Automated Animal Telemetry for Quail Ridge Reserve

加州大学戴维斯分校获得了一笔拨款，用于购买和部署专门的接收器/天线单元，该单元将使用现有的无线通信塔在鹌鹑岭自然保护区实现自动动物遥测。该项目还将加强加州大学戴维斯分校西校区保护区（Putah Creek）的无线通信，并在该地点建立一个兼容的遥测接收器网络。拟议的系统与各种可用的无线电发射设备兼容，并将允许研究人员访问站点进行连续的、实时的动物运动和生理研究，这些研究在没有广泛的离网通信基础设施的情况下在技术上是困难的或不可能的。鹌鹑岭自动遥测项目的一个关键目标是将保护区的动物运动信息整合到美国国家科学基金会资助的Movebank数据库中。自动动物遥测系统为研究动物运动、相互作用和生理提供了无与伦比的机会。在这种系统中，附着在个体身上的微型发射器发出的信号被接收器网络检测到，接收器通过解读信号强度和方向来确定动物的实时位置和活动；这些传递器还可以传递生理参数，如体温和心率。该网络收集的数据随后被传输到网络上，研究人员、教师和学生可以立即访问这些数据。尽管自动化遥测网络具有巨大的潜力，但现有的操作系统却很少。考虑到建造接收塔、提供电力和在偏远地区建立功能性通信网络的挑战，建立这样一个系统所需的巨大投资极大地限制了它们的实施。

The University of California Davis is awarded a grant to acquire and deploy specialized receiver/antenna units that will enable automated animal telemetry at the Quail Ridge Natural Reserve using the existing wireless communications towers. The project will also enhance the wireless communications at the UC Davis West Campus Reserve (Putah Creek) and establish a compatible telemetry receiver network at that site. The proposed system is compatible with a diverse range of available radio transmitter devices and will allow researchers visiting the sites to pursue continuous, real-time animal movement and physiological studies that would be technically difficult or impossible in settings without an extensive off-grid communications infrastructure. A key objective of the automated telemetry program at Quail Ridge will be the integration of animal movement information from the reserve into the NSF-funded Movebank database.Automated animal telemetry systems provide an unparalleled opportunity to study animal movement, interaction, and physiology. With such systems, signals from tiny transmitters attached to individuals are detected by a network of receivers, which interpret signal strength and direction to determine real-time animal location and activity; the transmitters may also communicate physiological parameters such as body temperature and heart rate. Data collected by the network are then streamed to the web, where researchers, instructors and students have instant access. In spite of the enormous potential of automated telemetry networks, very few operational systems exist. The daunting investment necessary to establish such a system, given the challenges of constructing receiver towers, providing electric power, and building a functional communications network in a remote setting, has greatly limited their implementation.