SGER: An Automated Activity Recording System and a Pilot System for Mouse Radio Tracking in NEON

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AbstractUnderstanding animal activity and movement is essential in ecology and behavior. However, there is no standardized way of comparing animal activity between species and habitats. Through this award, the PIs will apply recently developed new technology based on conventional radio telemetry to quantitatively compare activity levels in animals. The technology will be applied to a pilot study that will aid in understanding why tropical birds live five times longer than temperate birds. A second study will be conducted using the equipment to evaluate the challenges of long-term deployments and costs associated with tracking mice. These studies and the application of this emerging technology are fundamental to the design of the National Ecological Observatory Network. Quantifying animal movements and dynamics is the single biggest sensor challenge for the development of the NEON research platform.