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A Novel Multidisciplinary Approach for Reptile Movement and Behavior Analysis
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Marilena Stamatiou ,
Sofia‐Zacharenia Marketaki ,
Michael Konstantinou,
Andreas Aristidou ,
Duncan J. Irschick,
Jeremy A. Bot,
Emily Shepard ,
Mark Holton ,
Ioannis N. Vogiatzakis
Integrative Zoology
Swansea University Authors:
Emily Shepard , Mark Holton
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© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License (CC BY-NC-ND).
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DOI (Published version): 10.1111/1749-4877.12960
Abstract
The study of animals’ activity and behavior in the wild is an extremely challenging task. Although tri‐axial accelerometers are invaluable for behavioral analyses, their use is more frequent in large charismatic endotherms with limited application in ectotherms. The scarce utilization of this method...
| Published in: | Integrative Zoology |
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| ISSN: | 1749-4877 1749-4877 |
| Published: |
Wiley
2025
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| Online Access: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa68970 |
| Abstract: |
The study of animals’ activity and behavior in the wild is an extremely challenging task. Although tri‐axial accelerometers are invaluable for behavioral analyses, their use is more frequent in large charismatic endotherms with limited application in ectotherms. The scarce utilization of this methodology on small‐size reptiles is focused on animals’ activity and energetics, showing few records of rapid displays and behavior signals. Here, we present a novel multidisciplinary approach capable of advancing research on reptiles’ behavior. Our proposed approach uses advanced technologies for the digitization, reconstruction and visualization of reptiles and their behavior. We (i) record movement through tri‐axial accelerometers, video cameras, and motion capture systems; (ii) ground‐truth data through the video records; (iii) develop realistically accurate 3D avatars of the recorded movement for visualization purposes, and (iv) archive data on a Behavior Pattern Database. As case studies, we used two small Mediterranean reptiles, the lizard Laudakia cypriaca and the snake Dolichophis jugularis. Through our approach, we successfully recorded, ground‐truthed, and labeled for the first time, several detailed movements and behaviors of the two case study species. We developed an accurate digital overview of those movements using motion capture and 3D animal reconstruction. Finally, we structured a database for archiving all behavioral data and demonstrated how those archives can be used for advancing behavioral research, providing ecological insights into this animal group. Our approach can enhance research on reptiles’ behavior by contributing to the analysis of complex or isolated behaviors, poorly studied, such as signals and social interactions, providing valuable insights and assisting behavioral analysis. |
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| Keywords: |
accelerometer, behavior recognition, motion capture, movement analysis, virtual 3D models |
| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
| Funders: |
This paper is an output of the research project ReTrack (POST-DOC/0916/0034) “Advancing Site Level Management Through Innovative Reptiles’ Tracking and Behavioral Decryption,” which was co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the Republic of Cyprus through the Research and Innovation Foundation. |