Design of radiotelemetry systems for animal tracking

TL;DR

This paper presents two innovative, low-cost radiotelemetry systems designed for tracking small animals in dense forests, overcoming challenges like vegetation attenuation and unreliable satellite signals.

Contribution

It introduces two novel methods for animal movement measurement using stationary stations, with one method improving accuracy over the power-based approach.

Findings

Successfully tracked Dromiciops gliroides in dense forests

Overcame vegetation attenuation challenges

Demonstrated improved accuracy with phase difference method

Abstract

We describe the design and implementation of two low-cost, low-weight, radiotelemetry systems to measure the movement of small animals in a dense forest, where satellite positioning systems are unreliable and the attenuation of the vegetation poses several challenges. Both methods use stationary receiving stations that record the signal emitted by a portable transmitter carried by the animal. One of the methods measures the received power, while the other one registers the phase difference received by two-antennas stations. The later overcomes several difficulties that exist in the determination of the distance by the power method. We used our system to record the movement of Dromiciops gliroides, a vulnerable South American marsupial native of the Patagonian Andes, where it plays an important role in the ecosystem.