TY - JOUR
T1 - The golden age of bio-logging
T2 - How animal-borne sensors are advancing the frontiers of ecology
AU - Wilmers, Christopher C.
AU - Nickel, Barry
AU - Bryce, Caleb M.
AU - Smith, Justine A.
AU - Wheat, Rachel E.
AU - Yovovich, Veronica
AU - Hebblewhite, M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 by the Ecological Society of America.
PY - 2015/7/1
Y1 - 2015/7/1
N2 - Great leaps forward in scientific understanding are often spurred by innovations in technology. The explosion of miniature sensors that are driving the boom in consumer electronics, such as smart phones, gaming platforms, and wearable fitness devices, are now becoming available to ecologists for remotely monitoring the activities of wild animals. While half a century ago researchers were attaching balloons to the backs of seals to measure their movement, today ecologists have access to an arsenal of sensors that can continuously measure most aspects of an animal's state (e.g., location, behavior, caloric expenditure, interactions with other animals) and external environment (e.g., temperature, salinity, depth). This technology is advancing our ability to study animal ecology by allowing researchers to (1) answer questions about the physiology, behavior, and ecology of wild animals in situ that would have previously been limited to tests on model organisms in highly controlled settings, (2) study cryptic or wide-ranging animals that have previously evaded investigation, and (3) develop and test entirely new theories. Here we explore how ecologists are using these tools to answer new questions about the physiological performance, energetics, foraging, migration, habitat selection, and sociality of wild animals, as well as collect data on the environments in which they live.
AB - Great leaps forward in scientific understanding are often spurred by innovations in technology. The explosion of miniature sensors that are driving the boom in consumer electronics, such as smart phones, gaming platforms, and wearable fitness devices, are now becoming available to ecologists for remotely monitoring the activities of wild animals. While half a century ago researchers were attaching balloons to the backs of seals to measure their movement, today ecologists have access to an arsenal of sensors that can continuously measure most aspects of an animal's state (e.g., location, behavior, caloric expenditure, interactions with other animals) and external environment (e.g., temperature, salinity, depth). This technology is advancing our ability to study animal ecology by allowing researchers to (1) answer questions about the physiology, behavior, and ecology of wild animals in situ that would have previously been limited to tests on model organisms in highly controlled settings, (2) study cryptic or wide-ranging animals that have previously evaded investigation, and (3) develop and test entirely new theories. Here we explore how ecologists are using these tools to answer new questions about the physiological performance, energetics, foraging, migration, habitat selection, and sociality of wild animals, as well as collect data on the environments in which they live.
KW - Accelerometer
KW - Animal-borne sensors
KW - Behavioral monitoring
KW - Bio-logging
KW - Biotelemetry
KW - Conservation
KW - GPS
KW - Physiological monitoring
KW - Remotely sensed environmental conditions
KW - Tracking
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84937019790&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1890/14-1401.1
DO - 10.1890/14-1401.1
M3 - Article
C2 - 26378296
AN - SCOPUS:84937019790
SN - 0012-9658
VL - 96
SP - 1741
EP - 1753
JO - Ecology
JF - Ecology
IS - 7
ER -