scholarly journals GPS Telemetry Reveals a Zebra With Anthrax as Putative Cause of Death for Three Cheetahs in the Namib Desert

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruben Portas ◽  
Ortwin H. K. Aschenborn ◽  
Joerg Melzheimer ◽  
Manie Le Roux ◽  
Kenneth Heinrich Uiseb ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Anthracis ◽  
Global Positioning System ◽  
Bacterial Disease ◽  
High Seroprevalence ◽  
Namib Desert ◽  
Gps Telemetry ◽  
Carnivore Species ◽  
Global Positioning ◽  
Herbivore Species ◽  
Free Ranging

Anthrax is a bacterial disease caused by Bacillus anthracis that affects wildlife, livestock and also humans in different parts of the world. It is endemic in some parts of Africa, including Namibia, with species differing in their susceptibility to the disease. Carnivores are typically less susceptible to anthrax than herbivores. Most carnivore species survive infection and have high seroprevalence against anthrax, whereas most herbivore species have low seroprevalence and typically die quickly when infected. Several reports have shown that cheetahs, unlike most other large carnivores, are susceptible to anthrax leading to a sudden death. This finding was suggested to be linked to the low genetic variability of cheetahs which might reduce an adequate immune response and thus explain such a high susceptibility to the disease. Here, we report an incidence of three free-ranging cheetahs that died within 24 h after feeding on a mountain zebra that tested positive for anthrax in the Namib Desert. We were able to reconstruct this incidence with the data recorded in the GPS (Global Positioning System) collar worn by one of the cheetahs and retrieved in the field. It is very likely that the cheetahs died from anthrax, although Bacillus anthracis could not be isolated from tissue and soil samples by bacterial culturing. The mountain zebra is the first described case of a wild animal that tested positive for anthrax in this arid area in southwestern of Namibia. We discuss the negative laboratory results of the cheetahs in the light of new insights of their immune system and its potential to mount a response against this bacteria.

Causes and Consequences of Timing Errors Associated With Global Positioning System Collar Accelerometer Activity Monitors

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 372-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam J. Gaylord ◽  
Dana M. Sanchez
Keyword(s):  
Global Positioning System ◽  
Animal Behavior ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Activity Monitor ◽  
Positioning System ◽  
Activity Monitors ◽  
Timing Errors ◽  
Global Positioning ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Monitor Data

Abstract Direct behavioral observations of multiple free-ranging animals over long periods of time and large geographic areas is prohibitively difficult. However, recent improvements in technology, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) collars equipped with motion-sensitive activity monitors, create the potential to remotely monitor animal behavior. Accelerometer-equipped activity monitors quantify animal motion with different amounts of movement presumably corresponding to different animal activities. Variations in motion among species and differences in collar design necessitate calibration for each collar and species of interest. We paired activity monitor data collected using Lotek GPS_4400 collars worn by captive Rocky Mountain elk Cervus elaphus nelsoni with simultaneously collected behavior observations. During our initial data screening, we observed many sampling intervals of directly observed behavior that did not pair to activity monitor data in a logical fashion. For example, intervals containing behaviors associated with little or no motion sometimes aligned with relatively high activity monitor values. These misalignments, due to errors associated with collar timekeeping mechanisms, would likely result in inaccurate classification models. We corrected timing errors by using defined breaks in animal behavior to shift times given by collar output, improving the average correct classification rate 61.7 percentage points for specific behaviors. Furthermore, timing errors were significantly reduced by increasing the GPS fix rate, by using a sampling interval divisible by 8 seconds, and by accurately timing the initial collar activation. Awareness and management of collar timing error will enable users to obtain the best possible estimates of true behavior when calibrating these collars and interpreting data from free-ranging animals.

scholarly journals Shearwaters know the direction and distance home but fail to encode intervening obstacles after free-ranging foraging trips

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (43) ◽  
pp. 21629-21633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Padget ◽  
Geoff Stanley ◽  
Jay K. Willis ◽  
Annette L. Fayet ◽  
Sarah Bond ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Positioning System ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Positioning System ◽  
Global Positioning ◽  
Displacement Experiments ◽  
Integration Mechanisms ◽  
Gps Tracks ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Manx Shearwater ◽  
Pelagic Seabird

