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Gunner RM, Wilson RP, Holton MD, Bennett NC, Alagaili AN, Bertelsen MF, Mohammed OB, Wang T, Manger PR, Ismael K, Scantlebury DM. Examination of head versus body heading may help clarify the extent to which animal movement pathways are structured by environmental cues? Mov Ecol 2023; 11:71. [PMID: 37891697 PMCID: PMC10612247 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-023-00432-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the processes that determine how animals allocate time to space is a major challenge, although it is acknowledged that summed animal movement pathways over time must define space-time use. The critical question is then, what processes structure these pathways? Following the idea that turns within pathways might be based on environmentally determined decisions, we equipped Arabian oryx with head- and body-mounted tags to determine how they orientated their heads - which we posit is indicative of them assessing the environment - in relation to their movement paths, to investigate the role of environment scanning in path tortuosity. After simulating predators to verify that oryx look directly at objects of interest, we recorded that, during routine movement, > 60% of all turns in the animals' paths, before being executed, were preceded by a change in head heading that was not immediately mirrored by the body heading: The path turn angle (as indicated by the body heading) correlated with a prior change in head heading (with head heading being mirrored by subsequent turns in the path) twenty-one times more than when path turns occurred due to the animals adopting a body heading that went in the opposite direction to the change in head heading. Although we could not determine what the objects of interest were, and therefore the proposed reasons for turning, we suggest that this reflects the use of cephalic senses to detect advantageous environmental features (e.g. food) or to detect detrimental features (e.g. predators). The results of our pilot study suggest how turns might emerge in animal pathways and we propose that examination of points of inflection in highly resolved animal paths could represent decisions in landscapes and their examination could enhance our understanding of how animal pathways are structured.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard M Gunner
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78467, Konstanz, Germany.
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP, Wales.
| | - Rory P Wilson
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP, Wales.
| | - Mark D Holton
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP, Wales
| | - Nigel C Bennett
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa
| | - Abdulaziz N Alagaili
- Zoology Department, King Saud University, P. O. Box 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mads F Bertelsen
- Copenhagen Zoo, Centre for Zoo and Wild Animal Health, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Osama B Mohammed
- KSU Mammals Research Chair, Zoology Department, King Saud University, P.O Box 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Tobias Wang
- Zoophysiology, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Paul R Manger
- School of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Khairi Ismael
- Prince Saud Al-Faisal Wildlife Research Center, National Center for Wildlife, Taif, Saudi Arabia
| | - D Michael Scantlebury
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast, BT9 5DL, UK.
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2
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Kaidarova A, Geraldi NR, Wilson RP, Kosel J, Meekan MG, Eguíluz VM, Hussain MM, Shamim A, Liao H, Srivastava M, Saha SS, Strano MS, Zhang X, Ooi BS, Holton M, Hopkins LW, Jin X, Gong X, Quintana F, Tovasarov A, Tasmagambetova A, Duarte CM. Wearable sensors for monitoring marine environments and their inhabitants. Nat Biotechnol 2023; 41:1208-1220. [PMID: 37365259 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-023-01827-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
Human societies depend on marine ecosystems, but their degradation continues. Toward mitigating this decline, new and more effective ways to precisely measure the status and condition of marine environments are needed alongside existing rebuilding strategies. Here, we provide an overview of how sensors and wearable technology developed for humans could be adapted to improve marine monitoring. We describe barriers that have slowed the transition of this technology from land to sea, update on the developments in sensors to advance ocean observation and advocate for more widespread use of wearables on marine organisms in the wild and in aquaculture. We propose that large-scale use of wearables could facilitate the concept of an 'internet of marine life' that might contribute to a more robust and effective observation system for the oceans and commercial aquaculture operations. These observations may aid in rationalizing strategies toward conservation and restoration of marine communities and habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Altynay Kaidarova
- Red Sea Research Center and Computational Biosciences Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
- Central Asian Institute of Ecological Research, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
| | - Nathan R Geraldi
- Red Sea Research Center and Computational Biosciences Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
- NatureMetrics, Guildford, UK
| | - Rory P Wilson
- Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Jürgen Kosel
- Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
- Sensors Systems Division, Silicon Austria Labs, High Tech Campus, Villach, Austria
| | - Mark G Meekan
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, the Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre, University of Western Australia, Oceans Institute, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Víctor M Eguíluz
- Instituto de Física Interdisciplinary Sistemas Complejos IFISC (CSIC-UIB), Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | | | - Atif Shamim
- Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hanguang Liao
- Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mani Srivastava
- Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Swapnil Sayan Saha
- Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Michael S Strano
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Xiangliang Zhang
- Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Boon S Ooi
- Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mark Holton
- Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Lloyd W Hopkins
- Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Xiaojia Jin
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Xun Gong
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Flavio Quintana
- Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos (IBIOMAR), CONICET, Puerto Madryn, Argentina
| | | | | | - Carlos M Duarte
- Red Sea Research Center and Computational Biosciences Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
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3
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Redpath SHA, Marks NJ, Menzies FD, O'Hagan MJH, Wilson RP, Smith S, Magowan EA, McClune DW, Collins SF, McCormick CM, Scantlebury DM. Impact of test, vaccinate or remove protocol on home ranges and nightly movements of badgers a medium density population. Sci Rep 2023; 13:2592. [PMID: 36788237 PMCID: PMC9929337 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-28620-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
In the British Isles, the European badger (Meles meles) is thought to be the primary wildlife reservoir of bovine tuberculosis (bTB), an endemic disease in cattle. Test, vaccinate or remove ('TVR') of bTB test-positive badgers, has been suggested to be a potentially useful protocol to reduce bTB incidence in cattle. However, the practice of removing or culling badgers is controversial both for ethical reasons and because there is no consistent observed effect on bTB levels in cattle. While removing badgers reduces population density, it may also result in disruption of their social behaviour, increase their ranging, and lead to greater intra- and inter-species bTB transmission. This effect has been recorded in high badger density areas, such as in southwest England. However, little is known about how TVR affects the behaviour and movement of badgers within a medium density population, such as those that occur in Northern Ireland (NI), which the current study aimed to examine. During 2014-2017, badger ranging behaviours were examined prior to and during a TVR protocol in NI. Nightly distances travelled by 38 individuals were determined using Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements of animal tracks and GPS-enhanced dead-reckoned tracks. The latter was calculated using GPS, tri-axial accelerometer and tri-axial magnetometer data loggers attached to animals. Home range and core home range size were measured using 95% and 50% autocorrelated kernel density estimates, respectively, based on location fixes. TVR was not associated with measured increases in either distances travelled per night (mean = 3.31 ± 2.64 km) or home range size (95% mean = 1.56 ± 0.62 km2, 50% mean = 0.39 ± 0.62 km2) over the four years of study. However, following trapping, mean distances travelled per night increased by up to 44% eight days post capture. Findings differ from those observed in higher density badger populations in England, in which badger ranging increased following culling. Whilst we did not assess behaviours of individual badgers, possible reasons why no differences in home range size were observed include higher inherent 'social fluidity' in Irish populations whereby movements are less restricted by habitat saturation and/or that the numbers removed did not reach a threshold that might induce increases in ranging behaviour. Nevertheless, short-term behavioural disruption from trapping was observed, which led to significant increases in the movements of individual animals within their home range. Whether or not TVR may alter badger behaviours remains to be seen, but it would be better to utilise solutions such as oral vaccination of badgers and/or cattle as well as increased biosecurity to limit bTB transmission, which may be less likely to cause interference and thereby reduce the likelihood of bTB transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie H A Redpath
- School of Biological Sciences, Queens' University Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast, BT9 5DL, Northern Ireland
- Veterinary Sciences Division, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Belfast, BT4 3SD, Northern Ireland
| | - Nikki J Marks
- School of Biological Sciences, Queens' University Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast, BT9 5DL, Northern Ireland
| | - Fraser D Menzies
- Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Veterinary Epidemiology Unit, Belfast, BT4 3SB, Northern Ireland
| | - Maria J H O'Hagan
- Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Veterinary Epidemiology Unit, Belfast, BT4 3SB, Northern Ireland
| | - Rory P Wilson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, Wales
| | - Sinéad Smith
- School of Biological Sciences, Queens' University Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast, BT9 5DL, Northern Ireland
| | - Elizabeth A Magowan
- School of Biological Sciences, Queens' University Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast, BT9 5DL, Northern Ireland
| | - David W McClune
- School of Biological Sciences, Queens' University Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast, BT9 5DL, Northern Ireland
| | - Shane F Collins
- Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Veterinary Epidemiology Unit, Belfast, BT4 3SB, Northern Ireland
| | - Carl M McCormick
- Veterinary Sciences Division, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Belfast, BT4 3SD, Northern Ireland
| | - D Michael Scantlebury
- School of Biological Sciences, Queens' University Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast, BT9 5DL, Northern Ireland.
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4
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Cooper JA, Hutchinson JR, Bernvi DC, Cliff G, Wilson RP, Dicken ML, Menzel J, Wroe S, Pirlo J, Pimiento C. The extinct shark Otodus megalodon was a transoceanic superpredator: Inferences from 3D modeling. Sci Adv 2022; 8:eabm9424. [PMID: 35977007 PMCID: PMC9385135 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abm9424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Although shark teeth are abundant in the fossil record, their bodies are rarely preserved. Thus, our understanding of the anatomy of the extinct Otodus megalodon remains rudimentary. We used an exceptionally well-preserved fossil to create the first three-dimensional model of the body of this giant shark and used it to infer its movement and feeding ecology. We estimate that an adult O. megalodon could cruise at faster absolute speeds than any shark species today and fully consume prey the size of modern apex predators. A dietary preference for large prey potentially enabled O. megalodon to minimize competition and provided a constant source of energy to fuel prolonged migrations without further feeding. Together, our results suggest that O. megalodon played an important ecological role as a transoceanic superpredator. Hence, its extinction likely had large impacts on global nutrient transfer and trophic food webs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack A. Cooper
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - John R. Hutchinson
- Structure and Motion Laboratory, Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA, UK
| | - David C. Bernvi
- KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board, Umhlanga Rocks 4320, South Africa
| | - Geremy Cliff
- KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board, Umhlanga Rocks 4320, South Africa
- School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, KZN, South Africa
| | - Rory P. Wilson
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Matt L. Dicken
- KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board, Umhlanga Rocks 4320, South Africa
- School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK
| | - Jan Menzel
- JanMenzelArt, Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa
| | - Stephen Wroe
- Function, Evolution, and Anatomy Research Lab, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
| | - Jeanette Pirlo
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State University Stanislaus, Turlock, CA 95382, USA
| | - Catalina Pimiento
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
- Paleontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Zurich CH-8006, Switzerland
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institution, Balboa, Panama
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5
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Wilson RP, Reynolds SD, Potts JR, Redcliffe J, Holton M, Buxton A, Rose K, Norman BM. Highlighting when animals expend excessive energy for travel using Dynamic Body Acceleration. iScience 2022; 25:105008. [PMID: 36105597 PMCID: PMC9464956 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 08/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Travel represents a major cost for many animals so there should be selection pressure for it to be efficient – at minimum cost. However, animals sometimes exceed minimum travel costs for reasons that must be correspondingly important. We use Dynamic Body Acceleration (DBA), an acceleration-based metric, as a proxy for movement-based power, in tandem with vertical velocity (rate of change in depth) in a shark (Rhincodon typus) to derive the minimum estimated power required to swim at defined vertical velocities. We show how subtraction of measured DBA from the estimated minimum power for any given vertical velocity provides a “proxy for power above minimum” metric (PPAmin), highlighting when these animals travel above minimum power. We suggest that the adoption of this metric across species has value in identifying where and when animals are subject to compelling conditions that lead them to deviate from ostensibly judicious energy expenditure. Plots of vertical speed vs DBA in sharks show swimming with minimum power DBA values above this minimum indicate higher speeds or increases in drag Linked to space use, this can identify regions and times of excess power use
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6
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Quintana F, Gómez-Laich A, Gunner RM, Gabelli F, Omo GD, Duarte C, Brogger M, Wilson RP. Long walk home: Magellanic penguins have strategies that lead them to areas where they can navigate most efficiently. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220535. [PMID: 35703051 PMCID: PMC9198806 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding how animals move in dense environments where vision is compromised is a major challenge. We used GPS and dead-reckoning to examine the movement of Magellanic penguins commuting through vegetation that precluded long-distance vision. Birds leaving the nest followed the shortest, quickest route to the sea (the 'ideal path', or 'I-path') but return tracks depended where the birds left the water. Penguins arriving at the beach departure spot mirrored the departure. Most of those landing at a distance from the departure spot travelled slowly, obliquely to the coast at a more acute angle than a beeline trajectory to the nest. On crossing their I-path, these birds then followed this route quickly to their nests. This movement strategy saves birds distance, time and energy compared to a route along the beach and the into the colony on the I-track and saves time and energy compared to a beeline trajectory which necessitates slow travel in unfamiliar areas. This suggests that some animals adopt tactics that take them to an area where their navigational capacities are enhanced for efficient travel in challenging environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flavio Quintana
- Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos (IBIOMAR), CONICET. Boulevard Brown 2915, U9120ACD Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina
| | - Agustina Gómez-Laich
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución and Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires (IEGEBA), CONICET, Pabellón II Ciudad Universitaria, C1428EGA Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Richard M. Gunner
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Fabián Gabelli
- Cátedra de Biología del Comportamiento, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Av. Hipólito Yrigoyen 3242, C1207ABR Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | - Carlos Duarte
- Red Sea Research Centre, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Martín Brogger
- Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos (IBIOMAR), CONICET. Boulevard Brown 2915, U9120ACD Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina
| | - Rory P. Wilson
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales SA2 8PP, UK
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7
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Ariano‐Sánchez D, Mortensen RM, Wilson RP, Bjureke P, Reinhardt S, Rosell F. Temperature and barometric pressure affect the activity intensity and movement of an endangered thermoconforming lizard. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Ariano‐Sánchez
- Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health, Faculty of Technology, Natural Sciences and Maritime Sciences University of South‐Eastern Norway Bø Telemark Norway
- Centro de Estudios Ambientales y Biodiversidad Universidad del Valle de Guatemala Guatemala City Guatemala
| | - Rasmus M. Mortensen
- Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health, Faculty of Technology, Natural Sciences and Maritime Sciences University of South‐Eastern Norway Bø Telemark Norway
| | - Rory P. Wilson
- Biosciences, College of Science Swansea University Swansea Wales UK
| | - Peder Bjureke
- Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health, Faculty of Technology, Natural Sciences and Maritime Sciences University of South‐Eastern Norway Bø Telemark Norway
| | - Stefanie Reinhardt
- Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health, Faculty of Technology, Natural Sciences and Maritime Sciences University of South‐Eastern Norway Bø Telemark Norway
| | - Frank Rosell
- Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health, Faculty of Technology, Natural Sciences and Maritime Sciences University of South‐Eastern Norway Bø Telemark Norway
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8
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Wilson RP, Rose KA, Gunner R, Holton MD, Marks NJ, Bennett NC, Bell SH, Twining JP, Hesketh J, Duarte CM, Bezodis N, Jezek M, Painter M, Silovsky V, Crofoot MC, Harel R, Arnould JPY, Allan BM, Whisson DA, Alagaili A, Scantlebury DM. Correction to 'Animal lifestyle affects acceptable mass limits for attached tags'. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220120. [PMID: 35105245 PMCID: PMC8808091 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
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9
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Garde B, Wilson RP, Fell A, Cole N, Tatayah V, Holton MD, Rose KAR, Metcalfe RS, Robotka H, Wikelski M, Tremblay F, Whelan S, Elliott KH, Shepard ELC. Ecological inference using data from accelerometers needs careful protocols. Methods Ecol Evol 2022; 13:813-825. [PMID: 35910299 PMCID: PMC9303593 DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Accelerometers in animal‐attached tags are powerful tools in behavioural ecology, they can be used to determine behaviour and provide proxies for movement‐based energy expenditure. Researchers are collecting and archiving data across systems, seasons and device types. However, using data repositories to draw ecological inference requires a good understanding of the error introduced according to sensor type and position on the study animal and protocols for error assessment and minimisation. Using laboratory trials, we examine the absolute accuracy of tri‐axial accelerometers and determine how inaccuracies impact measurements of dynamic body acceleration (DBA), a proxy for energy expenditure, in human participants. We then examine how tag type and placement affect the acceleration signal in birds, using pigeons Columba livia flying in a wind tunnel, with tags mounted simultaneously in two positions, and back‐ and tail‐mounted tags deployed on wild kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla. Finally, we present a case study where two generations of tag were deployed using different attachment procedures on red‐tailed tropicbirds Phaethon rubricauda foraging in different seasons. Bench tests showed that individual acceleration axes required a two‐level correction to eliminate measurement error. This resulted in DBA differences of up to 5% between calibrated and uncalibrated tags for humans walking at a range of speeds. Device position was associated with greater variation in DBA, with upper and lower back‐mounted tags varying by 9% in pigeons, and tail‐ and back‐mounted tags varying by 13% in kittiwakes. The tropicbird study highlighted the difficulties of attributing changes in signal amplitude to a single factor when confounding influences tend to covary, as DBA varied by 25% between seasons. Accelerometer accuracy, tag placement and attachment critically affect the signal amplitude and thereby the ability of the system to detect biologically meaningful phenomena. We propose a simple method to calibrate accelerometers that can be executed under field conditions. This should be used prior to deployments and archived with resulting data. We also suggest a way that researchers can assess accuracy in previously collected data, and caution that variable tag placement and attachment can increase sensor noise and even generate trends that have no biological meaning.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Adam Fell
- Department of Biosciences Swansea University Swansea UK
- Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Stirling Stirling UK
| | - Nik Cole
- Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust Jersey
| | | | | | | | - Richard S. Metcalfe
- Applied Sports Science, Technology, Exercise and Medicine Research Centre (A‐STEM) Swansea University Swansea UK
| | | | - Martin Wikelski
- Department of Migration Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
| | - Fred Tremblay
- Department of Natural Resources Sciences McGill University Quebec
| | - Shannon Whelan
- Department of Natural Resources Sciences McGill University Quebec
| | - Kyle H. Elliott
- Department of Natural Resources Sciences McGill University Quebec
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10
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Gunner RM, Wilson RP, Holton MD, Hopkins P, Bell SH, Marks NJ, Bennett NC, Ferreira S, Govender D, Viljoen P, Bruns A, van Schalkwyk OL, Bertelsen MF, Duarte CM, van Rooyen MC, Tambling CJ, Göppert A, Diesel D, Scantlebury DM. Decision rules for determining terrestrial movement and the consequences for filtering high-resolution global positioning system tracks: a case study using the African lion ( Panthera leo). J R Soc Interface 2022; 19:20210692. [PMID: 35042386 PMCID: PMC8767188 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2021.0692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The combined use of global positioning system (GPS) technology and motion sensors within the discipline of movement ecology has increased over recent years. This is particularly the case for instrumented wildlife, with many studies now opting to record parameters at high (infra-second) sampling frequencies. However, the detail with which GPS loggers can elucidate fine-scale movement depends on the precision and accuracy of fixes, with accuracy being affected by signal reception. We hypothesized that animal behaviour was the main factor affecting fix inaccuracy, with inherent GPS positional noise (jitter) being most apparent during GPS fixes for non-moving locations, thereby producing disproportionate error during rest periods. A movement-verified filtering (MVF) protocol was constructed to compare GPS-derived speed data with dynamic body acceleration, to provide a computationally quick method for identifying genuine travelling movement. This method was tested on 11 free-ranging lions (Panthera leo) fitted with collar-mounted GPS units and tri-axial motion sensors recording at 1 and 40 Hz, respectively. The findings support the hypothesis and show that distance moved estimates were, on average, overestimated by greater than 80% prior to GPS screening. We present the conceptual and mathematical protocols for screening fix inaccuracy within high-resolution GPS datasets and demonstrate the importance that MVF has for avoiding inaccurate and biased estimates of movement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard M. Gunner
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies Radolfzell, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Rory P. Wilson
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies Radolfzell, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
| | - Mark D. Holton
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies Radolfzell, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
| | - Phil Hopkins
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies Radolfzell, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
| | - Stephen H. Bell
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast BT9 5DL, UK
| | - Nikki J. Marks
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast BT9 5DL, UK
| | - Nigel C. Bennett
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 002, South Africa
| | - Sam Ferreira
- Savanna and Grassland Research Unit, South African National Parks, Scientific Services Skukuza, Kruger National Park, Skukuza 1350, South Africa
| | - Danny Govender
- Savanna and Grassland Research Unit, South African National Parks, Scientific Services Skukuza, Kruger National Park, Skukuza 1350, South Africa
| | - Pauli Viljoen
- Savanna and Grassland Research Unit, South African National Parks, Scientific Services Skukuza, Kruger National Park, Skukuza 1350, South Africa
| | - Angela Bruns
- Veterinary Wildlife Services, South African National Parks, 97 Memorial Road, Old Testing Grounds, 8301 Kimberley, South Africa
| | - O. Louis van Schalkwyk
- Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Government of South Africa, Skukuza, South Africa
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Mads F. Bertelsen
- Center for Zoo and Wild Animal Health, Copenhagen Zoo, Roskildevej 38, 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Carlos M. Duarte
- Red Sea Research Centre, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Martin C. van Rooyen
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 002, South Africa
| | - Craig J. Tambling
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Fort Hare Alice Campus, Ring Road, Alice 5700, South Africa
| | - Aoife Göppert
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast BT9 5DL, UK
| | - Delmar Diesel
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast BT9 5DL, UK
| | - D. Michael Scantlebury
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast BT9 5DL, UK
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11
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Wilson RP, Rose KA, Gunner R, Holton MD, Marks NJ, Bennett NC, Bell SH, Twining JP, Hesketh J, Duarte CM, Bezodis N, Jezek M, Painter M, Silovsky V, Crofoot MC, Harel R, Arnould JPY, Allan BM, Whisson DA, Alagaili A, Scantlebury DM. Animal lifestyle affects acceptable mass limits for attached tags. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20212005. [PMID: 34702077 PMCID: PMC8548787 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal-attached devices have transformed our understanding of vertebrate ecology. To minimize any associated harm, researchers have long advocated that tag masses should not exceed 3% of carrier body mass. However, this ignores tag forces resulting from animal movement. Using data from collar-attached accelerometers on 10 diverse free-ranging terrestrial species from koalas to cheetahs, we detail a tag-based acceleration method to clarify acceptable tag mass limits. We quantify animal athleticism in terms of fractions of animal movement time devoted to different collar-recorded accelerations and convert those accelerations to forces (acceleration × tag mass) to allow derivation of any defined force limits for specified fractions of any animal's active time. Specifying that tags should exert forces that are less than 3% of the gravitational force exerted on the animal's body for 95% of the time led to corrected tag masses that should constitute between 1.6% and 2.98% of carrier mass, depending on athleticism. Strikingly, in four carnivore species encompassing two orders of magnitude in mass (ca 2–200 kg), forces exerted by ‘3%' tags were equivalent to 4–19% of carrier body mass during moving, with a maximum of 54% in a hunting cheetah. This fundamentally changes how acceptable tag mass limits should be determined by ethics bodies, irrespective of the force and time limits specified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rory P Wilson
- Swansea Laboratory for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Kayleigh A Rose
- Swansea Laboratory for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Richard Gunner
- Swansea Laboratory for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Mark D Holton
- College of Science, Swansea University, Fabian Way, Swansea SA1 8EN, UK
| | - Nikki J Marks
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT9 5DL, UK
| | - Nigel C Bennett
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa
| | - Stephen H Bell
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT9 5DL, UK
| | - Joshua P Twining
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT9 5DL, UK
| | - Jamie Hesketh
- Swansea Laboratory for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Carlos M Duarte
- Red Sea Research Centre, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Neil Bezodis
- Applied Sports, Technology, Exercise and Medicine (A-STEM) Research Centre, College of Engineering, Swansea University, Bay Campus, Swansea SA1 8EN, UK
| | - Milos Jezek
- Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague 165 00, Czech Republic
| | - Michael Painter
- Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague 165 00, Czech Republic
| | - Vaclav Silovsky
- Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague 165 00, Czech Republic
| | - Margaret C Crofoot
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Bücklestraβe 5, Konstanz D-78467, Germany
| | - Roi Harel
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Bücklestraβe 5, Konstanz D-78467, Germany.,Germany and Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78457, Germany
| | - John P Y Arnould
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VC 3125, Victoria, Australia
| | - Blake M Allan
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VC 3125, Victoria, Australia
| | - Desley A Whisson
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VC 3125, Victoria, Australia
| | - Abdulaziz Alagaili
- KSU Mammals Research Chair, Zoology Department, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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12
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Gunner RM, Holton MD, Scantlebury DM, Hopkins P, Shepard ELC, Fell AJ, Garde B, Quintana F, Gómez-Laich A, Yoda K, Yamamoto T, English H, Ferreira S, Govender D, Viljoen P, Bruns A, van Schalkwyk OL, Cole NC, Tatayah V, Börger L, Redcliffe J, Bell SH, Marks NJ, Bennett NC, Tonini MH, Williams HJ, Duarte CM, van Rooyen MC, Bertelsen MF, Tambling CJ, Wilson RP. How often should dead-reckoned animal movement paths be corrected for drift? Anim Biotelemetry 2021; 9:43. [PMID: 34900262 PMCID: PMC7612089 DOI: 10.1186/s40317-021-00265-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/25/2021] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Understanding what animals do in time and space is important for a range of ecological questions, however accurate estimates of how animals use space is challenging. Within the use of animal-attached tags, radio telemetry (including the Global Positioning System, 'GPS') is typically used to verify an animal's location periodically. Straight lines are typically drawn between these 'Verified Positions' ('VPs') so the interpolation of space-use is limited by the temporal and spatial resolution of the system's measurement. As such, parameters such as route-taken and distance travelled can be poorly represented when using VP systems alone. Dead-reckoning has been suggested as a technique to improve the accuracy and resolution of reconstructed movement paths, whilst maximising battery life of VP systems. This typically involves deriving travel vectors from motion sensor systems and periodically correcting path dimensions for drift with simultaneously deployed VP systems. How often paths should be corrected for drift, however, has remained unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS Here, we review the utility of dead-reckoning across four contrasting model species using different forms of locomotion (the African lion Panthera leo, the red-tailed tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda, the Magellanic penguin Spheniscus magellanicus, and the imperial cormorant Leucocarbo atriceps). Simulations were performed to examine the extent of dead-reckoning error, relative to VPs, as a function of Verified Position correction (VP correction) rate and the effect of this on estimates of distance moved. Dead-reckoning error was greatest for animals travelling within air and water. We demonstrate how sources of measurement error can arise within VP-corrected dead-reckoned tracks and propose advancements to this procedure to maximise dead-reckoning accuracy. CONCLUSIONS We review the utility of VP-corrected dead-reckoning according to movement type and consider a range of ecological questions that would benefit from dead-reckoning, primarily concerning animal-barrier interactions and foraging strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard M. Gunner
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, Wales, UK
| | - Mark D. Holton
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, Wales, UK
| | - David M. Scantlebury
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast BT9 5DL, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Phil Hopkins
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, Wales, UK
| | - Emily L. C. Shepard
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, Wales, UK
| | - Adam J. Fell
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, Scotland, UK
| | - Baptiste Garde
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, Wales, UK
| | - Flavio Quintana
- Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos (IBIOMAR), CONICET. Boulevard Brown, 2915, U9120ACD Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina
| | - Agustina Gómez-Laich
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución & Instituto de Ecología, Genética Y Evolución de Buenos Aires (IEGEBA), CONICET, Pabellón II Ciudad Universitaria, C1428EGA Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ken Yoda
- Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Takashi Yamamoto
- Organization for the Strategic Coordination of Research and Intellectual Properties, Meiji University, Nakano, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Holly English
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Sam Ferreira
- Savanna and Grassland Research Unit, Scientific Services Skukuza, South African National Parks, Kruger National Park, Skukuza 1350, South Africa
| | - Danny Govender
- Savanna and Grassland Research Unit, Scientific Services Skukuza, South African National Parks, Kruger National Park, Skukuza 1350, South Africa
| | - Pauli Viljoen
- Savanna and Grassland Research Unit, Scientific Services Skukuza, South African National Parks, Kruger National Park, Skukuza 1350, South Africa
| | - Angela Bruns
- Veterinary Wildlife Services, South African National Parks, 97 Memorial Road, Old Testing Grounds, Kimberley 8301, South Africa
| | - O. Louis van Schalkwyk
- Department of Agriculture, Government of South Africa, Land Reform and Rural Development, Pretoria 001, South Africa
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
| | - Nik C. Cole
- Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Les Augrès Manor, Channel Islands, Trinity JE3 5BP, Jersey, UK
- Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, Grannum Road, Indian Ocean, Vacoas, Mauritius
| | - Vikash Tatayah
- Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, Grannum Road, Indian Ocean, Vacoas, Mauritius
| | - Luca Börger
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, Wales, UK
- Centre for Biomathematics, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - James Redcliffe
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, Wales, UK
| | - Stephen H. Bell
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast BT9 5DL, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Nikki J. Marks
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast BT9 5DL, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Nigel C. Bennett
- Mammal Research Institute. Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 002., South Africa
| | - Mariano H. Tonini
- Instituto Andino Patagónico de Tecnologías Biológicas y Geoambientales, Grupo GEA, IPATEC-UNCO-CONICET, San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - Hannah J. Williams
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Carlos M. Duarte
- Red Sea Research Centre, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Martin C. van Rooyen
- Mammal Research Institute. Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 002., South Africa
| | - Mads F. Bertelsen
- Center for Zoo and Wild Animal Health, Copenhagen Zoo, Roskildevej 38, DK-2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Craig J. Tambling
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Fort Hare, Alice Campus, Ring Road, Alice 5700, South Africa
| | - Rory P. Wilson
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, Wales, UK
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13
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Holton MD, Wilson RP, Teilmann J, Siebert U. Animal tag technology keeps coming of age: an engineering perspective. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200229. [PMID: 34176328 PMCID: PMC8237169 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Animal-borne tags (biologgers) have now become extremely sophisticated, recording data from multiple sensors at high frequencies for long periods and, as such, have become a powerful tool for behavioural ecologists and physiologists studying wild animals. But the design and implementation of these tags is not trivial because engineers have to maximize performance and ability to function under onerous conditions while minimizing tag mass and volume (footprint) to maximize the wellbeing of the animal carriers. We present some of the major issues faced by tag engineers and show how tag designers must accept compromises while maintaining systems that can answer the questions being posed. We also argue that basic understanding of engineering issues in tag design by biologists will help feedback to engineers to better tag construction but also reduce the likelihood that tag-deploying biologists will misunderstand their own results. Finally, we suggest that proper consideration of conventional technology together with new approaches will lead to further step changes in our understanding of wild-animal biology using smart tags. This article is part of the theme issue 'Measuring physiology in free-living animals (Part II)'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark D. Holton
- Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Rory P. Wilson
- Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Jonas Teilmann
- Marine Mammal Research, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Ursula Siebert
- Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bischofsholer Damm 15, 30173 Hannover, Germany
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14
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Garde B, Wilson RP, Lempidakis E, Börger L, Portugal SJ, Hedenström A, Dell'Omo G, Quetting M, Wikelski M, Shepard ELC. Fine-scale changes in speed and altitude suggest protean movements in homing pigeon flights. R Soc Open Sci 2021; 8:210130. [PMID: 34017602 PMCID: PMC8131938 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
The power curve provides a basis for predicting adjustments that animals make in flight speed, for example in relation to wind, distance, habitat foraging quality and objective. However, relatively few studies have examined how animals respond to the landscape below them, which could affect speed and power allocation through modifications in climb rate and perceived predation risk. We equipped homing pigeons (Columba livia) with high-frequency loggers to examine how flight speed, and hence effort, varies in relation to topography and land cover. Pigeons showed mixed evidence for an energy-saving strategy, as they minimized climb rates by starting their ascent ahead of hills, but selected rapid speeds in their ascents. Birds did not modify their speed substantially in relation to land cover, but used higher speeds during descending flight, highlighting the importance of considering the rate of change in altitude before estimating power use from speed. Finally, we document an unexpected variability in speed and altitude over fine scales; a source of substantial energetic inefficiency. We suggest this may be a form of protean behaviour adopted to reduce predation risk when flocking is not an option, and that such a strategy could be widespread.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baptiste Garde
- Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, UK
| | - Rory P. Wilson
- Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, UK
| | - Emmanouil Lempidakis
- Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, UK
| | - Luca Börger
- Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, UK
| | - Steven J. Portugal
- Department of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK
| | - Anders Hedenström
- Department of Biology, Centre for Animal Movement Research, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Michael Quetting
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Martin Wikelski
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Emily L. C. Shepard
- Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, UK
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15
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Gunner RM, Wilson RP, Holton MD, Scott R, Arkwright A, Fahlman A, Ulrich M, Hopkins P, Duarte C, Eizaguirre C. Activity of loggerhead turtles during the U-shaped dive: insights using angular velocity metrics. ENDANGER SPECIES RES 2021. [DOI: 10.3354/esr01125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the behavioural ecology of endangered taxa can inform conservation strategies. The activity budgets of the loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta are still poorly understood because many tracking methods show only horizontal displacement and ignore dives and associated behaviours. However, time-depth recorders have enabled researchers to identify flat, U-shaped dives (or type 1a dives) and these are conventionally labelled as resting dives on the seabed because they involve no vertical displacement of the animal. Video- and acceleration-based studies have demonstrated this is not always true. Focusing on sea turtles nesting on the Cabo Verde archipelago, we describe a new metric derived from magnetometer data, absolute angular velocity, that integrates indices of angular rotation in the horizontal plane to infer activity. Using this metric, we evaluated the variation in putative resting behaviours during the bottom phase of type 1a dives for 5 individuals over 13 to 17 d at sea during a single inter-nesting interval (over 75 turtle d in total). We defined absolute resting within the bottom phase of type 1a dives as periods with no discernible acceleration or angular movement. Whilst absolute resting constituted a significant proportion of each turtle’s time budget for this 1a dive type, turtles allocated 16-38% of their bottom time to activity, with many dives being episodic, comprised of intermittent bouts of rest and rotational activity. This implies that previously considered resting behaviours are complex and need to be accounted for in energy budgets, particularly since energy budgets may impact conservation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- RM Gunner
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - RP Wilson
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - MD Holton
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - R Scott
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany
- Natural Environmental Research Council, Polaris House, North Star Avenue, Swindon SN2 1FL, UK
| | - A Arkwright
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
- L’Oceanogràfic, Ciutat de les Arts i de les Ciències, Carrer d’Eduardo Primo Yúfera, 1B, 46013 Valencia, Spain
| | - A Fahlman
- L’Oceanogràfic, Ciutat de les Arts i de les Ciències, Carrer d’Eduardo Primo Yúfera, 1B, 46013 Valencia, Spain
| | - M Ulrich
- Institutionen för fysik kemi och biologi (IFM), Linköping Universitet, Olaus Magnus väg, 583 30 Linköping, Sweden
| | - P Hopkins
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - C Duarte
- Red Sea Research Centre, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955, Saudi Arabia
| | - C Eizaguirre
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E35SA, UK
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16
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Munden R, Börger L, Wilson RP, Redcliffe J, Brown R, Garel M, Potts JR. Why did the animal turn? Time‐varying step selection analysis for inference between observed turning‐points in high frequency data. Methods Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rhys Munden
- School of Mathematics and Statistics University of Sheffield Sheffield UK
| | - Luca Börger
- Department of Biosciences College of Science Swansea University Swansea UK
- Centre for Biomathematics College of Science Swansea University Swansea UK
| | - Rory P. Wilson
- Department of Biosciences College of Science Swansea University Swansea UK
| | - James Redcliffe
- Department of Biosciences College of Science Swansea University Swansea UK
| | - Rowan Brown
- College of Engineering Swansea UniversityBay Campus Wales UK
| | - Mathieu Garel
- Office Français de la BiodiversitéUnité Ongulés Sauvages Gières France
| | - Jonathan R. Potts
- School of Mathematics and Statistics University of Sheffield Sheffield UK
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17
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Wheatley R, Buettel JC, Brook BW, Johnson CN, Wilson RP. Accidents alter animal fitness landscapes. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:920-934. [PMID: 33751743 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2020] [Revised: 10/13/2020] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Animals alter their habitat use in response to the energetic demands of movement ('energy landscapes') and the risk of predation ('the landscape of fear'). Recent research suggests that animals also select habitats and move in ways that minimise their chance of temporarily losing control of movement and thereby suffering slips, falls, collisions or other accidents, particularly when the consequences are likely to be severe (resulting in injury or death). We propose that animals respond to the costs of an 'accident landscape' in conjunction with predation risk and energetic costs when deciding when, where, and how to move in their daily lives. We develop a novel theoretical framework describing how features of physical landscapes interact with animal size, morphology, and behaviour to affect the risk and severity of accidents, and predict how accident risk might interact with predation risk and energetic costs to dictate movement decisions across the physical landscape. Future research should focus on testing the hypotheses presented here for different real-world systems to gain insight into the relative importance of theorised effects in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Wheatley
- School of Natural Sciences and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Jessie C Buettel
- School of Natural Sciences and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Barry W Brook
- School of Natural Sciences and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Christopher N Johnson
- School of Natural Sciences and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Rory P Wilson
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
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18
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Cliffe RN, Robinson CV, Whittaker BA, Kennedy SJ, Avey‐Arroyo JA, Consuegra S, Wilson RP. Genetic divergence and evidence of human-mediated translocation of two-fingered sloths (C holoepus hoffmanni) in Costa Rica. Evol Appl 2020; 13:2439-2448. [PMID: 33005232 PMCID: PMC7513709 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Revised: 05/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Sloths are notoriously slow and consequently have limited dispersal ability, which makes them particularly vulnerable to the effects of habitat fragmentation and degradation. Sloths in Costa Rica are considered of conservation concern due to habitat loss, livestock production and increasing urbanization. Reintroductions from rescue centres are commonplace across the country, yet their genetic diversity and population structure are unknown, and there is currently little consideration of the genetic background prior to intervention or releases. We used microsatellite analysis to undertake the first exploratory investigation into sloth population genetics in Costa Rica. Using data from 98 two-fingered sloths (Choloepus hoffmanni) from four different geographic regions, we determined the presence of four potential genetic groups, three of them with minimal population structuring despite the limited dispersal ability and presence of physical barriers. Sloths from the North appear to represent a highly distinct population that we propose may require management as a discrete unit for conservation. We stress the need for additional analyses to better understand the genetic structure and diversity of North andWest regions and suggest that rescue facilities in Costa Rica should consider the genetic background of rehabilitated sloths when planning future reintroductions. Our results also highlight the threat posed by physical isolation due to widespread urbanization and agriculture expansion for a species with a weak dispersal ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca N. Cliffe
