Abstract
We present an interdisciplinary effort to record feeding behaviors and control the diet of a hummingbird species (Phaethornis longirostris, the long-billed hermit or LBH) by developing a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) based smart feeder. The system contains an RFID reader, a microcontroller, and a servo-controlled hummingbird feeder opener; the system is presented as a tool for studying the cognitive ability of the LBH species. When equipped with glass capsule RFID tags (which are mounted on the hummingbird), the smart feeder can provide specific diets for predetermined sets of hummingbirds at the discretion of biologists. This is done by reading the unique RFID tag on the hummingbirds and comparing the ID number with the pre-programmed ID numbers stored in the smart feeder. The smart feeder records the time and ID of each hummingbird visit. The system data is stored in a readily available SD card and is powered by two 9 V batteries. The detection range of the system is approximately 9–11 cm. Using this system, biologists can assign the wild hummingbirds to different experimental groups and monitor their diets to determine if they develop a preference to any of the available nectars. During field testing, the smart feeder system has demonstrated consistent detection (when compared to detections observed by video-recordings) of RFID tags on hummingbirds and provides pre-designed nectars varying water and sugar concentrations to target individuals. The smart feeder can be applied to other biological and environmental studies in the future.
Highlights
Recent technological advances are promoting increasing numbers of interdisciplinary studies involving intelligent sensor applications
The smart feeder system was built with the intention of assisting New Mexico State University (NMSU) biologists with a separate study of long-billed hermit (LBH) cognitive ability
Leg-mounting, or leg-bands, we find that directly attaching the passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag under the feathers worked very well
Summary
Recent technological advances are promoting increasing numbers of interdisciplinary studies involving intelligent sensor applications. An intelligent system should be able to process data from available sensors, and perform certain actions based on the received data Such systems can greatly reduce labor, cost, and provide novel insights into animal behavior and responses to environmental change. With these design expectations, in this paper, we demonstrate a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) based smart feeder system for hummingbirds. An RFID based smart feeder for hummingbirds can be a very useful tool for studying foraging-related traits by improving the ability to automatically manipulate feeding conditions and individualize treatments in the field.
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