Integrating cognitive science and movement ecology through the establishment of a Technosmart Avian Tracking System

*野生动物的运动模式正被前所未有的详细描述，因为新技术预示着运动生态学研究的“黄金时代”。与此同时，生物医学的进步正在彻底改变我们对动物认知和潜在的大脑机制的理解。然而，这些领域在很大程度上是“两个孤独的”，关于空间记忆背后的认知过程的知识很少被用来解释运动模式。尖端微电子技术为野生雀形目鸟类提供了将这两个领域连接起来的机会，我们正在请求支持建立一个由集成GPS单元和远程下载基站组成的6接收器移动TechnoSmart禽类跟踪系统。这一新颖的技术进步(发明于2018年，加拿大目前还没有这样的系统)首次允许对小鸟进行远程高频、长期GPS跟踪，精度达到米级。利用这项技术，我们将测试空间记忆影响三种鹦鹉运动模式的想法。*购买这台设备不仅将支持马尼托巴大学心理学博士Debbie Kelly、麦吉尔大学自然资源科学博士Kyle Elliott和麦吉尔大学生物学博士Mélanie Guigueno之间的跨学科合作，而且将进一步推动每个研究人员独立项目的创新研究。在接下来的五年里，我们的研究团队将使用这款移动设备来测试关于Corvid分散囤积行为的假说，这些假说整合了认知、生态和神经水平(DK、Ke、MG)、相对空间认知(DK)、候鸟保护(Ke)和幼虫行为生态学(MG)。在短期内，这项综合性和跨学科的研究将为25名HQP的尖端培训计划奠定基础，其中包括博士后研究员、研究生和本科生。*利用这种最先进的设备开展的活动将使申请者和他们的学员能够在心理学、生态学和神经科学的前沿做出急需的发现。由于任何拥有兼容GPS设备的用户都可以使用我们的系统，该网络将被其他研究人员使用，并为未来的HQP提供许多培训机会。我们的系统将扩展我们在几个领域的结合点的知识，支持加拿大和国际研究和保护努力。

***Movement patterns of wild animals are being described in unprecedented detail as new technology heralds a ‘golden age' in movement ecology research. At the same time, biomedical advances are revolutionizing our understanding of animal cognition and the underlying brain mechanisms. However, these fields have largely been ‘two solitudes' with knowledge of cognitive processes underlying spatial memory seldom used to interpret movement patterns. Cutting-edge microelectronics have provided the opportunity to link these two fields in wild passerine birds, and we are requesting support to establish a 6-receiver mobile Technosmart Avian Tracking System consisting of integrated GPS units and remote-download base stations. This novel technological advance (invented in 2018, no such system is present in Canada) allows, for the first time, the remote high frequency, long-term GPS tracking of small birds with meter-level accuracy. With this technology, we will test the idea that spatial memory influences movement patterns in three species of corvids.******The purchase of this equipment would not only support the interdisciplinary collaboration between Drs. Debbie Kelly (Psychology, University of Manitoba), Kyle Elliott (Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University) and Mélanie Guigueno (Biology, McGill University), but will further the innovative investigations of each researchers' independent program. Over the next five years, this mobile equipment will be used by our research team to test hypotheses of corvid scatter-hoarding behavior integrating cognitive, ecological and neural levels (DK, KE, MG), comparative spatial cognition of corvids (DK), conservation of migratory birds (KE), and behavioural ecology of brood parasites (MG). In the short-term, this integrative and interdisciplinary research will form the foundation of cutting-edge training programs for 25 HQP, including postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students.******The activities enabled with this state-of-the-art equipment, will allow the applicants and their trainees to make urgently-needed discoveries at the frontier of psychology, ecology and neuroscience. As any user with a compatible GPS unit can use our system, the network will be used by other researchers and provide many training opportunities for future HQP. Our system will expand our knowledge at the nexus of several fields, supporting Canadian and international research and conservation efforts.