Rafiq K, Appleby R G, Davies A, Abrahms B
Department of Biology, Center for Ecosystem Sentinels University of Washington Seattle Washington USA.
Botswana Predator Conservation Maun Botswana.
Ecol Evol. 2023 Jul 4;13(7):e10220. doi: 10.1002/ece3.10220. eCollection 2023 Jul.
The growing diversity of animal-borne sensor types is revolutionizing our understanding of wildlife biology. For example, researcher-developed sensors, such as audio and video loggers, are being increasingly attached to wildlife tracking collars to provide insights into a range of topics from species interactions to physiology. However, such devices are often prohibitively power-intensive, relative to conventional wildlife collar sensors, and their retrieval without compromising long-term data collection and animal welfare remains a challenge. We present an open-source system (SensorDrop) for remotely detaching individual sensors from wildlife collars. SensorDrop facilitates the retrieval of power-intensive sensors while leaving non-resource-intensive sensors intact on animals. SensorDrop systems can be made using commercially available components and are a fraction of the cost of other timed drop-off devices that detach full wildlife tracking collars. From 2021 to 2022, eight SensorDrop units were successfully deployed on free-ranging African wild dog packs in the Okavango Delta as part of audio-accelerometer sensor bundles attached to wildlife collars. All SensorDrop units detached after 2-3 weeks and facilitated the collection of audio and accelerometer data while leaving wildlife GPS collars intact to continue collecting locational data (>1 year), critical for long-term conservation population monitoring in the region. SensorDrop offers a low-cost method to remotely detach and retrieve individual sensors from wildlife collars. By selectively detaching battery-depleted sensors, SensorDrop maximizes the amount of data collected per wildlife collar deployment and mitigates ethical concerns on animal rehandling. SensorDrop adds to the growing body of open-source animal-borne technologies being utilized by wildlife researchers to innovate and expand upon data collection practices and supports the continued ethical use of novel technologies within wildlife studies.
动物携带传感器类型的日益多样化正在彻底改变我们对野生动物生物学的理解。例如，研究人员开发的传感器，如音频和视频记录器，越来越多地被安装在野生动物追踪项圈上，以提供从物种互动到生理学等一系列主题的见解。然而，相对于传统的野生动物项圈传感器，此类设备通常功耗极高，并且在不影响长期数据收集和动物福利的情况下进行回收仍然是一项挑战。我们提出了一种开源系统（SensorDrop），用于从野生动物项圈上远程拆卸单个传感器。SensorDrop有助于回收高功耗传感器，同时让低资源消耗的传感器完好无损地留在动物身上。SensorDrop系统可以使用市售组件制成，成本仅为其他可拆卸整个野生动物追踪项圈的定时脱落装置的一小部分。从2021年到2022年，八个SensorDrop装置成功部署在奥卡万戈三角洲自由放养的非洲野犬群上，作为安装在野生动物项圈上的音频加速度计传感器束的一部分。所有SensorDrop装置在2至3周后脱落，有助于收集音频和加速度计数据，同时让野生动物GPS项圈完好无损地继续收集位置数据（超过1年），这对于该地区的长期保护种群监测至关重要。SensorDrop提供了一种低成本的方法，可从野生动物项圈上远程拆卸和回收单个传感器。通过有选择地拆卸电量耗尽的传感器，SensorDrop最大限度地提高了每次野生动物项圈部署收集的数据量，并减轻了动物再次处理方面的伦理担忧。SensorDrop增加了野生动物研究人员正在使用的开源动物携带技术的数量，以创新和扩展数据收集实践，并支持在野生动物研究中继续合乎道德地使用新技术。
