Biotelemetry marches on: A cost-effective GPS device for monitoring terrestrial wildlife.

ABSTRACT: The availability of low-cost wildlife trackers increases the capacity to collect valuable ecological data when research budgets are limited. We converted a commercially available global positioning system (GPS) product into a low-cost tracking device that sends data via the mobile phone network, and assessed its performance under varying conditions. We established a stationary test, deploying devices along a continuum from open urban areas to topographically and structurally complex forested sites. We tested three features of the device: (a) the GPS, by measuring fix success rate, fix precision and horizontal dilution of precision (HDOP), (b) remote download capacity via the mobile phone network and (c) battery drain. Measures of GPS performance demonstrated high fix success rates and prec

SUBMITTER: Fischer M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6067714 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature