Energy Scavenging Collar for Animal Physiology and Ecology (ESCAPE)

加州大学圣克鲁斯分校（University of California, Santa Cruz）获得了一项奖励，为陆地和海洋哺乳动物开发新一代动物追踪项圈和标签，这些项圈和标签利用动物自身的运动为设备提供动力。动物生理学和生态学能量清除项圈（ESCAPE）将通过大幅增加动物生物学家的部署时间，同时大大降低重新项圈或重新标记野生动物的成本和需要，从而彻底改变野生动物的研究。通过使科学家能够评估野生动物对长期环境变化的生理和行为反应，ESCAPE将导致动物生理学和生态学研究取得重大进展。该项目将采用从实验室到现场的方法：(1)设计一个能量清除装置，该装置利用动物的运动为车载电容器和电池充电。(2)将发电装置与GPS、加速度计和磁力计集成，测量动物的行为、能量学和运动。(3)对3种陆生动物（家养狗、训练过的大象和野生美洲狮）进行ESCAPE测试，并对2种海洋哺乳动物（训练过的海豚和海狮）进行ESCAPE潜力评估。这种比较方法将使研究能够评估运动模式、体重和环境对项圈或标签的功能和耐用性的影响。这些测试还将提供箍接箍收集、存储和发送各种纵向数据能力的“概念验证”。通过依靠动物运动为设备充电，ESCAPE将提供高达数量级的标签部署时间，使研究人员能够编制对野生动物生理学和生态学研究至关重要的长期数据集。ESCAPE的开发将利用来自环境研究、生态与进化、计算机工程和电气工程部门的独特跨学科团队。ESCAPE项圈有望被研究界广泛采用，并在动物生态学、保护和管理方面取得突破。从这些项圈中收集到的见解也将极大地促进公众对动物行为和保护的理解。与研究相关的外展活动将包括在专业学术会议上的演讲、每月的公开讲座、初高中学生的实地考察，以及制作展示ESCAPE技术的专业视频。有关如何购买ESCAPE项圈的详细信息，请访问wildlife.ucsc.edu。

An award is made to the University of California, Santa Cruz to develop a new generation of animal tracking collars and tags for terrestrial and marine mammals that use the animal's own locomotion to power the device. The Energy Scavenging Collar for Animal Physiology and Ecology (ESCAPE) will revolutionize the study of wild animals by dramatically increasing the deployment time of animal biologgers while greatly reducing the cost of and need for re-collaring or re-tagging wild animals. The ESCAPE will lead to significant advances in animal physiology and ecology research by enabling scientists to evaluate the physiological and behavioral responses of wild animals to long-term changes in the environment. The project will use a laboratory-to-field approach to: (1) Design a power-scavenging device that uses the locomotion of the animal to charge an onboard capacitor and battery. (2) Integrate the power generation device with a GPS, accelerometers, and magnetometers to measure animal behavior, energetics, and movement. (3) Test the ESCAPE on three terrestrial species (domestic dogs, trained elephants and wild mountain lions) and its potential assessed on two marine mammal species (trained dolphins and sea lions). This comparative approach will allow the research to evaluate the ramifications of locomotory mode, body mass and environment on the functionality and durability of the collars or tags. These tests will also provide a "proof of concept" regarding the collar's capability to collect, store, and send various types of longitudinal data. By relying on animal movement to charge the device, ESCAPE will provide up to order-of-magnitude increases in tag deployment time, allowing researchers to compile long-term data sets crucial for the study of wild animal physiology and ecology. The development of the ESCAPE will leverage a unique interdisciplinary team from the Departments of Environmental Studies, Ecology and Evolution, Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering. The ESCAPE collar is expected to be widely adopted by the research community at large and lead to breakthroughs in animal ecology, conservation and management. The insights gleaned from these collars will also greatly inform public understanding of animal behavior and conservation. Outreach activities associated with the research will include presentations at professional academic conferences, monthly public lectures, field trips for middle and high school children, as well as the production of a professional video showcasing the ESCAPE technology. Details on how to purchase ESCAPE collars will be made available at wildlife.ucsc.edu.