Scientists Meet to Discuss Technology for Tracking Wild Animals
On 21-23 September, over 300 biologists and electronics experts from 19 countries and 44 U.S. states gathered in Snowmass Village, Colorado, to discuss recent technological developments for tracking and monitoring wildlife. The Forum on Wildlife Telemetry, which included about 50 oral presentations and 50 poster/demonstrations in its two-and-a-half-day program, was sponsored by four research centers from the Biological Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS-BRD) and by The Wildlife Society.
Researchers are constantly striving to find better ways to study the movements, habitat use, behavior, and survival of animals without adversely affecting the animals themselves. Recent advancements in electronics, driven by commercial developments in computer, cellular phone, and satellite technology, have led to new tracking and monitoring techniques for wildlife studies. "We wanted to bring research biologists and electronics experts together, so they could share their knowledge and experiences in different areas of wildlife ecology and technology," said Jane Austin, one of the Forum's co-chairs.
Austin and fellow co-chair Pam Pietz, both from BRD's Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center in Jamestown, North Dakota, were pleased with the breadth of participation in the Forum. Over 70 federal scientists attended the Forum from the Departments of Interior, Agriculture, Defense, Commerce, and Energy. Participants included 34 researchers from 18 different facilities within USGS-BRD. The Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, National Park Service, and Environmental Protection Agency also were represented. About 160 participants represented universities, state agencies, and the private sector in all parts of the U.S. Over 70 participants came from foreign countries on six continents. "Obviously there's widespread interest in this kind of technology and this kind of meeting," said Pietz.
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| David K. Garcelon, and Peter B. Sharpe, both of the Institute for Wildlife Studies in Arcata, California, share information on transmitter equipment at the evening Poster/Demostration Session. |
General topics covered at the Forum included innovations in transmitting and receiving systems, evaluations of transmitter attachment methods, using telemetry to collect physiological, behavioral, and environmental data, and processing and analysis of telemetry data. Panel discussions focused on radio frequency issues, animal care and welfare, and technological limitations and opportunities for future telemetry research. "Researchers presented techniques applicable to a wide range of animals," said Austin. "There were evaluations of transmitters and tracking methods for all kinds of birds, terrestrial and aquatic mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and even insects." A wide variety of technologies were covered as well; researchers demonstrated systems that involved satellite tracking, global positioning systems (GPS), harmonic radar, LORAN-C, and hyperbolic navigation.
Austin and Pietz began planning the Forum in 1994. They soon enlisted the assistance of four other research biologists to serve on the Forum's steering committee: Kevin Kenow from BRD's Upper Mississippi Science Center at LaCrosse, Wisconsin; Jerry Godbey from BRD's Midcontinent Ecological Science Center at Fort Collins, Colorado; Wayne Norling from BRD's National Wetlands Research Center at Lafayette, Louisiana; and Dave Howerter from the Institute for Wetland and Waterfowl Research of Ducks Unlimited, Inc., Stonewall, Manitoba, Canada.
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| Forum participants discuss telemetry technology and demonstrate computer programs at the evening Poster/Demonstration Session. |
Scientists in USGS-BRD have long been involved in the development and use of radio transmitters to track wild animals. Studies using radio telemetry techniques have provided valuable data on habitat needs, movements, behavior, and survival of wild animals--data which often cannot be obtained by other methods. BRD researchers have used telemetry to study polar bear movements across the Arctic, habitat needs and survival of nesting ducks, migration routes of geese and hawks, interactions of foxes and coyotes, and the habitat use and movements of threatened or endangered species such as spotted owls, giant garter snakes, and manatees.
"Despite these successes, telemetry techniques still have many limitations," said Pietz. "We hope that interactions among biologists and engineers at the Forum will lead to improved research tools and increased research opportunities." Interested researchers who were unable to attend the Forum can find abstracts of the presentations on Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center's internet homepage: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov.
Note: Abstracts of presented papers and demonstrations can be found in Forum on Wildlife Telemetry on the Biological Resources page.
