Integrated System of Radio-Frequency Identifier Equipment

在物种内部，个体在行为、形态和生理上有很大的差异。这种个体差异会对更大规模的过程产生影响，包括种群动态、物种相互作用以及景观内种群之间的联系程度。理解个体水平变异对这些高阶过程的影响，要求研究人员能够在不影响这些个体的行为或生理表现的情况下可靠地识别个体。对于自由放养动物的研究来说，这是一个特别具有挑战性的问题。在这种情况下，相对较少的方法可以平衡可靠的检测和改变个体在野外的生存之间的权衡。射频识别（rfid）的使用为我们可靠地识别个人而不影响其表现的能力开辟了新的领域。RFID标签体积小，重量轻，价格便宜，便于小动物使用。在初始投资之后，该系统可以提供数年的数据，而额外成本非常低。与内置电池的无线电跟踪系统相比，这些是无源标签，因此可以用于跟踪动物更长的时间，因为没有电池寿命问题。这项技术有可能迅速改变我们对个体变异如何影响从生理学到景观等多层次生物组织过程的理解。

Within species, individuals vary widely in their behaviour, morphology, and physiology. This individual variation has consequences for larger scale processes including population dynamics, species interactions, and the extent to which populations within a landscape are connected. Understanding the effects of individual-level variation on these higher order processes requires that researchers are able to reliably identify individuals without affecting the behaviour or physiological performance of these individuals. This is an especially challenging issue for research on free-ranging animals. In this context there have been relatively few methods that can balance the trade-offs between reliable detection and altering the individual's survival in the wild. The use of radio-frequency identifiers (RFIDs) opens up new frontiers in our ability to reliably identify individuals without affecting their performance. RFID tags are small, lightweight, and inexpensive, facilitating their use with small animals. After the initial investment, this system can provide data for years to come with very small additional costs. These are passive tags, in contrast to systems such as radio-tracking which have internal batteries, and therefore can be used to track animals for much longer time periods as there are no battery life issues. This technology has the potential to rapidly transform our understanding of how individual variation affects processes across multiple levels of biological organization, from physiology to landscapes.