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Existing Bio-telemetry Devices
We are undoubtedly living in the golden age of bio-telemetry studies (McIntyre 2014; Hussey et al. 2015; Hays et al.
2016). The following section provides an overview of the
most commonly used animal-borne bio-telemetry devices
and their potential in the context of studying animal behaviors. We start with archival loggers, which can be defined as
Box 1: Quick Guide to Bio-telemetry Terminology
Acoustic telemetry:
tagged animals are detected and
recorded by acoustic receivers
at fixed moorings that are recovered periodically; this enables
tracking of individual animals
Archival logger:
animal-borne instrument that
records and stores data onboard; must be relocated for
data download
Argos satellite tag:
animal-borne device that communicates with polar-orbiting
Argos satellites to determine its
location; typical location errors
range between 500 m and 10 km
Bio-telemetry:
method of remote recording of
behavioral, physiological and
environmental data by electronic tags attached to animals
Fastloc® GPS:
takes a snapshot of relevant
satellite information in a fraction of a second, when a diving
animal surfaces; the calculation of a GPS position is performed on-board the tag, even
when not in view of satellites
GPS tag:
device that determines an animal’s position via the Global
Positioning System (GPS);
typical location errors range
between 20 m and 50 m
GSM:
Global System for Mobile
Communications; a cellular network that is the global standard
for mobile communication,
however, also frequently used to
relay data from animal- borne
instruments (e.g., GPS tags)
Hydrophone:
an underwater microphone
Jaw movement sensor: device consisting of Hall
sensor and magnet, which are
attached to upper and lower
mandible, respectively; detects
mouth openings and hence
feeding events
Pop-up archival transmitting tag (PAT): satellitelinked data logger that is commonly deployed on sharks;
logger records and stores temperature, depth and ambient
light levels over pre-programmed period until it pops
up to the surface and delivers
data via the Argos satellite
system
Satellite-linked data logger:
combination of a
satellite tag (Argos and/or
GPS) with an archival logger;
records an animal’s position as
well as information on different behaviors and ambient
conditions
Stomach temperature logger: device that monitors internal body temperature; a sharp drop in
temperature can be attributed to the ingestion of relatively cold prey, enabling
the detection of feeding
events
Time-depth recorder (TDR):
device
that
records a time-series of dive
depths, resulting in time-depth
profiles
Tri-axial accelerometer: measures
acceleration
caused by earth’s gravitational
field as well as acceleration by
the animal in all three space
dimensions
Tri-axial magnetometer: measures the orientation
towards the earth’s magnetic
field in all three space
dimensions
B. C. Heylen and D. A. Nachtsheim
Existing Bio-telemetry Devices
We are undoubtedly living in the golden age of bio-telemetry studies (McIntyre 2014; Hussey et al. 2015; Hays et al.
2016). The following section provides an overview of the
most commonly used animal-borne bio-telemetry devices
and their potential in the context of studying animal behaviors. We start with archival loggers, which can be defined as
Box 1: Quick Guide to Bio-telemetry Terminology
Acoustic telemetry:
tagged animals are detected and
recorded by acoustic receivers
at fixed moorings that are recovered periodically; this enables
tracking of individual animals
Archival logger:
animal-borne instrument that
records and stores data onboard; must be relocated for
data download
Argos satellite tag:
animal-borne device that communicates with polar-orbiting
Argos satellites to determine its
location; typical location errors
range between 500 m and 10 km
Bio-telemetry:
method of remote recording of
behavioral, physiological and
environmental data by electronic tags attached to animals
Fastloc® GPS:
takes a snapshot of relevant
satellite information in a fraction of a second, when a diving
animal surfaces; the calculation of a GPS position is performed on-board the tag, even
when not in view of satellites
GPS tag:
device that determines an animal’s position via the Global
Positioning System (GPS);
typical location errors range
between 20 m and 50 m
GSM:
Global System for Mobile
Communications; a cellular network that is the global standard
for mobile communication,
however, also frequently used to
relay data from animal- borne
instruments (e.g., GPS tags)
Hydrophone:
an underwater microphone
Jaw movement sensor: device consisting of Hall
sensor and magnet, which are
attached to upper and lower
mandible, respectively; detects
mouth openings and hence
feeding events
Pop-up archival transmitting tag (PAT): satellitelinked data logger that is commonly deployed on sharks;
logger records and stores temperature, depth and ambient
light levels over pre-programmed period until it pops
up to the surface and delivers
data via the Argos satellite
system
Satellite-linked data logger:
combination of a
satellite tag (Argos and/or
GPS) with an archival logger;
records an animal’s position as
well as information on different behaviors and ambient
conditions
Stomach temperature logger: device that monitors internal body temperature; a sharp drop in
temperature can be attributed to the ingestion of relatively cold prey, enabling
the detection of feeding
events
Time-depth recorder (TDR):
device
that
records a time-series of dive
depths, resulting in time-depth
profiles
Tri-axial accelerometer: measures
acceleration
caused by earth’s gravitational
field as well as acceleration by
the animal in all three space
dimensions
Tri-axial magnetometer: measures the orientation
towards the earth’s magnetic
field in all three space
dimensions
B. C. Heylen and D. A. Nachtsheim