Abstract
Analysis of satellite-telemetry data mostly occurs long after it has been collected, due to the time and effort needed to collate and interpret such material. Delayed reporting reduces the usefulness of such data for nature conservation where timely information about animal movements is required. To counter this problem, we present a novel approach which combines automated analysis of satellite-telemetry data with rapid communication of insights derived from such data. A relatively simple algorithm (based on radial and angular velocity calculated from fixes) allowed instantaneous detection of excursions away from settlement areas and automated calculation of home ranges on the remaining data. Automating the detection of both excursions and home-range calculations enabled us to disseminate ecological insights from satellite-tag data instantaneously through a dedicated web portal. The automated analysis, interpretation, and communication of satellite-tag and other ecological data offer clear benefits to nature conservation research and practice.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-015-0711-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
The management and conservation of animal populations require an understanding of the spatial use of individuals over time (Chetkiewicz et al 2006; Cooke 2008).Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.Technological advances have greatly improved the efficiency with which such ‘animal movement data’ can be gathered; this has most notably been achieved through the use of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), such as the American Global Positioning System (GPS) (Tomkiewicz et al 2010)
Technological advances have greatly improved the efficiency with which such ‘animal movement data’ can be gathered; this has most notably been achieved through the use of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), such as the American Global Positioning System (GPS) (Tomkiewicz et al 2010)
Common across the Great Britain, red kites were considered benign until the eighteenth century when they became perceived as a threat to game and farming interests; the resulting systematic killing (Lovegrove 2007) reduced the number of successfully breeding red kites to less than 10 pairs by the mid-twentieth century (Davis 1993)
Summary
The management and conservation of animal populations require an understanding of the spatial use of individuals over time (Chetkiewicz et al 2006; Cooke 2008).Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-015-0711-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.Technological advances have greatly improved the efficiency with which such ‘animal movement data’ can be gathered; this has most notably been achieved through the use of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), such as the American Global Positioning System (GPS) (Tomkiewicz et al 2010). Its origins are in military aircraft location, miniaturisation as well as increased energy efficiency and cost reductions have resulted in new GPS chips which are available for a wide variety of applications, including animal tracking (Curatolo and Cornelius 2012). Aarts et al 2008), originate from the marine realm (notably concerning animals that breach the water surface). This suggests that satellite telemetry is being used for investigations which could not have previously been undertaken with traditional radio-based technologies (e.g. due to the limited utility of short-range radio signals in vast oceans; see Cooke et al 2013 for a review)
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