Abstract
Noncontact methods to measure animal activity and physiology are necessary to monitor undisturbed states such as hibernation. Although some noncontact measurement systems are commercially available, they are often incompatible with realistic habitats, which feature freely moving animals in small, cluttered environments. A growing market of single-board computers, microcontrollers, and inexpensive sensors has made it possible to assemble bespoke integrated sensor systems at significantly lower price points. Herein, we describe a custom-built nesting box imager (NBI) that uses a single-board computer (Raspberry Pi) with a passive infrared (IR) motion sensor, silicon charge-coupled device (CCD), and IR camera CCD to monitor the activity, surface body temperature, and respiratory rate of the meadow jumping mouse during hibernation cycles. The data are logged up to 12 samples per minute and postprocessed using custom Matlab scripts. The entire unit can be built at a price point below US$400, which will be drastically reduced as IR (thermal) arrays are integrated into more consumer electronics and become less expensive.
Highlights
Many biological phenomena of interest occur in closed systems that are inconvenient or impossible to measure with traditional wired sensors
No electronic components were accessible to the animals, and we never observed any attempts to gnaw on the stainless-steel sheathing enclosing the wires
The top cover for the electronics successfully preserved the equipment and prevented any contact when the animal was active on top of the nest box
Summary
Many biological phenomena of interest occur in closed systems that are inconvenient or impossible to measure with traditional wired sensors (e.g., thermocouples, pH probes, pressure sensors). One such environment is the enclosed nest site of a free-moving animal, whether in a laboratory setting or in the field. There is significant biologic interest in monitoring the activity and physiological indicators—such as body temperature and respiration rate—of undisturbed animals with temporal resolution [1], but noncontact options for such measurements during sleep/wake cycles or hibernation have been limited.
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