Cooke Steven J, Hinch Scott G, Wikelski Martin, Andrews Russel D, Kuchel Louise J, Wolcott Thomas G, Butler Patrick J
Centre for Applied Conservation Research, Department of Forest Sciences, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T 1Z4.
Trends Ecol Evol. 2004 Jun;19(6):334-43. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2004.04.003.
Remote measurement of the physiology, behaviour and energetic status of free-living animals is made possible by a variety of techniques that we refer to collectively as 'biotelemetry'. This set of tools ranges from transmitters that send their signals to receivers up to a few kilometers away to those that send data to orbiting satellites and, more frequently, to devices that log data. They enable researchers to document, for long uninterrupted periods, how undisturbed organisms interact with each other and their environment in real time. In spite of advances enabling the monitoring of many physiological and behavioural variables across a range of taxa of various sizes, these devices have yet to be embraced widely by the ecological community. Our review suggests that this technology has immense potential for research in basic and applied animal ecology. Efforts to incorporate biotelemetry into broader ecological research programs should yield novel information that has been challenging to collect historically from free-ranging animals in their natural environments. Examples of research that would benefit from biotelemetry include the assessment of animal responses to different anthropogenic perturbations and the development of life-time energy budgets.
通过我们统称为“生物遥测”的各种技术，可以对自由生活动物的生理、行为和能量状态进行远程测量。这套工具涵盖了从将信号发送到几公里外接收器的发射器，到将数据发送到轨道卫星的设备，更常见的是记录数据的设备。它们使研究人员能够长时间不间断地记录未受干扰的生物体如何实时地相互作用以及与环境相互作用。尽管取得了进展，能够监测各种大小不同分类群的许多生理和行为变量，但这些设备尚未被生态学界广泛接受。我们的综述表明，这项技术在基础和应用动物生态学研究中具有巨大潜力。将生物遥测纳入更广泛的生态研究项目的努力应该会产生新的信息，而这些信息在历史上一直很难从自然环境中的自由放养动物身上收集到。受益于生物遥测的研究示例包括评估动物对不同人为干扰的反应以及制定终身能量预算。
