Melanie Davis GDPE M.S. defense
Tuesday, March 6, 2012, 12:00 PM
Natural and Environmental Sciences Building, Room B215

Evaluation of a Novel Wildlife Telemetry Device with Data Transfer Capabilities The construction of low-cost, advanced GPS telemetry systems for wildlife tracking is growing in popularity, especially systems that can communicate with each other to track contacts and, more recently, transfer data.

This novel function represents a step forward from current technology because it allows researchers to retrieve data from collars that have been damaged or lost. It also elucidates broad networks of interactions between individuals to monitor disease spread and social preference. I tested the communication and data transfer capabilities of a low-cost, custom-built GPS telemetry collar with an on-board wireless sensor network.

I performed several trials using captive bighorn sheep to measure how data transfer reliability is impacted by the bodily obstruction of an animal, and to determine the accuracy of logged contacts. I will present the results of these trials, which show that data transfer is adversely affected by the placement of the collar around the sheeps’ necks, but that the contact accuracy remains uncompromised. Once refined, this technology could represent a significant improvement over currently-available telemetry devices, and may offer novel insight into previously unobserved ecological phenomena.

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Event Contact: Jeri Morgan can be reached at (970) 491-4373

Sponsored by the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology.