Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37408628›Full record

ArticleEcology and evolution2023

SensorDrop: A system to remotely detach individual sensors from wildlife tracking collars.

K Rafiq, R G Appleby, A Davies, B Abrahms

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Ecology and evolution, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 23% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 3 institutions in 5 countries.

K RafiqDepartment of Biology, Center for Ecosystem Sentinels University of Washington Seattle Washington USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1551-711X
R G ApplebyCentre for Planetary Health and Food Security Griffith University Brisbane Queensland Australia.
A DaviesArribada Initiative Cheshire UK.
B AbrahmsDepartment of Biology, Center for Ecosystem Sentinels University of Washington Seattle Washington USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1987-5045
University of Washington · USCheshire West and Chester · GBGriffith University · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

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.

Indexed as

animal‐borne sensorsbio‐loggingconservation technologydrop‐offopen‐source hardwareradiocollar

Identifiers

PMID37408628
PMCPMC10318577
OpenAlexW4383103270

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.