- Biosciences, College of ScienceSwansea UniversityWalesUK
- The Sloth Sanctuary of Costa RicaLimonCosta Rica
- The Sloth Conservation FoundationHayfieldUK
| | - Chloe V. Robinson
- Biosciences, College of ScienceSwansea UniversityWalesUK
- Present address:
Department of Integrative Biology and Centre for Biodiversity GenomicsUniversity of Guelph50 Stone Road EGuelphONN1G 2W1Canada
| | - Benjamin A. Whittaker
- Biosciences, College of ScienceSwansea UniversityWalesUK
- The Sloth Sanctuary of Costa RicaLimonCosta Rica
- Present address:
Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of Guelph50 Stone Road EGuelphONN1G 2W1Canada
| | | | | | | | - Rory P. Wilson
- Biosciences, College of ScienceSwansea UniversityWalesUK
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19
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Gunner RM, Wilson RP, Holton MD, Scott R, Hopkins P, Duarte CM. A new direction for differentiating animal activity based on measuring angular velocity about the yaw axis. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:7872-7886. [PMID: 32760571 PMCID: PMC7391348 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2019] [Revised: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of animal-attached data loggers to quantify animal movement has increased in popularity and application in recent years. High-resolution tri-axial acceleration and magnetometry measurements have been fundamental in elucidating fine-scale animal movements, providing information on posture, traveling speed, energy expenditure, and associated behavioral patterns. Heading is a key variable obtained from the tandem use of magnetometers and accelerometers, although few field investigations have explored fine-scale changes in heading to elucidate differences in animal activity (beyond the notable exceptions of dead-reckoning).This paper provides an overview of the value and use of animal heading and a prime derivative, angular velocity about the yaw axis, as an important element for assessing activity extent with potential to allude to behaviors, using "free-ranging" Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) as a model species.We also demonstrate the value of yaw rotation for assessing activity extent, which varies over the time scales considered and show that various scales of body rotation, particularly rate of change of yaw, can help resolve differences between fine-scale behavior-specific movements. For example, oscillating yaw movements about a central point of the body's arc implies bouts of foraging, while unusual circling behavior, indicative of conspecific interactions, could be identified from complete revolutions of the longitudinal axis.We believe this approach should help identification of behaviors and "space-state" approaches to enhance our interpretation of behavior-based movements, particularly in scenarios where acceleration metrics have limited value, such as for slow-moving animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard M. Gunner
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, BiosciencesCollege of ScienceSwansea UniversitySwanseaUK
| | - Rory P. Wilson
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, BiosciencesCollege of ScienceSwansea UniversitySwanseaUK
| | - Mark D. Holton
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, BiosciencesCollege of ScienceSwansea UniversitySwanseaUK
| | - Rebecca Scott
- Future Ocean Cluster of ExcellenceGEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean ResearchKielGermany
- Natural Environmental Research Council, Polaris HouseSwindonUK
| | - Phil Hopkins
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, BiosciencesCollege of ScienceSwansea UniversitySwanseaUK
| | - Carlos M. Duarte
- Red Sea Research CentreKing Abdullah University of Science and TechnologyThuwalSaudi Arabia
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20
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Wilson RP, Williams HJ, Holton MD, di Virgilio A, Börger L, Potts JR, Gunner R, Arkwright A, Fahlman A, Bennett NC, Alagaili A, Cole NC, Duarte CM, Scantlebury DM. An "orientation sphere" visualization for examining animal head movements. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:4291-4302. [PMID: 32489597 PMCID: PMC7246194 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2019] [Revised: 02/06/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal behavior is elicited, in part, in response to external conditions, but understanding how animals perceive the environment and make the decisions that bring about these behavioral responses is challenging.Animal heads often move during specific behaviors and, additionally, typically have sensory systems (notably vision, smell, and hearing) sampling in defined arcs (normally to the front of their heads). As such, head-mounted electronic sensors consisting of accelerometers and magnetometers, which can be used to determine the movement and directionality of animal heads (where head "movement" is defined here as changes in heading [azimuth] and/or pitch [elevation angle]), can potentially provide information both on behaviors in general and also clarify which parts of the environment the animals might be prioritizing ("environmental framing").We propose a new approach to visualize the data of such head-mounted tags that combines the instantaneous outputs of head heading and pitch in a single intuitive spherical plot. This sphere has magnetic heading denoted by "longitude" position and head pitch by "latitude" on this "orientation sphere" (O-sphere).We construct the O-sphere for the head rotations of a number of vertebrates with contrasting body shape and ecology (oryx, sheep, tortoises, and turtles), illustrating various behaviors, including foraging, walking, and environmental scanning. We also propose correcting head orientations for body orientations to highlight specific heading-independent head rotation, and propose the derivation of O-sphere-metrics, such as angular speed across the sphere. This should help identify the functions of various head behaviors.Visualizations of the O-sphere provide an intuitive representation of animal behavior manifest via head orientation and rotation. This has ramifications for quantifying and understanding behaviors ranging from navigation through vigilance to feeding and, when used in tandem with body movement, should provide an important link between perception of the environment and response to it in free-ranging animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rory P. Wilson
- Department of BiosciencesCollege of ScienceSwansea UniversitySwanseaUK
| | | | - Mark D. Holton
- Department of Computing ScienceCollege of ScienceSwansea UniversitySwanseaUK
| | - Agustina di Virgilio
- Grupo de Biología de la ConservaciónLaboratorio EcotonoINIBIOMA (CONICET‐Universidad Nacional del Comahue)BarilocheArgentina
- Grupo de Ecología CuantitativaINIBIOMA (CONICET‐Universidad Nacional del Comahue)BarilocheArgentina
| | - Luca Börger
- Department of BiosciencesCollege of ScienceSwansea UniversitySwanseaUK
| | - Jonathan R. Potts
- School of Mathematics and StatisticsUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldUK
| | - Richard Gunner
- Department of BiosciencesCollege of ScienceSwansea UniversitySwanseaUK
| | - Alex Arkwright
- Department of BiosciencesCollege of ScienceSwansea UniversitySwanseaUK
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat ValencianaValenciaSpain
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat ValencianaValenciaSpain
| | - Nigel C. Bennett
- Department of Zoology and EntomologyMammal Research InstituteUniversity of PretoriaPretoriaSouth Africa
| | | | - Nik C. Cole
- Mauritian Wildlife FoundationVacoasMauritius
- Durrell Wildlife Conservation TrustJerseyChannel Islands
| | - Carlos M. Duarte
- Red Sea Research CentreKing Abdullah University of Science and TechnologyThuwalSaudi Arabia
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21
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Arkwright AC, Archibald E, Fahlman A, Holton MD, Crespo-Picazo JL, Cabedo VM, Duarte CM, Scott R, Webb S, Gunner RM, Wilson RP. Behavioral Biomarkers for Animal Health: A Case Study Using Animal-Attached Technology on Loggerhead Turtles. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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22
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Lee MA, Duarte CM, Eguíluz VM, Heller DA, Langer R, Meekan MG, Sikes HD, Srivastava M, Strano MS, Wilson RP. Can Fish and Cell Phones Teach Us about Our Health? ACS Sens 2019; 4:2566-2570. [PMID: 31576740 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.9b00947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Biologging is a scientific endeavor that studies the environment and animals within it by outfitting the latter with sensors of their dynamics as they roam freely in their natural habitats. As wearable technologies advance for the monitoring of human health, it may be instructive to reflect on the successes and failures of biologging in field biology over the past few decades. Several lessons may be of value. Physiological sensors can "encode" for a wider number of states than the one explicitly targeted, although the limits of this are debatable. The combination of orthogonal sensors turns out to be critical to delivering a high value data set. Sensor fusion and engineering for longevity are also important for success. This Perspective highlights successful strategies for biologging that hold promise for human health monitoring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A. Lee
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Carlos M. Duarte
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Red Sea Research Center, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Víctor M. Eguíluz
- Instituto de Física Interdisciplinar y Sistemas Complejos IFISC (CSIC-UIB), E07122, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - Daniel A. Heller
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10065, United States
| | - Robert Langer
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Mark G. Meekan
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Hadley D. Sikes
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Mani Srivastava
- Electrical Engineering Department, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Michael S. Strano
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Rory P. Wilson
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, Wales, SA2 8PP, United Kingdom
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23
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Williams HJ, Taylor LA, Benhamou S, Bijleveld AI, Clay TA, de Grissac S, Demšar U, English HM, Franconi N, Gómez-Laich A, Griffiths RC, Kay WP, Morales JM, Potts JR, Rogerson KF, Rutz C, Spelt A, Trevail AM, Wilson RP, Börger L. Optimizing the use of biologgers for movement ecology research. J Anim Ecol 2019; 89:186-206. [PMID: 31424571 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2018] [Accepted: 08/08/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
The paradigm-changing opportunities of biologging sensors for ecological research, especially movement ecology, are vast, but the crucial questions of how best to match the most appropriate sensors and sensor combinations to specific biological questions and how to analyse complex biologging data, are mostly ignored. Here, we fill this gap by reviewing how to optimize the use of biologging techniques to answer questions in movement ecology and synthesize this into an Integrated Biologging Framework (IBF). We highlight that multisensor approaches are a new frontier in biologging, while identifying current limitations and avenues for future development in sensor technology. We focus on the importance of efficient data exploration, and more advanced multidimensional visualization methods, combined with appropriate archiving and sharing approaches, to tackle the big data issues presented by biologging. We also discuss the challenges and opportunities in matching the peculiarities of specific sensor data to the statistical models used, highlighting at the same time the large advances which will be required in the latter to properly analyse biologging data. Taking advantage of the biologging revolution will require a large improvement in the theoretical and mathematical foundations of movement ecology, to include the rich set of high-frequency multivariate data, which greatly expand the fundamentally limited and coarse data that could be collected using location-only technology such as GPS. Equally important will be the establishment of multidisciplinary collaborations to catalyse the opportunities offered by current and future biologging technology. If this is achieved, clear potential exists for developing a vastly improved mechanistic understanding of animal movements and their roles in ecological processes and for building realistic predictive models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah J Williams
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Lucy A Taylor
- Save the Elephants, Nairobi, Kenya.,Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Simon Benhamou
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CNRS Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Allert I Bijleveld
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems, Utrecht University, Den Burg, The Netherlands
| | - Thomas A Clay
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Sophie de Grissac
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Urška Demšar
- School of Geography & Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Holly M English
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Novella Franconi
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Agustina Gómez-Laich
- Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos (IBIOMAR), CONICET, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina
| | - Rachael C Griffiths
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - William P Kay
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Juan Manuel Morales
- Grupo de Ecología Cuantitativa, INIBIOMA-Universidad Nacional del Comahue, CONICET, Bariloche, Argentina
| | - Jonathan R Potts
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | | | - Christian Rutz
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Anouk Spelt
- Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Bristol, University Walk, UK
| | - Alice M Trevail
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Rory P Wilson
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Luca Börger
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
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24
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Sequeira AMM, Heupel MR, Lea MA, Eguíluz VM, Duarte CM, Meekan MG, Thums M, Calich HJ, Carmichael RH, Costa DP, Ferreira LC, Fernandéz-Gracia J, Harcourt R, Harrison AL, Jonsen I, McMahon CR, Sims DW, Wilson RP, Hays GC. The importance of sample size in marine megafauna tagging studies. Ecol Appl 2019; 29:e01947. [PMID: 31183944 DOI: 10.1002/eap.1947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2018] [Revised: 04/10/2019] [Accepted: 04/17/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Telemetry is a key, widely used tool to understand marine megafauna distribution, habitat use, behavior, and physiology; however, a critical question remains: "How many animals should be tracked to acquire meaningful data sets?" This question has wide-ranging implications including considerations of statistical power, animal ethics, logistics, and cost. While power analyses can inform sample sizes needed for statistical significance, they require some initial data inputs that are often unavailable. To inform the planning of telemetry and biologging studies of marine megafauna where few or no data are available or where resources are limited, we reviewed the types of information that have been obtained in previously published studies using different sample sizes. We considered sample sizes from one to >100 individuals and synthesized empirical findings, detailing the information that can be gathered with increasing sample sizes. We complement this review with simulations, using real data, to show the impact of sample size when trying to address various research questions in movement ecology of marine megafauna. We also highlight the value of collaborative, synthetic studies to enhance sample sizes and broaden the range, scale, and scope of questions that can be answered.
