Australian Study Notes Limitations Of Wildlife GPS Tracking

We’ve reported dozens of stories about wildlife GPS tracking at RMT. GPS technology has really opened up a lot of doors for wildlife observation opportunities. Instead of looking for animal tracks and feces, and/or observing the animals physically, researchers can attach a GPS collar to any creature, from turtles to bears and even birds and monitor their movements remotely. A team of researchers in Australia have combed through various wildlife studies using GPS devices and determined different ways in which the design or technology is limited.

The team recognizes how valuable GPS technology is to biologists and other wildlife researchers. “Once put on an animal, and all of the data collected for you — collars can be scheduled to collect information at a really intensive rate,” said Alison Matthews, lead author of the study. “What this means is you can retrieve an abundance of data about where the animal is moving, which is superior to what we’ve ever been able to do in the past using other tracking methods.”

“The information — looking at habitat selection, and a while range of biological factors — can then be analyzed,” Matthews explains. The study was not undertaken to rip GPS technology apart. Rather, the data collect will hopefully be used to improve the design of tracking collars, and help future wildlife researchers get the best possible results.  

The research paper states, “Data were collated on the species and locations of collar deployments, habitat types, collar types and manufacturers, the reliability of GPS components, VHF components and timed-release devices, statistics on GPS performance, costs, and animal welfare.”

“Pooling all of the data from all of the studies, we were able to identify a number of common problems with the technology, which enables us to give some recommendations to researchers about what to do to overcome those issues,” Matthews added.

Australian Study Notes Limitations Of Wildlife GPS Tracking