangolin transmitters or sensors, the basics to start off with. What information is gathered specific to this species or what are the...

1 0
Priya S Balasubramanian

13 January 2017 4:05pm

Hi!

Information I'm looking for also includes needed cost, design specifications, concerns with designs in use now, pictures of transmitters attached to pangolins, or anything similar.

Sincerely,

Priya

See full post
discussion

Open Tag IMU data analysis

Michael Tlusty

2 November 2016 9:06pm

Hi- Does anyone have better ideas for data analysis of opentag IMU data analysis than Matlab ?  To back up a bit, I was given csv files of some movement data. the...

1 0
Jamie Macaulay

15 November 2016 11:13am

Hi Michael

I made some progress on a Java library and little GUI but I did not finish it. Although I managed the boring stuff, unpacking the DSG files and put some nifty magnetic calbration stuff in.

This is NOT a finished or functional product but it is open source, so if anyone wanted to finish it off, I'd be more than happy. I intend to do it eventually but at the back of the list opf things to do.

The application main class is here: It's integrated into a larger application but can be used as a standalone app. Good luck to anyone who wants to take it on- make sure any further work stays accessible and open please.

Cheers

Jamie

See full post
discussion

Small GSM GPS tracking tags - recommendations needed!

Stephanie O'Donnell

7 October 2016 10:38am

Hi everyone,  A colleague is after some advice about GSM GPS trackers that could be used on tigers and hornbills. She asks: Where could we secure GPS tracking ...

2 0
Gary Clewley

28 October 2016 4:46pm

Hi, 

I have been involved in a variety of tracking projects over the last few years for the BTO, including the use of GPS-GSM tags we have been developing with university partners.

Firstly, I'd suggest that your colleague contact me or reply on this thread with a little more information, i.e. how small is small? Is there a known weight limit needed? Current of the shelf type tags designed for bird tracking will generally be 20g and higher but are unlikely to be suitable as they come as they usually are solar recharged. 

However, it would be very possible to assemble some lighter prototypes (i.e. we are currently working on a c.10g GSM tag) specifically for this application after a bit of consultation of requirements (which may influence housing, dimensions, battery size etc.).

These would need to be tested in conditions simulating their intended use as a very small tag may simply not have enough power to obtain fixes with lots of interference and last long as long as required. There is always a trade off with weight and performance.

Another key thing to consider would be the location these will be deployed and the likely GSM network coverage. Although tags would be able to log data and store it until it does come into coverage.

There are several manufacturers I know of who would likely be able to develop something for this project and it may just depend on exactly what is required and when as to who is in the best place to delivery some tags.

I look forward to hearing back, 

 

Gary Clewley

Research Ecologist, BTO

gary.clewley@bto.org

 

 

 

 

Alan Stenhouse

31 October 2016 9:56pm

Hi there

Check out Microwave Telemetry at http://www.microwavetelemetry.com/bird/GSMspecifications.cfm

Sirtrack may also be worth checking out (though I'm not sure what GSM trackers they have).  http://www.sirtrack.co.nz/

Good luck and let us know how you go. We're always looking for lightweight, long-lasting (solar or movement-powered) GPS trackers... or even trackers using IoT and sensor networks...

cheers

Alan

See full post
discussion

Performance of GPS-collars in wildlife research: what does the evidence show?

Maarten Hofman

22 February 2016 12:56pm

Calling on all conservation scientists and practitioners who have worked with GPS-collars for studying or monitoring wildlife worldwide! Dear colleague,...

5 0
Stephanie O'Donnell

26 February 2016 2:12pm

Fantastic, thanks Maarten! I've shared your response with Abby, so hopefully you'll have some info coming your way very soon. 

Stephanie O'Donnell

1 July 2016 4:28pm

Hi Maarten, 

I'm curious to hear how the survey went and at what stage you're at. Do have any preliminary results to share yet? Anything expected/unexpected come out of the surveys, or big questions that our community could mull over? 

Steph 

Maarten Hofman

2 July 2016 3:27pm

Hi Steph,

the survey is closed now, and I'm in the process of screening data. I hope to start with the analysis soon.

So unfortunately, nothing new or exciting yet...

Maarten

See full post