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Affiliation(s)
- A M M Sequeira
- IOMRC and The University of Western Australia Oceans Institute, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia, 6009, Australia
| | - M R Heupel
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB No 3, Townsville, Queensland, 4810, Australia
| | - M-A Lea
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, 20 Castray Esplanade, Hobart, Tasmania, 7000, Australia
| | - V M Eguíluz
- Instituto de Física Interdisciplinar y Sistemas Complejos IFISC (CSIC - UIB), E-07122, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - C M Duarte
- Red Sea Research Centre (RSRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - M G Meekan
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre (M096), University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia, 6009 Australia
| | - M Thums
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre (M096), University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia, 6009 Australia
| | - H J Calich
- IOMRC and The University of Western Australia Oceans Institute, Oceans Graduate School, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia, 6009, Australia
| | - R H Carmichael
- Dauphin Island Sea Lab and, University of South Alabama, 101 Bienville Boulevard, Dauphin Island, Alabama, 36528, USA
| | - D P Costa
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, 95060, USA
| | - L C Ferreira
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre (M096), University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia, 6009 Australia
| | - J Fernandéz-Gracia
- Instituto de Física Interdisciplinar y Sistemas Complejos IFISC (CSIC - UIB), E-07122, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - R Harcourt
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, 2109, Australia
| | - A-L Harrison
- Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, PO Box 37012 MRC 5503 MBC, Washington, D.C., 20013, USA
| | - I Jonsen
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, 2109, Australia
| | - C R McMahon
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, 2109, Australia
- Sydney Institute of Marine Science, 19 Chowder Bay Road, Mosman, 2088, New South Wales, Australia
| | - D W Sims
- Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, PL1 2PB, United Kingdom
- Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Waterfront Campus, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, United Kingdom
| | - R P Wilson
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom
| | - G C Hays
- Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
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25
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Wilson RP, Börger L, Holton MD, Scantlebury DM, Gómez-Laich A, Quintana F, Rosell F, Graf PM, Williams H, Gunner R, Hopkins L, Marks N, Geraldi NR, Duarte CM, Scott R, Strano MS, Robotka H, Eizaguirre C, Fahlman A, Shepard ELC. Estimates for energy expenditure in free-living animals using acceleration proxies: A reappraisal. J Anim Ecol 2019; 89:161-172. [PMID: 31173339 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2018] [Accepted: 04/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
It is fundamentally important for many animal ecologists to quantify the costs of animal activities, although it is not straightforward to do so. The recording of triaxial acceleration by animal-attached devices has been proposed as a way forward for this, with the specific suggestion that dynamic body acceleration (DBA) be used as a proxy for movement-based power. Dynamic body acceleration has now been validated frequently, both in the laboratory and in the field, although the literature still shows that some aspects of DBA theory and practice are misunderstood. Here, we examine the theory behind DBA and employ modelling approaches to assess factors that affect the link between DBA and energy expenditure, from the deployment of the tag, through to the calibration of DBA with energy use in laboratory and field settings. Using data from a range of species and movement modes, we illustrate that vectorial and additive DBA metrics are proportional to each other. Either can be used as a proxy for energy and summed to estimate total energy expended over a given period, or divided by time to give a proxy for movement-related metabolic power. Nonetheless, we highlight how the ability of DBA to predict metabolic rate declines as the contribution of non-movement-related factors, such as heat production, increases. Overall, DBA seems to be a substantive proxy for movement-based power but consideration of other movement-related metrics, such as the static body acceleration and the rate of change of body pitch and roll, may enable researchers to refine movement-based metabolic costs, particularly in animals where movement is not characterized by marked changes in body acceleration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rory P Wilson
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Luca Börger
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Mark D Holton
- Department of Computing Science, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - D Michael Scantlebury
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - Agustina Gómez-Laich
- Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos IBIOMAR-CONICET, Puerto Madryn, Argentina
| | - Flavio Quintana
- Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos IBIOMAR-CONICET, Puerto Madryn, Argentina
| | - Frank Rosell
- Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health, Faculty of Technology, Natural Sciences, and Maritime Sciences, University of South-Eastern Norway, Bø i Telemark, Norway
| | - Patricia M Graf
- Department of Forestry and Renewable Forest Resources, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.,Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Richard Gunner
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Lloyd Hopkins
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Nikki Marks
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - Nathan R Geraldi
- Red Sea Research Centre and Computational Biology Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Carlos M Duarte
- Red Sea Research Centre and Computational Biology Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Rebecca Scott
- Geomar Helmholz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Michael S Strano
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Christophe Eizaguirre
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Departamento de Investigación, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Valencia, Spain
| | - Emily L C Shepard
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK.,Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell, Germany
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26
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Kay WP, Naumann DS, Bowen HJ, Withers SJ, Evans BJ, Wilson RP, Stringell TB, Bull JC, Hopkins PW, Börger L. Minimizing the impact of biologging devices: Using computational fluid dynamics for optimizing tag design and positioning. Methods Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- William P. Kay
- Swansea Laboratory for Animal Movement, Department of Biosciences, College of Science Swansea University Swansea Wales UK
- Spatial and Population Ecology Research Group, Department of Biosciences, College of Science Swansea University Swansea Wales, UK
| | - David S. Naumann
- College of Engineering Zienkiewicz Centre for Computational EngineeringSwansea University, Swansea Wales, UK
| | - Hannah J. Bowen
- College of Engineering Zienkiewicz Centre for Computational EngineeringSwansea University, Swansea Wales, UK
| | - Simon J. Withers
- College of Engineering Zienkiewicz Centre for Computational EngineeringSwansea University, Swansea Wales, UK
| | - Benjamin J. Evans
- College of Engineering Zienkiewicz Centre for Computational EngineeringSwansea University, Swansea Wales, UK
| | - Rory P. Wilson
- Swansea Laboratory for Animal Movement, Department of Biosciences, College of Science Swansea University Swansea Wales UK
| | | | - James C. Bull
- Spatial and Population Ecology Research Group, Department of Biosciences, College of Science Swansea University Swansea Wales, UK
| | - Phil W. Hopkins
- Swansea Laboratory for Animal Movement, Department of Biosciences, College of Science Swansea University Swansea Wales UK
| | - Luca Börger
- Swansea Laboratory for Animal Movement, Department of Biosciences, College of Science Swansea University Swansea Wales UK
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27
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Wilson RP, Holton M, Wilson VL, Gunner R, Tysse B, Wilson GI, Quintana F, Duarte C, Scantlebury DM. Towards informed metrics for examining the role of human-induced animal responses in tag studies on wild animals. Integr Zool 2019; 14:17-29. [PMID: 29851254 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Two prime issues can detrimentally affect animals that have been equipped with tags: (i) the effect of the capture and restraint process; and (ii) the effect of the tag itself. This work examines some of the issues surrounding quantification of tag effects on wild animals for both restrained and free-living animals. A new method to quantify stress effects based on monitoring ventilation rates in relation to activity is suggested for restrained animals which may help improve the practice of handling animals. It is also suggested that various metrics, many derived from accelerometers, can be examined in tagged wild animals to examine the change in behaviors over time with a view to having a better understanding of welfare issues, assuring the quality of recorded data and informing best practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rory P Wilson
- Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales, UK
| | - Mark Holton
- Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales, UK
| | - Vianney L Wilson
- Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales, UK
| | - Richard Gunner
- Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales, UK
| | - Brenda Tysse
- Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales, UK
| | - Gwendoline I Wilson
- Department of Geography, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales, UK
| | - Flavio Quintana
- Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos (IBIOMAR), CONICET, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina
| | - Carlos Duarte
- Red Sea Research Centre, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - D Michael Scantlebury
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
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28
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Lee MA, Nguyen FT, Scott K, Chan NY, Bakh NA, Jones KK, Pham C, Garcia-Salinas P, Garcia-Parraga D, Fahlman A, Marco V, Koman VB, Oliver RJ, Hopkins LW, Rubio C, Wilson RP, Meekan MG, Duarte CM, Strano MS. Implanted Nanosensors in Marine Organisms for Physiological Biologging: Design, Feasibility, and Species Variability. ACS Sens 2019; 4:32-43. [PMID: 30525471 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.8b00538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
In recent decades, biologists have sought to tag animals with various sensors to study aspects of their behavior otherwise inaccessible from controlled laboratory experiments. Despite this, chemical information, both environmental and physiological, remains challenging to collect despite its tremendous potential to elucidate a wide range of animal behaviors. In this work, we explore the design, feasibility, and data collection constraints of implantable, near-infrared fluorescent nanosensors based on DNA-wrapped single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT) embedded within a biocompatible poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogel. These sensors are enabled by Corona Phase Molecular Recognition (CoPhMoRe) to provide selective chemical detection for marine organism biologging. Riboflavin, a key nutrient in oxidative phosphorylation, is utilized as a model analyte in in vitro and ex vivo tissue measurements. Nine species of bony fish, sharks, eels, and turtles were utilized on site at Oceanogràfic in Valencia, Spain to investigate sensor design parameters, including implantation depth, sensor imaging and detection limits, fluence, and stability, as well as acute and long-term biocompatibility. Hydrogels were implanted subcutaneously and imaged using a customized, field-portable Raspberry Pi camera system. Hydrogels could be detected up to depths of 7 mm in the skin and muscle tissue of deceased teleost fish ( Sparus aurata and Stenotomus chrysops) and a deceased catshark ( Galeus melastomus). The effects of tissue heterogeneity on hydrogel delivery and fluorescence visibility were explored, with darker tissues masking hydrogel fluorescence. Hydrogels were implanted into a living eastern river cooter ( Pseudemys concinna), a European eel ( Anguilla anguilla), and a second species of catshark ( Scyliorhinus stellaris). The animals displayed no observable changes in movement and feeding patterns. Imaging by high-resolution ultrasound indicated no changes in tissue structure in the eel and catshark. In the turtle, some tissue reaction was detected upon dissection and histopathology. Analysis of movement patterns in sarasa comet goldfish ( Carassius auratus) indicated that the hydrogel implants did not affect swimming patterns. Taken together, these results indicate that this implantable form factor is a promising technique for biologging using aquatic vertebrates with further development. Future work will tune the sensor detection range to the physiological range of riboflavin, develop strategies to normalize sensor signal to account for the optical heterogeneity of animal tissues, and design a flexible, wearable device incorporating optoelectronic components that will enable sensor measurements in moving animals. This work advances the application of nanosensors to organisms beyond the commonly used rodent and zebrafish models and is an important step toward the physiological biologging of aquatic organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Kathleen Scott
- Office of Animal Resources, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, United States
| | | | | | | | | | - Pablo Garcia-Salinas
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Research Department, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, 46013 Valencia, Spain
| | - Daniel Garcia-Parraga
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Research Department, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, 46013 Valencia, Spain
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Research Department, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, 46013 Valencia, Spain
| | - Vicente Marco
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Research Department, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, 46013 Valencia, Spain
| | | | | | - Lloyd W. Hopkins
- Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, United Kingdom
| | - Consuelo Rubio
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Research Department, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, 46013 Valencia, Spain
| | - Rory P. Wilson
- Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, United Kingdom
| | - Mark G. Meekan
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, the Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre (IOMRC), University of Western Australia Oceans Institute, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Carlos M. Duarte
- Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
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Munden R, Börger L, Wilson RP, Redcliffe J, Loison A, Garel M, Potts JR. Making sense of ultrahigh-resolution movement data: A new algorithm for inferring sites of interest. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:265-274. [PMID: 30680112 PMCID: PMC6342090 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2018] [Revised: 08/30/2018] [Accepted: 09/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Decomposing the life track of an animal into behavioral segments is a fundamental challenge for movement ecology. The proliferation of high-resolution data, often collected many times per second, offers much opportunity for understanding animal movement. However, the sheer size of modern data sets means there is an increasing need for rapid, novel computational techniques to make sense of these data. Most existing methods were designed with smaller data sets in mind and can thus be prohibitively slow. Here, we introduce a method for segmenting high-resolution movement trajectories into sites of interest and transitions between these sites. This builds on a previous algorithm of Benhamou and Riotte-Lambert (2012). Adapting it for use with high-resolution data. The data's resolution removed the need to interpolate between successive locations, allowing us to increase the algorithm's speed by approximately two orders of magnitude with essentially no drop in accuracy. Furthermore, we incorporate a color scheme for testing the level of confidence in the algorithm's inference (high = green, medium = amber, low = red). We demonstrate the speed and accuracy of our algorithm with application to both simulated and real data (Alpine cattle at 1 Hz resolution). On simulated data, our algorithm correctly identified the sites of interest for 99% of "high confidence" paths. For the cattle data, the algorithm identified the two known sites of interest: a watering hole and a milking station. It also identified several other sites which can be related to hypothesized environmental drivers (e.g., food). Our algorithm gives an efficient method for turning a long, high-resolution movement path into a schematic representation of broadscale decisions, allowing a direct link to existing point-to-point analysis techniques such as optimal foraging theory. It is encoded into an R package called SitesInterest, so should serve as a valuable tool for making sense of these increasingly large data streams.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rhys Munden
- School of Mathematics and StatisticsUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldUK
| | - Luca Börger
- Department of Biosciences, College of ScienceSwansea UniversitySwanseaWalesUK
| | - Rory P. Wilson
- Department of Biosciences, College of ScienceSwansea UniversitySwanseaWalesUK
| | - James Redcliffe
- Department of Biosciences, College of ScienceSwansea UniversitySwanseaWalesUK
| | - Anne Loison
- Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine, UMR CNRS 5553Université de SavoieLe Bourget‐du‐LacFrance
| | - Mathieu Garel
- Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Unité Ongulés SauvagesGièresFrance
| | - Jonathan R. Potts
- School of Mathematics and StatisticsUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldUK
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Beltramino LE, Venerus LA, Trobbiani GA, Wilson RP, Ciancio JE. Activity budgets for the sedentary Argentine sea bassAcanthistius patachonicusinferred from accelerometer data loggers. AUSTRAL ECOL 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.12696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lucas E. Beltramino
- Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos (CONICET); Edificio CCT CONICET - CENPAT; Blvd. Brown 2915 U9120ACD Puerto Madryn Chubut Argentina
| | - Leonardo A. Venerus
- Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos (CONICET); Edificio CCT CONICET - CENPAT; Blvd. Brown 2915 U9120ACD Puerto Madryn Chubut Argentina
| | - Gastón A. Trobbiani
- Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos (CONICET); Edificio CCT CONICET - CENPAT; Blvd. Brown 2915 U9120ACD Puerto Madryn Chubut Argentina
| | - Rory P. Wilson
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences; College of Science; Swansea University; Swansea Wales UK
| | - Javier E. Ciancio
- Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos (CONICET); Edificio CCT CONICET - CENPAT; Blvd. Brown 2915 U9120ACD Puerto Madryn Chubut Argentina
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Williams HJ, Duriez O, Holton MD, Dell'Omo G, Wilson RP, Shepard ELC. Vultures respond to challenges of near-ground thermal soaring by varying bank angle. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 221:jeb.174995. [PMID: 30337356 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.174995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2017] [Accepted: 10/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Many large birds rely on thermal soaring flight to travel cross-country. As such, they are under selective pressure to minimise the time spent gaining altitude in thermal updrafts. Birds should be able to maximise their climb rates by maintaining a position close to the thermal core through careful selection of bank angle and airspeed; however, there have been few direct measurements of either parameter. Here, we apply a novel methodology to quantify the bank angles selected by soaring birds using on-board magnetometers. We couple these data with airspeed measurements to parameterise the soaring envelope of two species of Gyps vulture, from which it is possible to predict 'optimal' bank angles. Our results show that these large birds respond to the challenges of gaining altitude in the initial phase of the climb, where thermal updrafts are weak and narrow, by adopting relatively high, and conserved, bank angles (25-35 deg). The bank angle decreased with increasing altitude, in a manner that was broadly consistent with a strategy of maximising the rate of climb. However, the lift coefficients estimated in our study were lower than those predicted by theoretical models and wind-tunnel studies. Overall, our results highlight how the relevant currency for soaring performance changes within individual climbs: when thermal radius is limiting, birds vary bank angle and maintain a constant airspeed, but speed increases later in the climb in order to respond to decreasing air density.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah J Williams
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Olivier Duriez
- CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, EPHE, 1919 route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Mark D Holton
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK.,Computational Foundry, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | | | - Rory P Wilson
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Emily L C Shepard
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
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Lempidakis E, Wilson RP, Luckman A, Metcalfe RS. What can knowledge of the energy landscape tell us about animal movement trajectories and space use? A case study with humans. J Theor Biol 2018; 457:101-111. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2018.08.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2018] [Revised: 08/13/2018] [Accepted: 08/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Mulvenna CC, Wilson RP, Marks NJ, Maule AG, Scantlebury DM. The ability of magnetic field sensors to monitor feeding in three domestic herbivores. PeerJ 2018; 6:e5489. [PMID: 30225163 PMCID: PMC6139244 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2018] [Accepted: 07/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The rate at which animals ingest food is a fundamental part of animal ecology although it is rarely quantified, with recently-developed animal-attached tags providing a potentially viable approach. However, to date, these methods lack clarity in differentiating various eating behaviours, such as ‘chewing’ from ‘biting’. The aims of this study were to examine the use of inter-mandibular angle sensors (IMASENs), to quantify grazing behaviour in herbivores including cattle (Bos taurus), sheep (Ovis aries) and pygmy goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) eating different foodstuffs. Specifically, we aimed to: (1) quantify jaw movements of each species and determine differences between biting and chewing; (2) assess whether different food types can be discerned from jaw movements; and (3) determine whether species-specific differences in jaw movements can be detected. Subjects were filmed while consuming concentrate, hay, grass and browse to allow comparison of observed and IMASEN-recorded jaw movements. This study shows that IMASENs can accurately detect jaw movements of feeding herbivores, and, based on the rate of jaw movements, can classify biting (taking new material into the mouth) from chewing (masticating material already in the mouth). The biting behaviours associated with concentrate pellets could be identified easily as these occurred at the fastest rate for all species. However, the rates of chewing different food items were more difficult to discern from one another. Comparison of chew:bite ratios of the various food types eaten by each species showed no differences. Species differences could be identified using bite and chew rates. Cattle consistently displayed slower bite and chew rates to sheep and pygmy goats when feeding, while sheep and pygmy goats showed similar bite and chew rates when feeding on concentrate pellets. Species-specific differences in chew:bite ratios were not identified. Magnetometry has the potential to record quantitative aspects of foraging such as the feeding duration, food handling time and food type. This is of major importance for researchers interested in both captive (e.g., agricultural productivity) and wild animal foraging dynamics as it can provide quantitative data with minimal observer interference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina C Mulvenna
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Rory P Wilson
- Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom
| | - Nikki J Marks
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Aaron G Maule
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - David M Scantlebury
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
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Wilson RP, Holton MD, Virgilio A, Williams H, Shepard ELC, Lambertucci S, Quintana F, Sala JE, Balaji B, Lee ES, Srivastava M, Scantlebury DM, Duarte CM. Give the machine a hand: A Boolean time‐based decision‐tree template for rapidly finding animal behaviours in multisensor data. Methods Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rory P. Wilson
- Department of BiosciencesCollege of ScienceSwansea University Swansea UK
| | - Mark D. Holton
- Department of Computing ScienceCollege of ScienceSwansea University Swansea UK
| | - Agustina Virgilio
- Grupo de Biología de la ConservaciónLaboratorio EcotonoINIBIOMA (CONICET‐Universidad Nacional del Comahue) Bariloche Argentina
- Grupo de Ecología CuantitativaINIBIOMA (CONICET‐Universidad Nacional del Comahue) Bariloche Argentina
| | - Hannah Williams
- Department of BiosciencesCollege of ScienceSwansea University Swansea UK
| | | | - Sergio Lambertucci
- Grupo de Biología de la ConservaciónLaboratorio EcotonoINIBIOMA (CONICET‐Universidad Nacional del Comahue) Bariloche Argentina
| | - Flavio Quintana
- Instituto de Biologia de Organismos Marinos IBIOMAR‐CONICET (9120) Puerto Madryn Chubut Argentina
| | - Juan E. Sala
- Instituto de Biologia de Organismos Marinos IBIOMAR‐CONICET (9120) Puerto Madryn Chubut Argentina
| | - Bharathan Balaji
- Department of Electrical and Computer EngineeringUniversity of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles California
| | - Eun Sun Lee
- Department of Electrical and Computer EngineeringUniversity of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles California
| | - Mani Srivastava
- Department of Electrical and Computer EngineeringUniversity of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles California
| | - D. Michael Scantlebury
- School of Biological SciencesInstitute for Global Food SecurityQueen's University Belfast Belfast UK
| | - Carlos M. Duarte
- Red Sea Research CentreKing Abdullah University of Science and Technology Thuwal Saudi Arabia
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Potts JR, Börger L, Scantlebury DM, Bennett NC, Alagaili A, Wilson RP. Finding turning‐points in ultra‐high‐resolution animal movement data. Methods Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan R. Potts
- School of Mathematics and StatisticsUniversity of Sheffield Sheffield UK
| | - Luca Börger
- Department of Biosciences, College of ScienceSwansea University Swansea UK
| | - D. Michael Scantlebury
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food SecurityQueens University Belfast Belfast UK
| | - Nigel C. Bennett
- Department of Zoology and EntomologyUniversity of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
- Zoology DepartmentKing Saud University Riyadh Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdulaziz Alagaili
- KSU Mammals Research ChairZoology Department, King Saud University Riyadh Saudi Arabia
| | - Rory P. Wilson
- Department of Biosciences, College of ScienceSwansea University Swansea UK
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Wilson RP, Gómez-Laich A, Sala JE, Dell'Omo G, Holton MD, Quintana F. Long necks enhance and constrain foraging capacity in aquatic vertebrates. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.2072. [PMID: 29142117 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2017] [Accepted: 10/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Highly specialized diving birds display substantial dichotomy in neck length with, for example, cormorants and anhingas having extreme necks, while penguins and auks have minimized necks. We attached acceleration loggers to Imperial cormorants Phalacrocorax atriceps and Magellanic penguins Spheniscus magellanicus, both foraging in waters over the Patagonian Shelf, to examine the difference in movement between their respective heads and bodies in an attempt to explain this dichotomy. The penguins had head and body attitudes and movements that broadly concurred throughout all phases of their dives. By contrast, although the cormorants followed this pattern during the descent and ascent phases of dives, during the bottom (foraging) phase of the dive, the head angle differed widely from that of the body and its dynamism (measured using vectorial dynamic acceleration) was over four times greater. A simple model indicated that having the head on an extended neck would allow these cormorants to half the energy expenditure that they would expend if their body moved in the way their heads did. This apparently energy-saving solution is likely to lead to greater heat loss though and would seem tenable in slow-swimming species because the loss of streamlining that it engenders would make it detrimental for fast-swimming taxa such as penguins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rory P Wilson
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Agustina Gómez-Laich
- Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos (IBIOMAR), CONICET, Boulevard Brown 2915, U9120ACD Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina
| | - Juan-Emilio Sala
- Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos (IBIOMAR), CONICET, Boulevard Brown 2915, U9120ACD Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina
| | | | - Mark D Holton
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Flavio Quintana
- Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos (IBIOMAR), CONICET, Boulevard Brown 2915, U9120ACD Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina
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di Virgilio A, Morales JM, Lambertucci SA, Shepard EL, Wilson RP. Multi-dimensional Precision Livestock Farming: a potential toolbox for sustainable rangeland management. PeerJ 2018; 6:e4867. [PMID: 29868276 PMCID: PMC5984589 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2018] [Accepted: 05/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) is a promising approach to minimize the conflicts between socio-economic activities and landscape conservation. However, its application on extensive systems of livestock production can be challenging. The main difficulties arise because animals graze on large natural pastures where they are exposed to competition with wild herbivores for heterogeneous and scarce resources, predation risk, adverse weather, and complex topography. Considering that the 91% of the world's surface devoted to livestock production is composed of extensive systems (i.e., rangelands), our general aim was to develop a PLF methodology that quantifies: (i) detailed behavioural patterns, (ii) feeding rate, and (iii) costs associated with different behaviours and landscape traits. METHODS For this, we used Merino sheep in Patagonian rangelands as a case study. We combined data from an animal-attached multi-sensor tag (tri-axial acceleration, tri-axial magnetometry, temperature sensor and Global Positioning System) with landscape layers from a Geographical Information System to acquire data. Then, we used high accuracy decision trees, dead reckoning methods and spatial data processing techniques to show how this combination of tools could be used to assess energy balance, predation risk and competition experienced by livestock through time and space. RESULTS The combination of methods proposed here are a useful tool to assess livestock behaviour and the different factors that influence extensive livestock production, such as topography, environmental temperature, predation risk and competition for heterogeneous resources. We were able to quantify feeding rate continuously through time and space with high accuracy and show how it could be used to estimate animal production and the intensity of grazing on the landscape. We also assessed the effects of resource heterogeneity (inferred through search times), and the potential costs associated with predation risk, competition, thermoregulation and movement on complex topography. DISCUSSION The quantification of feeding rate and behavioural costs provided by our approach could be used to estimate energy balance and to predict individual growth, survival and reproduction. Finally, we discussed how the information provided by this combination of methods can be used to develop wildlife-friendly strategies that also maximize animal welfare, quality and environmental sustainability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agustina di Virgilio
- Grupo de Ecología Cuantitativa, INIBIOMA, CONICET-UNCO, Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
- Grupo de Investigaciones en Biología de la Conservación, INIBIOMA, CONICET-UNCO, Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - Juan M. Morales
- Grupo de Ecología Cuantitativa, INIBIOMA, CONICET-UNCO, Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - Sergio A. Lambertucci
- Grupo de Investigaciones en Biología de la Conservación, INIBIOMA, CONICET-UNCO, Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
| | | | - Rory P. Wilson
- Department of Biosciences, University of Wales, Swansea, United Kingdom
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Norman BM, Holmberg JA, Arzoumanian Z, Reynolds SD, Wilson RP, Rob D, Pierce SJ, Gleiss AC, de la Parra R, Galvan B, Ramirez-Macias D, Robinson D, Fox S, Graham R, Rowat D, Potenski M, Levine M, Mckinney JA, Hoffmayer E, Dove ADM, Hueter R, Ponzo A, Araujo G, Aca E, David D, Rees R, Duncan A, Rohner CA, Prebble CEM, Hearn A, Acuna D, Berumen ML, Vázquez A, Green J, Bach SS, Schmidt JV, Beatty SJ, Morgan DL. Undersea Constellations: The Global Biology of an Endangered Marine Megavertebrate Further Informed through Citizen Science. Bioscience 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/biosci/bix127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Thiem JD, Dawson JW, Hatin D, Danylchuk AJ, Dumont P, Gleiss AC, Wilson RP, Cooke SJ. Swimming activity and energetic costs of adult lake sturgeon during fishway passage. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017; 219:2534-44. [PMID: 27535988 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.140087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2016] [Accepted: 06/09/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Fish migrations through riverine systems can be energetically demanding, and the presence of fishways to facilitate upstream passage can add an additional energetic cost that may directly affect fitness. Successful fishway passage is a function of the ability of fish to select appropriate paths and swimming strategies that do not exceed their swimming capacity. Triaxial accelerometers were used to estimate the energetic expenditure of adult lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) swimming through a vertical slot fishway, to determine whether individual behaviour or path selection, resulting in differences in cumulative energy use, explain fishway passage success. Most individuals attempted to pass the fishway (n=30/44; 68%), although successful passage only occurred for a subset of those attempting (n=7/30; 23%). High-speed swimming was rarely observed during upstream passage through fishway basins, and was of short duration. Two turning basins delayed passage, subsequently resulting in a higher energetic cost. The rate at which energy was expended did not differ among successful and unsuccessful individuals, although successful sturgeon exhibited higher costs of transport (42.75 versus 25.85 J kg(-1) m(-1)). Energy expenditure metrics were not predictive of successful fishway passage, leading us to conclude that other endogenous or exogenous factors influence passage success. In a practical application of field measurements of energy expenditure, we demonstrate that fishway passage through a structure designed to facilitate migration does result in an energetic loss for lake sturgeon (3249-16,331 J kg(-1)), equivalent to individuals travelling 5.8-28.2 km in a lentic system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason D Thiem
