Satellite Telemetry: A New Tool for Wildlife Research and Management

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game have cooperated since 1984 to develop and evaluate satellite telemetry as a means of overcoming the high costs and logistical problems of conventional VHF (very high frequency) radio-telemetry systems. Detailed locational...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors Fancy, Steve G, Pank, Larry F, Douglas, David C, Curby, Catherine H, Garner, Gerald W
Format Publication
LanguageEnglish
Published 30.04.1997
Subjects
ALASKA
ANIMALS
BIOLOGY
COMPUTER PRINTOUTS
COMPUTERS
DAILY OCCURRENCE
DATA ACQUISITION
DETECTORS
DOPPLER EFFECT
ECOLOGY
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
FISHES
FRANCE
HIGH COSTS
LONG RANGE(TIME)
MAMMALS
MARYLAND
ORBITS
POLAR ORBIT TRAJECTORIES
POLAR REGIONS
POSITION(LOCATION)
PROCESSING
RADIO COMMUNICATIONS
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS
TELEMETER SYSTEMS
TEMPERATURE
TRACKING STATIONS
VERY HIGH FREQUENCY
WILDLIFE
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Summary:The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game have cooperated since 1984 to develop and evaluate satellite telemetry as a means of overcoming the high costs and logistical problems of conventional VHF (very high frequency) radio-telemetry systems. Detailed locational and behavioral data on caribou (Rangifer tarandus), polar bears (Ursus maritimus), and other large mammals in Alaska have been obtained using the Argos Data Collection and Location System (DCLS). The Argos system, a cooperative project of the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales of France, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is designed to acquire environmental data on a routine basis from anywhere on earth. Transmitters weighing 1.6-2.0 kg and functioning approximately 12-18 months operated on a frequency of 401.650 MHz. Signals from the transmitters were received by Argos DCLS instruments aboard two Tiros-N weather satellites in sun-synchronous, near-polar orbits. Data from the satellites were received at tracking stations, transferred to processing centers in Maryland and France, and made available to users via computer tape, printouts, or telephone links. During 1985 and 1986, more than 25,000 locations and an additional 28,000 sets of sensor data (transmitter temperature and short-term and long-term indices of animal activity) were acquired for caribou and polar bears. Locations were calculated from the Doppler shift in the transmitted signal as the satellite approached and then moved away from the transmitter. The mean locational error for transmitters at known locations (n = 1,265) was 829 m; 90% of the calculated locations were within 1,700 m of the true location.
Bibliography:ADA322683