While displacement experiments have been powerful for determining the sensory basis of homing navigation in birds, they have left unresolved important cognitive aspects of navigation such as what birds know about their location relative to home and the anticipated route. Here, we analyze the free-ranging Global Positioning System (GPS) tracks of a large sample (n = 707) of Manx shearwater, Puffinus puffinus, foraging trips to investigate, from a cognitive perspective, what a wild, pelagic seabird knows as it begins to home naturally. By exploiting a kind of natural experimental contrast (journeys with or without intervening obstacles) we first show that, at the start of homing, sometimes hundreds of kilometers from the colony, shearwaters are well oriented in the homeward direction, but often fail to encode intervening barriers over which they will not fly (islands or peninsulas), constrained to flying farther as a result. Second, shearwaters time their homing journeys, leaving earlier in the day when they have farther to go, and this ability to judge distance home also apparently ignores intervening obstacles. Thus, at the start of homing, shearwaters appear to be making navigational decisions using both geographic direction and distance to the goal. Since we find no decrease in orientation accuracy with trip length, duration, or tortuosity, path integration mechanisms cannot account for these findings. Instead, our results imply that a navigational mechanism used to direct natural large-scale movements in wild pelagic seabirds has map-like properties and is probably based on large-scale gradients.

scholarly journals Physiological and behavioural responses of moose to hunting with dogs

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Randi Græsli ◽  
Luc Le Grand ◽  
Alexandra Thiel ◽  
Boris Fuchs ◽  
Olivier Devineau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Positioning System ◽  
Maximum Speed ◽  
Optimal Management ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Gps Collars ◽  
Global Positioning ◽  
Experimental Approaches ◽  
Ruminal Temperature ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Maximum Body

Abstract Optimal management of hunted species requires an understanding of the impacts of hunting on both individual animal and population levels. Recent technological advancements in biologging enable us to obtain increasingly detailed information from free-ranging animals, covering longer periods of time, and providing the data needed to assess such impacts. In Sweden, more than 80 000 moose are harvested annually, mostly hunted with the use of baying dogs. The effects of this hunting method on animal welfare and stress are understudied. Here, we evaluated 6 real and 17 experimental hunting approaches with baying dogs [wearing global positioning system (GPS) collars] on 8 adult female moose equipped with ruminal temperature loggers, subcutaneous heart rate (HR) loggers and GPS collars with accelerometers. The obtained data were used to analyse the behavioural and physiological responses of moose to hunting with dogs. Successful experimental approaches (moose and dog were within 240 m for >10 min) resulted in higher maximum body temperature (Tb, 0.88°C higher) and a mean increase in HR of 24 bpm in moose at the day of the approach compared to the day after. The moose rested on average >90 min longer the day after the approach compared to the day of the approach. The moose travelled on average 4.2 km longer and had a 1.3 m/s higher maximum speed the day of the approach compared to the day after. Our results demonstrate that hunting with dogs increase moose energy expenditure and resting time (and consequently decrease time available for foraging) on an individual level. This could possibly affect body condition and reproduction rates if the hunting disturbances occur frequently.

What determines global positioning system fix success when monitoring free-ranging mouflon?

2009 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 603-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilles Bourgoin ◽  
Mathieu Garel ◽  
Dominique Dubray ◽  
Daniel Maillard ◽  
Jean-Michel Gaillard
Keyword(s):  
Global Positioning System ◽  
Positioning System ◽  
Global Positioning ◽  
Free Ranging

Behavioral responses of white-tailed deer subjected to lethal management

2008 ◽  
Vol 86 (12) ◽  
pp. 1358-1366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott C. Williams ◽  
Anthony J. DeNicola ◽  
Isaac M. Ortega
Keyword(s):  
Global Positioning System ◽  
Behavioral Changes ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Population Reduction ◽  
Global Positioning ◽  
Lethal Management ◽  
Cost Efficient ◽  
Range Overlap ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Interaction Behaviors

Currently, the most effective and cost-efficient mechanism for controlling overabundant white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann, 1780)) is lethal removal, most commonly controlled hunting and sharpshooting. Deer subjected to such efforts may behave differently during removal and remaining deer may alter behaviors, potentially limiting future efficacy of removal efforts. Our objectives were to quantify changes in deer distribution in response to controlled hunting and sharpshooting. We immobilized two sample populations of 20 deer (one enclosed and one free-ranging) in central New Jersey, USA, and fitted them with global positioning system collars. The free-ranging herd experienced 11 days of controlled hunting, reducing density from 78 to 27 deer/km2. We subjected the enclosed herd to a 7 day sharpshoot, reducing density from 83 to 7 deer/km2. Hunted deer increased mean home ranges during removal, while deer exposed to sharpshooting did not. Collared doe–doe home-range overlap increased postsharpshoot, suggesting increased social interaction. Behaviors of hunted deer were directly affected by the human threat, while behavioral changes of deer exposed to sharpshooting were linked to population reduction. In the absence of an intact matrilineal social group, unrelated does will seek each other out in what appears to be an inherent need to be social.

