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Dead-reckoning facilitates determination of activity and habitat use: a case study with European badgers (Meles meles)

Katie Barbour, Sinéad Smith, David W. McClune, Nikki J. Marks, Richard J. Delahay, Rory Wilson Orcid Logo, Shay T. Mullineaux, David M. Scantlebury

Animal Biotelemetry, Volume: 12, Issue: 1

Swansea University Author: Rory Wilson Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1186/s40317-024-00383-0

Abstract

BackgroundStudies describing the movement of free-ranging animals often use remotely collected global positioning system (GPS) data. However, such data typically only include intermittent positional information, with a sampling frequency that is constrained by battery life, producing sub-sampling ef...

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Published in: Animal Biotelemetry
ISSN: 2050-3385
Published: Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2024
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa67692
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Abstract: BackgroundStudies describing the movement of free-ranging animals often use remotely collected global positioning system (GPS) data. However, such data typically only include intermittent positional information, with a sampling frequency that is constrained by battery life, producing sub-sampling effects that have the potential to bias interpretation. GPS-enhanced ‘dead-reckoning’ of animal movements is an alternative approach that utilises combined information from GPS devices, tri-axial accelerometers, and tri-axial magnetometers. Continuous detailed information of animal movement, activity and habitat selection can then be inferred from finer-scale GPS-enhanced dead-reckoning. It is also a useful technique to reveal the minutiae of an animal’s movements such as path tortuosity. However, examples of studies using these approaches on terrestrial species are limited.MethodsCollars equipped with GPS, tri-axial accelerometer, and tri-axial magnetometer loggers were deployed on European badgers, Meles meles, to collect data on geo-position, acceleration and magnetic compass heading, respectively. This enabled us to compare GPS data with calculated GPS-enhanced dead-reckoned data. We also examined space use, distances travelled, speed of travel, and path tortuosity in relation to habitat type.ResultsNightly distances travelled were 2.2 times greater when calculated using GPS-enhanced dead-reckoned data than when calculated using GPS data alone. The use of dead-reckoned data reduced Kernel Density Estimates (KDE) of animal ranges to approximately half the size (0.21 km2) estimated using GPS data (0.46 km2). In contrast, Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP) methods showed that use of dead reckoned data yielded larger estimates of animal ranges than use of GPS-only data (0.35 and 0.27 km2, respectively).Analyses indicated that longer periods of activity were associated with greater travel distances and increased activity-related energy expenditure. Badgers also moved greater distances when they travelled at faster speeds and when the routes that they took were less tortuous. Nightly activity-related energy expenditure was not related to average travel speed or average ambient temperature but was positively related to the length of time individuals spent outside the sett (burrow). Badger activity varied with habitat type, with greater distance, speed, track tortuosity, and activity undertaken within woodland areas. Analyses of the effects of varying GPS sampling rate indicate that assessments of distance travelled depend on the sampling interval and the tortuosity of the animal’s track. Where animal paths change direction rapidly, it becomes more important to use dead-reckoned data rather than GPS data alone to determine space use and distances.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates the efficacy of GPS-enhanced dead-reckoning to collect high-resolution data on animal movements, activity, and locations and thereby identify subtle differences amongst individuals. This work also shows how the temporal resolution of position fixes plays a key role in the estimation of various movement metrics, such as travel speed and track tortuosity.
Keywords: Accelerometer, Magnetometer, GPS, Dead-reckoning, Vectorial dynamic body acceleration, Energy expenditure, Behaviour, Habitat
College: Faculty of Science and Engineering
Funders: We are grateful to the support of the Royal Society (Grant/Award Number: 13473‐1). KB, SS, and DMcC were funded by Studentships from the Department for Employment and Learning (now Department of Education) Northern Ireland awarded to DMS and NJM. The long-term study at Woodchester Park is funded by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Issue: 1

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