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6
| | - Jeff W Dawson
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6
| | - Daniel Hatin
- Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs, 201 Place Charles Le Moyne, 4e étage, bureau 4.05, Longueuil, Québec, Canada J4K 2T5
| | - Andy J Danylchuk
- Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003-9285, USA
| | - Pierre Dumont
- Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs, 201 Place Charles Le Moyne, 4e étage, bureau 4.05, Longueuil, Québec, Canada J4K 2T5
| | - Adrian C Gleiss
- Centre for Fish and Fisheries Research, School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Perth, Western Australia 6150, Australia
| | - Rory P Wilson
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Steven J Cooke
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6 Institute of Environmental Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6
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Downey LA, Tysse B, Ford TC, Samuels AC, Wilson RP, Parrott AC. Psychomotor Tremor and Proprioceptive Control Problems in Current and Former Stimulant Drug Users: An Accelerometer Study of Heavy Users of Amphetamine, MDMA, and Other Recreational Stimulants. J Clin Pharmacol 2017; 57:1330-1337. [PMID: 28425095 DOI: 10.1002/jcph.925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2017] [Accepted: 03/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The recreational use of various stimulant drugs has been implicated in the development of movement disorders through dysregulation of the dopaminergic and serotoninergic neurotransmitter systems. The present study investigated psychomotor differences in current and former recreational stimulant drug users compared with nonusing controls. Sixty participants comprised 3 groups: 20 current stimulant drug users (CSUs; 11 men, aged 31.4 ± 9.1 years), 20 former stimulant drug users (FSUs; 5 men, aged 39.1 ± 8.5 years), and 20 nonuser controls (NUCs; 5 men, aged 35.7 ± 6.4 years). Psychomotor arm steadiness for each participant was assessed with a wrist-attached accelerometer during 5 arm positions with eyes open and then eyes closed. Arm-drop of arm position was indicated by the arm longitudinal rotation axis (ALoRA), and tremor was indicated by the overall vector of dynamic body acceleration (VeDBA). Overall, CSUs performed the most poorly on ALoRA (P < .05) and VeDBA indices (P < .05), and FSUs perform almost as poorly on VeDBA indices (P < .05) compared with NUCs. It was concluded that stimulant drug use, primarily MDMA and amphetamines, may result in acute stimulant-induced tremor as well as long-term proprioceptive deficits in terms of arm-droop.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke A Downey
- Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University, Hawthorn, Melbourne, Australia.,Institute for Breathing and Sleep, Austin Health, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Brenda Tysse
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales, UK
| | - Talitha C Ford
- Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University, Hawthorn, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Angela C Samuels
- Department of Psychology, College of Human and Health Sciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales, UK
| | - Rory P Wilson
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales, UK
| | - Andrew C Parrott
- Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University, Hawthorn, Melbourne, Australia.,Department of Psychology, College of Human and Health Sciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales, UK
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Williams HJ, Holton MD, Shepard ELC, Largey N, Norman B, Ryan PG, Duriez O, Scantlebury M, Quintana F, Magowan EA, Marks NJ, Alagaili AN, Bennett NC, Wilson RP. Identification of animal movement patterns using tri-axial magnetometry. Mov Ecol 2017; 5:6. [PMID: 28357113 PMCID: PMC5367006 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-017-0097-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2017] [Accepted: 02/27/2017] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Accelerometers are powerful sensors in many bio-logging devices, and are increasingly allowing researchers to investigate the performance, behaviour, energy expenditure and even state, of free-living animals. Another sensor commonly used in animal-attached loggers is the magnetometer, which has been primarily used in dead-reckoning or inertial measurement tags, but little outside that. We examine the potential of magnetometers for helping elucidate the behaviour of animals in a manner analogous to, but very different from, accelerometers. The particular responses of magnetometers to movement means that there are instances when they can resolve behaviours that are not easily perceived using accelerometers. METHODS We calibrated the tri-axial magnetometer to rotations in each axis of movement and constructed 3-dimensional plots to inspect these stylised movements. Using the tri-axial data of Daily Diary tags, attached to individuals of number of animal species as they perform different behaviours, we used these 3-d plots to develop a framework with which tri-axial magnetometry data can be examined and introduce metrics that should help quantify movement and behaviour.. RESULTS Tri-axial magnetometry data reveal patterns in movement at various scales of rotation that are not always evident in acceleration data. Some of these patterns may be obscure until visualised in 3D space as tri-axial spherical plots (m-spheres). A tag-fitted animal that rotates in heading while adopting a constant body attitude produces a ring of data around the pole of the m-sphere that we define as its Normal Operational Plane (NOP). Data that do not lie on this ring are created by postural rotations of the animal as it pitches and/or rolls. Consequently, stereotyped behaviours appear as specific trajectories on the sphere (m-prints), reflecting conserved sequences of postural changes (and/or angular velocities), which result from the precise relationship between body attitude and heading. This novel approach shows promise for helping researchers to identify and quantify behaviours in terms of animal body posture, including heading. CONCLUSION Magnetometer-based techniques and metrics can enhance our capacity to identify and examine animal behaviour, either as a technique used alone, or one that is complementary to tri-axial accelerometry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah J. Williams
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP UK
| | - Mark D. Holton
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP UK
| | - Emily L. C. Shepard
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP UK
| | - Nicola Largey
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP UK
| | - Brad Norman
- ECOCEAN Inc. (Aust.), ECOCEAN (USA), C/o 68a Railway Street, Perth, WA 6011 Australia
| | - Peter G. Ryan
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701 South Africa
| | - Olivier Duriez
- CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, EPHE, 1919 route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Michael Scantlebury
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, Ireland
| | - Flavio Quintana
- Centro Nacional Patagónico, CONICET (9120), Puerto Madryn, Chubut Argentina
| | - Elizabeth A. Magowan
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, Ireland
| | - Nikki J. Marks
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, Ireland
| | - Abdulaziz N. Alagaili
- KSU Mammals Research Chair, Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh, 11451 Saudi Arabia
| | - Nigel C. Bennett
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Rory P. Wilson
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP UK
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Wilson RP, Holton MD, Walker JS, Shepard ELC, Scantlebury DM, Wilson VL, Wilson GI, Tysse B, Gravenor M, Ciancio J, McNarry MA, Mackintosh KA, Qasem L, Rosell F, Graf PM, Quintana F, Gomez-Laich A, Sala JE, Mulvenna CC, Marks NJ, Jones MW. A spherical-plot solution to linking acceleration metrics with animal performance, state, behaviour and lifestyle. Mov Ecol 2016; 4:22. [PMID: 27688882 PMCID: PMC5035456 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-016-0088-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2016] [Accepted: 09/16/2016] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND We are increasingly using recording devices with multiple sensors operating at high frequencies to produce large volumes of data which are problematic to interpret. A particularly challenging example comes from studies on animals and humans where researchers use animal-attached accelerometers on moving subjects to attempt to quantify behaviour, energy expenditure and condition. RESULTS The approach taken effectively concatinated three complex lines of acceleration into one visualization that highlighted patterns that were otherwise not obvious. The summation of data points within sphere facets and presentation into histograms on the sphere surface effectively dealt with data occlusion. Further frequency binning of data within facets and representation of these bins as discs on spines radiating from the sphere allowed patterns in dynamic body accelerations (DBA) associated with different postures to become obvious. METHOD We examine the extent to which novel, gravity-based spherical plots can produce revealing visualizations to incorporate the complexity of such multidimensional acceleration data using a suite of different acceleration-derived metrics with a view to highlighting patterns that are not obvious using current approaches. The basis for the visualisation involved three-dimensional plots of the smoothed acceleration values, which then occupied points on the surface of a sphere. This sphere was divided into facets and point density within each facet expressed as a histogram. Within each facet-dependent histogram, data were also grouped into frequency bins of any desirable parameters, most particularly dynamic body acceleration (DBA), which were then presented as discs on a central spine radiating from the facet. Greater radial distances from the sphere surface indicated greater DBA values while greater disc diameter indicated larger numbers of data points with that particular value. CONCLUSIONS We indicate how this approach links behaviour and proxies for energetics and can inform our identification and understanding of movement-related processes, highlighting subtle differences in movement and its associated energetics. This approach has ramifications that should expand to areas as disparate as disease identification, lifestyle, sports practice and wild animal ecology. UCT Science Faculty Animal Ethics 2014/V10/PR (valid until 2017).
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Affiliation(s)
- Rory P. Wilson
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP UK
| | - Mark D. Holton
- Visual Computing, Computer Science, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP UK
| | - James S. Walker
- Visual Computing, Computer Science, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP UK
| | - Emily L. C. Shepard
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP UK
| | - D. Mike Scantlebury
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen’s University Belfast, Medical Biology Centre, 97, Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7BL UK
| | - Vianney L. Wilson
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP UK
| | - Gwendoline I. Wilson
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP UK
| | - Brenda Tysse
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP UK
| | - Mike Gravenor
- Institute of Life Science, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea, SA2 8PP UK
| | - Javier Ciancio
- Centro Nacional Patagonico, Boulevard Brown s/n, Chubut, Argentina
| | - Melitta A. McNarry
- Applied Sports Science Technology and Medicine Research Centre, College of Engineering, Swansea University, Fabian Way, Swansea, SA1 8EN UK
| | - Kelly A. Mackintosh
- Applied Sports Science Technology and Medicine Research Centre, College of Engineering, Swansea University, Fabian Way, Swansea, SA1 8EN UK
| | - Lama Qasem
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, 2713 Qatar
| | - Frank Rosell
- Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Environmental and Health Studies, Telemark University College, N-3800 Bø i, Telemark, Norway
| | - Patricia M. Graf
- Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Environmental and Health Studies, Telemark University College, N-3800 Bø i, Telemark, Norway
- Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, A-1180 Vienna Austria
| | - Flavio Quintana
- Centro Nacional Patagonico, Boulevard Brown s/n, Chubut, Argentina
| | | | - Juan-Emilio Sala
- Centro Nacional Patagonico, Boulevard Brown s/n, Chubut, Argentina
| | - Christina C. Mulvenna
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen’s University Belfast, Medical Biology Centre, 97, Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7BL UK
| | - Nicola J. Marks
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen’s University Belfast, Medical Biology Centre, 97, Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7BL UK
| | - Mark W. Jones
- Visual Computing, Computer Science, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP UK
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Metcalfe JD, Wright S, Tudorache C, Wilson RP. Recent advances in telemetry for estimating the energy metabolism of wild fishes. J Fish Biol 2016; 88:284-97. [PMID: 26592370 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.12804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2014] [Accepted: 08/20/2015] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Metabolic rate is a critical factor in animal biology and ecology, providing an objective measure that can be used in attributing a cost to different activities and to assessing what animals do against some optimal behaviour. Ideally, metabolic rate would be estimated directly by measuring heat output but, until recently, this has not been easily tractable with fishes so instead metabolic rate is usually estimated using indirect methods. In the laboratory, oxygen consumption rate is the indirect method most frequently used for estimating metabolic rate, but technical requirements preclude the measurement of either heat output or oxygen consumption rate in free-ranging fishes. There are other field methods for estimating metabolic rate that can be used with mammals and birds but, again, these cannot be used with fishes. Here, the use of electronic devices that record body acceleration in three dimensions (accelerometry) is considered. Accelerometry is a comparatively new telemetric method for assessing energy metabolism in animals. Correlations between dynamic body acceleration (DBA) and oxygen consumption rate demonstrate that this will be a useful proxy for estimating activity-specific energy expenditure from fishes in mesocosm or field studies over extended periods where other methods (e.g. oxygen consumption rate) are not feasible. DBA therefore has potential as a valuable tool for attributing cost to different activities. This could help in gaining a full picture of how fishes make energy-based trade-offs between different levels of activity when faced with conflicting or competing demands arising from increased and combined environmental stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- J D Metcalfe
- Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft NR33 0HT, U.K
| | - S Wright
- Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft NR33 0HT, U.K
- College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, U.K
| | - C Tudorache
- Sylvius Laboratory, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Sylviusweg 72, 2333 BE Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - R P Wilson
- College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, U.K
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D'silva LA, Cardew A, Qasem L, Wilson RP, Lewis MJ. Relationships between oxygen uptake, dynamic body acceleration and heart rate in humans. J Sports Med Phys Fitness 2015; 55:1049-1057. [PMID: 24947810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
AIM Accurate estimation of energy expenditure (EE) is important in human and animal behavior analysis. Rate of oxygen consumption (VO2) reflects EE during aerobic metabolism but is not always convenient. Alternative methods include heart rate (HR) and overall dynamic body acceleration (ODBA). A favorable ODBA-VO2 relationship was recently reported but the strength of association between VO2, ODBA, HR and its variability (HRV) is less clear. METHOD Fifteen young (23±4 years) healthy males of similar aerobic fitness (maximal oxygen uptake, VO2max=49.7±8.5 mL·kg(-1)·min(-1)) carried out progressive maximal exercise. ODBA, HRV and V̇O2 were recorded continuously. Relationships between ODBA, HRV and V̇O2 were explored using regression methods. RESULTS VO2 was strongly related to ODBA and RR during walking (R=0.45,0.30; P<5x10(-5)) and running (R=0.60,0.38; P<5x10(-5)). HRV was related to VO2 during walking only (R=0.11-0.26; 0.005<P<5x10(-5)). A strong ODBA-RR relationship during walking (R=0.45; P<5x10(-5)) was diminished during running (R=0.25; P<5x10(-5)). CONCLUSION ODBA is a stronger proxy for EE than RR or HRV, especially during running gaits. HRV is weakly related to EE and cannot be recommended for its estimation. ODBA and RR are relatively easily measured but careful attention to gait is imperative as it changes these relationships markedly.
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Affiliation(s)
- L A D'silva
- College of Engineering, Swansea University, Swansea, UK -
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Wilson GI, Norman B, Walker J, Williams HJ, Holton MD, Clarke D, Wilson RP. In search of rules behind environmental framing; the case of head pitch. Mov Ecol 2015; 3:24. [PMID: 26380712 PMCID: PMC4572619 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-015-0051-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2015] [Accepted: 09/06/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Whether, and how, animals move requires them to assess their environment to determine the most appropriate action and trajectory, although the precise way the environment is scanned has been little studied. We hypothesized that head attitude, which effectively frames the environment for the eyes, and the way it changes over time, would be modulated by the environment. METHOD To test this, we used a head-mounted device (Human-Interfaced Personal Observation platform - HIPOP) on people moving through three different environments; a botanical garden ('green' space), a reef ('blue' space), and a featureless corridor, to examine if head movement in the vertical axis differed between environments. Template matching was used to identify and quantify distinct behaviours. CONCLUSIONS The data on head pitch from all subjects and environments over time showed essentially continuous clear waveforms with varying amplitude and wavelength. There were three stylised behaviours consisting of smooth, regular peaks and troughs in head pitch angle and variable length fixations during which the head pitch remained constant. These three behaviours accounted for ca. 40 % of the total time, with irregular head pitch changes accounting for the rest. There were differences in rates of manifestation of behaviour according to environment as well as environmentally different head pitch values of peaks, troughs and fixations. Finally, although there was considerable variation in head pitch angles, the peak and trough values bounded most of the variation in the fixation pitch values. It is suggested that the constant waveforms in head pitch serve to inform people about their environment, providing a scanning mechanism. Particular emphasis to certain sectors is manifest within the peak and trough limits and these appear modulated by the distribution of the points where fixation, interpreted as being due to objects of interest, occurs. This behaviour explains how animals allocate processing resources to the environment and shows promise for movement studies attempting to elucidate which parts of the environment affect movement trajectories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gwendoline Ixia Wilson
- />Department of Geography, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP Wales UK
| | - Brad Norman
- />Computer Science, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP Wales UK
| | - James Walker
- />ECOCEAN Inc, 102/72 Marine Terrace, Fremantle, WA 6160 Australia
| | - Hannah J. Williams
- />Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP Wales UK
| | - M. D. Holton
- />College of Engineering, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP Wales UK
| | - D. Clarke
- />Department of Geography, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP Wales UK
| | - Rory P. Wilson
- />Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP Wales UK
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Graf PM, Wilson RP, Qasem L, Hackländer K, Rosell F. The Use of Acceleration to Code for Animal Behaviours; A Case Study in Free-Ranging Eurasian Beavers Castor fiber. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0136751. [PMID: 26317623 PMCID: PMC4552556 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2015] [Accepted: 08/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent technological innovations have led to the development of miniature, accelerometer-containing electronic loggers which can be attached to free-living animals. Accelerometers provide information on both body posture and dynamism which can be used as descriptors to define behaviour. We deployed tri-axial accelerometer loggers on 12 free-ranging Eurasian beavers Castor fiber in the county of Telemark, Norway, and on four captive beavers (two Eurasian beavers and two North American beavers C. canadensis) to corroborate acceleration signals with observed behaviours. By using random forests for classifying behavioural patterns of beavers from accelerometry data, we were able to distinguish seven behaviours; standing, walking, swimming, feeding, grooming, diving and sleeping. We show how to apply the use of acceleration to determine behaviour, and emphasise the ease with which this non-invasive method can be implemented. Furthermore, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of this, and the implementation of accelerometry on animals, illustrating limitations, suggestions and solutions. Ultimately, this approach may also serve as a template facilitating studies on other animals with similar locomotor modes and deliver new insights into hitherto unknown aspects of behavioural ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia M. Graf
- Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Environmental Sciences, Telemark University College, Bø i Telemark, Norway
- Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- * E-mail:
| | - Rory P. Wilson
- Swansea Moving Animal Research Team, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom
| | - Lama Qasem
- Swansea Moving Animal Research Team, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom
| | - Klaus Hackländer
- Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Frank Rosell
- Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Environmental Sciences, Telemark University College, Bø i Telemark, Norway
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Wilson RP, Griffiths IW, Mills MGL, Carbone C, Wilson JW, Scantlebury DM. Mass enhances speed but diminishes turn capacity in terrestrial pursuit predators. eLife 2015; 4. [PMID: 26252515 PMCID: PMC4542338 DOI: 10.7554/elife.06487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2015] [Accepted: 08/02/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The dynamics of predator-prey pursuit appears complex, making the development of a framework explaining predator and prey strategies problematic. We develop a model for terrestrial, cursorial predators to examine how animal mass modulates predator and prey trajectories and affects best strategies for both parties. We incorporated the maximum speed-mass relationship with an explanation of why larger animals should have greater turn radii; the forces needed to turn scale linearly with mass whereas the maximum forces an animal can exert scale to a 2/3 power law. This clarifies why in a meta-analysis, we found a preponderance of predator/prey mass ratios that minimized the turn radii of predators compared to their prey. It also explained why acceleration data from wild cheetahs pursuing different prey showed different cornering behaviour with prey type. The outcome of predator prey pursuits thus depends critically on mass effects and the ability of animals to time turns precisely. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.06487.001 A pursuit between a predator and its prey involves complex strategies. Prey often make sudden sharp turns when running to evade a predator. Any predator that cannot turn quickly enough will have to run further to catch up with the prey again, thus potentially allowing the prey to pull away from the predator. The timing of these turns is crucial; if the prey turns when the predator is too far away, the predator can cut the corner off the turn and catch up with the prey more easily. The speed at which animals can turn depends on the forces involved in cornering, and larger animals need to produce greater forces for any given turn. However, larger animals can apply relatively less force than smaller animals for turns and so cannot turn as rapidly. The effect of the relationship between mass and turning ability on the strategies used during land-based pursuits had not been investigated. Wilson et al. have now created a mathematical model that considers how the mass of a predator and its prey influences the course and strategies used in a land-based pursuit. The model is based in part on a mathematical problem called the ‘homicidal chauffeur game’, where a car driver attempts to run over a pedestrian. Wilson et al.'s model predicts that chases between large predators and smaller prey should feature frequent sharp turns, as the prey try to exploit their superior turning ability. However, when the predators and prey are of similar size, the prey gain little or no advantage from executing high-speed turns. Indeed, as turning slows the prey down, turning may often be disadvantageous, and so fewer turns should be seen during a pursuit. The predictions of the model were compared with the pursuit strategies of wild cheetahs, which were studied using collars equipped with tags to measure acceleration as the predators chased prey of different sizes—from hares to large antelopes called gemsboks. The tracking data confirmed the predictions of the model; thereby revealing that body mass and the ability of animals to choose when best to turn strongly determine the outcome of predator-prey pursuits. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.06487.002
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Affiliation(s)
- Rory P Wilson
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, Wales
| | | | | | - Chris Carbone
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - John W Wilson
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - David M Scantlebury
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
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Wilson ADM, Wikelski M, Wilson RP, Cooke SJ. Utility of biological sensor tags in animal conservation. Conserv Biol 2015; 29:1065-1075. [PMID: 25833384 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2014] [Accepted: 12/23/2014] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Electronic tags (both biotelemetry and biologging platforms) have informed conservation and resource management policy and practice by providing vital information on the spatial ecology of animals and their environments. However, the extent of the contribution of biological sensors (within electronic tags) that measure an animal's state (e.g., heart rate, body temperature, and details of locomotion and energetics) is less clear. A literature review revealed that, despite a growing number of commercially available state sensor tags and enormous application potential for such devices in animal biology, there are relatively few examples of their application to conservation. Existing applications fell under 4 main themes: quantifying disturbance (e.g., ecotourism, vehicular and aircraft traffic), examining the effects of environmental change (e.g., climate change), understanding the consequences of habitat use and selection, and estimating energy expenditure. We also identified several other ways in which sensor tags could benefit conservation, such as determining the potential efficacy of management interventions. With increasing sensor diversity of commercially available platforms, less invasive attachment techniques, smaller device sizes, and more researchers embracing such technology, we suggest that biological sensor tags be considered a part of the necessary toolbox for conservation. This approach can measure (in real time) the state of free-ranging animals and thus provide managers with objective, timely, relevant, and accurate data to inform policy and decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- A D M Wilson
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada
| | - M Wikelski
- Max Plank Institute for Ornithology, Department of Migration and Immuno-ecology, Am Obstberg 1D-78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- University of Konstanz, Department of Biology, 78457, Konstanz, Germany
| | - R P Wilson
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales, SA2 8PP, United Kingdom
| | - S J Cooke
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada
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Wilson GI, Holton MD, Walker J, Jones MW, Grundy E, Davies IM, Clarke D, Luckman A, Russill N, Wilson V, Plummer R, Wilson RP. A new perspective on how humans assess their surroundings; derivation of head orientation and its role in 'framing' the environment. PeerJ 2015; 3:e908. [PMID: 26157643 PMCID: PMC4476166 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2014] [Accepted: 04/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the way humans inform themselves about their environment is pivotal in helping explain our susceptibility to stimuli and how this modulates behaviour and movement patterns. We present a new device, the Human Interfaced Personal Observation Platform (HIPOP), which is a head-mounted (typically on a hat) unit that logs magnetometry and accelerometry data at high rates and, following appropriate calibration, can be used to determine the heading and pitch of the wearer’s head. We used this device on participants visiting a botanical garden and noted that although head pitch ranged between −80° and 60°, 25% confidence limits were restricted to an arc of about 25° with a tendency for the head to be pitched down (mean head pitch ranged between −43° and 0°). Mean rates of change of head pitch varied between −0.00187°/0.1 s and 0.00187°/0.1 s, markedly slower than rates of change of head heading which varied between −0.3141°/0.1 s and 0.01263°/0.1 s although frequency distributions of both parameters showed them to be symmetrical and monomodal. Overall, there was considerable variation in both head pitch and head heading, which highlighted the role that head orientation might play in exposing people to certain features of the environment. Thus, when used in tandem with accurate position-determining systems, the HIPOP can be used to determine how the head is orientated relative to gravity and geographic North and in relation to geographic position, presenting data on how the environment is being ‘framed’ by people in relation to environmental content.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gwendoline Ixia Wilson
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University , Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales , UK
| | - Mark D Holton
- College of Engineering, Swansea University , Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales , UK
| | - James Walker
- Computer Science, College of Science, Swansea University , Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales , UK
| | - Mark W Jones
- Computer Science, College of Science, Swansea University , Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales , UK
| | - Ed Grundy
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University , Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales , UK
| | - Ian M Davies
- Department of Mathematics, College of Science, Swansea University , Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales , UK
| | - David Clarke
- Department of Geography, College of Science, Swansea University , Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales , UK
| | - Adrian Luckman
- Department of Geography, College of Science, Swansea University , Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales , UK
| | | | - Vianney Wilson
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University , Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales , UK
| | - Rosie Plummer
- National Botanic Garden of Wales , Llanarthne, Camarthen, Wales , UK
| | - Rory P Wilson
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University , Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales , UK
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50
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Wilson RP, Liebsch N, Gómez-Laich A, Kay WP, Bone A, Hobson VJ, Siebert U. Options for modulating intra-specific competition in colonial pinnipeds: the case of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) in the Wadden Sea. PeerJ 2015; 3:e957. [PMID: 26082869 PMCID: PMC4465952 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2014] [Accepted: 04/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Colonial pinnipeds may be subject to substantial consumptive competition because they are large, slow-moving central place foragers. We examined possible mechanisms for reducing this competition by examining the diving behaviour of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) after equipping 34 seals (11 females, 23 males) foraging from three locations; Rømø, Denmark and Lorenzenplate and Helgoland, Germany, in the Wadden Sea area with time-depth recorders. Analysis of 319,021 dives revealed little between-colony variation but appreciable inter-sex differences, with males diving deeper than females, but for shorter periods. Males also had higher vertical descent rates. This result suggests that males may have higher overall swim speeds, which would increase higher oxygen consumption, and may explain the shorter dive durations compared to females. Intersex variation in swim speed alone is predicted to lead to fundamental differences in the time use of three-dimensional space, which may help reduce consumptive competition in harbour seals and other colonial pinnipeds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rory P Wilson
- Swansea Laboratory for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University , Swansea, Wales , UK ; GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Düsternbrooker , Kiel , Germany
| | - Nikolai Liebsch
- Customized Animal Tracking Solutions , Moffat Beach, QLD , Australia
| | - Agustina Gómez-Laich
- Centro Nacional Patagonico-CONICET , Puerto Madryn (U9120ACD), Chubut , Argentina
| | - William P Kay
- Swansea Laboratory for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University , Swansea, Wales , UK
| | - Andrew Bone
- Swansea Laboratory for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University , Swansea, Wales , UK
| | - Victoria J Hobson
- Swansea Laboratory for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University , Swansea, Wales , UK
| | - Ursula Siebert
- Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover , Büsum , Germany
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