Performance of Encounternet Tags: Field Tests of Miniaturized Proximity Loggers for Use on Small Birds.

ABSTRACT: Proximity logging is a new tool for understanding social behavior as it allows for accurate quantification of social networks. We report results from field calibration and deployment tests of miniaturized proximity tags (Encounternet), digital transceivers that log encounters between tagged individuals. We examined radio signal behavior in relation to tag attachment (tag, tag on bird, tag on saline-filled balloon) to understand how radio signal strength is affected by the tag mounting technique used for calibration tests. We investigated inter-tag and inter-receiver station variability, and in each calibration test we accounted for the effects of antennae orientation. Additionally, we used data from a live deployment on breeding barn swallows (Hirundo rustica erythrogaster) to analyze the

SUBMITTER: Levin II 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4562698 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature