Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/P003907/1
Long range wireless devices for high-resolution monitoring of animal movement
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Dr A Franco, University of East Anglia, Environmental Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor P Atkinson, British Trust for Ornithology, British Trust for Ornithology (Norfolk)
- Grant held at:
- University of East Anglia, Environmental Sciences
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Unknown
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Global Change
- Natural Resource Management
- Science Topics:
- Disease diagnosis (animals)
- Animal diseases
- Foraging behaviour
- Migration
- Behavioural Ecology
- Land use change
- Protected areas
- Conservation Ecology
- Bird migration
- Sensors (Bioelectronics)
- Bioelectronic Devices
- Abstract:
- Tracking studies where individual animals are tracked individually is increasingly common due to new technologies becoming availability. The data collected from these studies enable researchers, consultants and conservation practitioners to better understand animal ecology, evolution and physiology. This data has many practical applications and societal benefits, for example it enables the identification of animal migratory routes, stopover sites and priority areas for conservation of migratory species, the monitoring livestock health and the detection of livestock diseases). Long range (LoRa) remote download devices can collect information remotely with minimum supervision and send the information via wireless communication. This technology is an exciting development of low power, long-range wireless transmissions which has been used in urban settings to control a range of sensors in buildings and vehicles (smart buildings, smart cities and vehicle tracking) but has yet to be used to track animal movement and behaviour. Due to its low-weight and low-cost this technology can revolutionize the study of animal movements. This proof-of-concept aims use the new Long Range LoRa remote download technology to create low-weight and low-cost GPS tracking devices that can be safely deployed on animals. We aim to demonstrate that a solution originally conceived for the Internet of Things (IoT) can be used to track animal movement. This solution will be especially attractive for projects located in remote locations where the GSM network is not available and the use of satellite devices is constrained due to its high cost. Our project will develop solar-powered solutions that will include a variety of on-board sensors (accelerometer, temperature, barometer) which can be used to monitor environmental variables and animal behaviour parameters. All components of the tracking device (PCB module, battery, solar cell and harvester, housing) will be tested separately and the feasibility and capabilities of the assembled prototypes will be assessed.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/P003907/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Directed (RP) - NR1
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Tech Proof of Concept
This grant award has a total value of £141,125
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| DI - Other Costs | Indirect - Indirect Costs | DA - Investigators | DA - Estate Costs | DI - Staff | DA - Other Directly Allocated | DI - T&S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £45,860 | £35,365 | £5,796 | £14,016 | £36,361 | £597 | £3,129 |
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