GPS and GSM Based Tracking System for Objects Moving over Wide Geographical Areas

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatima Ameen ◽  
Ziad Mohammed ◽  
Abdulrahman Siddiq
Keyword(s):  
Global Positioning System ◽  
Mobile Communications ◽  
Moving Objects ◽  
Tracking System ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
Tracking Systems ◽  
Acceptable Result ◽  
Internet Service ◽  
Global Positioning ◽  
Tracking Objects

Tracking systems of moving objects provide a useful means to better control, manage and secure them. Tracking systems are used in different scales of applications such as indoors, outdoors and even used to track vehicles, ships and air planes moving over the globe. This paper presents the design and implementation of a system for tracking objects moving over a wide geographical area. The system depends on the Global Positioning System (GPS) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technologies without requiring the Internet service. The implemented system uses the freely available GPS service to determine the position of the moving objects. The tests of the implemented system in different regions and conditions show that the maximum uncertainty in the obtained positions is a circle with radius of about 16 m, which is an acceptable result for tracking the movement of objects in wide and open environments.

Aplikasi Pemosisi Lokal Berbasis Android Dengan Menggunakan GPS

INTI TALAFA ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaman Khaeruzzaman
Keyword(s):  
Global Positioning System ◽  
Positioning System ◽  
Database Server ◽  
Global Positioning

Seiring dengan pesatnya kemajuan teknologi saat ini, kebutuhan manusia menjadi lebih beragam, termasuk kebutuhan akan informasi. Tidak hanya media informasinya yang semakin beragam, jenis informasi yang dibutuhkan juga semakin beragam, salah satunya adalah kebutuhan informasi akan posisi kita terhadap lingkungan sekitar. Untuk memenuhi kebutuhan itu sebuah sistem pemosisi diciptakan. Sistem pemosisi yang banyak digunakan saat ini cenderung berfokus pada lingkup ruang yang besar (global) padahal, dalam lingkup ruang yang lebih kecil (lokal) sebuah sistem pemosisi juga diperlukan, seperti di ruang-ruang terbuka umum (taman atau kebun), ataupun dalam sebuah bangunan. Sistem pemosisi lokal yang ada saat ini sering kali membutuhkan infrastruktur yang mahal dalam pembangunannya. Aplikasi Pemosisi Lokal Berbasis Android dengan Menggunakan GPS ini adalah sebuah aplikasi yang dibangun untuk memenuhi kebutuhan pengguna akan informasi lokasi dan posisi mereka terhadap lingkungan di sekitarnya dalam lingkup ruang yang lebih kecil (lokal) dengan memanfaatkan perangkat GPS (Global Positioning System) yang telah tertanam dalam perangkat smartphone Android agar infrastruktur yang dibutuhkan lebih efisien. Dalam implementasinya, Aplikasi Pemosisi Lokal ini bertindak sebagai klien dengan dukungan sebuah Database Server yang berfungsi sebagai media penyimpanan data serta sumber referensi informasi yang dapat diakses melalui jaringan internet sehingga tercipta sebuah sistem yang terintegrasi secara global. Kata kunci: aplikasi, informasi, pemosisi, GPS.

The Distribution of Hospitality Services in Uyo Urban, Nigeria

2018 ◽  
pp. 137-150
Author(s):  
Violet Bassey Eneyo
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Global Positioning System ◽  
Central Area ◽  
Positioning System ◽  
Nearest Neighbour ◽  
Global Positioning ◽  
Neighbour Analysis

This paper examines the distribution of hospitality services in Uyo Urban, Nigeria. GIS method was the primary tool used for data collection. A global positioning system (GPS) Garmin 60 model was used in tracking the location of 102 hospitality services in the study area. One hypothesis was stated and tested using the nearest neighbour analysis. The finding shows evidence of clustering of the various hospitality services. The tested hypothesis further indicated that hospitality services clustered in areas that guarantee a sustainable level of patronage to maximize profit. Thus, the hospitality services clustered in selected streets in the metropolis while limited numbers were found outside the city’s central area.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document