Right on track? Performance of satellite telemetry in terrestrial wildlife research

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M. P. G., Hofman and M. W., Hayward and M., Heim and P., Marchand and C. M., Rolandsen and JD, Mattisson and F., Urbano and M., Heurich and A., Mysterud and J., Melzheimer and N., Morellet and U., Voigt and BL, Allen and B., Gehr and C., Rouco and O, Holand and NH, Jorgensen and G., Steinheim and F., Cagnacci and M., Kroeschel and P., Kaczensky and B., Buuveibaatar and JC, Payne and I., Palmegiani and K., Jerina and P., Kjellander and O., Johansson and S., LaPoint and R., Bayrakcismith and DC, Linnell and M., Zaccaroni and MLS, Jorge and JEF, Oshima and A., Songhurst and C., Fischer and RT, Mc Bride and JJ, Thompson and S., Streif and R., Sandfort and C., Bonenfant and M., Drouilly and M., Klapproth and D., Zinner and R., Yarnell and A., Stronza and L., Wilmott and E., Meisingset and M., Thaker and Vanak, Abi Tamim and S., Nicoloso and R., Graeber and S., Said and MR, Boudreau and A., Devlin and R., Hoogesteijn and JA, May-Junior and JC, Nifong and J., Odden and HB, Quigley and F., Tortato and DM, Parker and A., Caso and J., Perrine and C., Tellaeche and F., Zieba and T., Zwijacz-Kozica and CL, Appel and I., Axsom and WT, Bean and B., Cristescu and S., Periquet and KJ, Teichman and S., Karpanty and A., Licoppe and V., Menges and K., Black and TL, Scheppers and SC, Schai-Braun and FC, Azevedo and FG, Lemos and A., Payne and LH, Swanepoel and BV, Weckworth and A., Berger and A., Bertassoni and G., McCulloch and PS, Ustr and V., Athreya and D., Bockmuhl and J., Casaer and A., Ekori and D., Melovski and Hansen, Richard C. and D. van de, Vyver and Hurtado, Reyna R. and E., Robardet and N., Selva and A., Sergiel and MS, Farhadinia and P., Sunde and R., Portas and H., Ambarli and R., Berzins and PM, Kappeler and GK, Mann and L., Pyritz and C., Bissett and T., Grant and R., Steinmetz and L., Swedell and RJ, Welch and D., Armenteras and OR, Bidder and TM lez, Gonza and A., Rosenblatt and S., Kachel and N., Balkenhol (2019) Right on track? Performance of satellite telemetry in terrestrial wildlife research. PloS one, 14 (5).

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Abstract

Satellite telemetry is an increasingly utilized technology in wildlife research, and current devices can track individual animal movements at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions. However, as we enter the golden age of satellite telemetry, we need an in-depth understanding of the main technological, species-specific and environmental factors that determine the success and failure of satellite tracking devices across species and habitats. Here, we assess the relative influence of such factors on the ability of satellite telemetry units to provide the expected amount and quality of data by analyzing data from over 3,000 devices deployed on 62 terrestrial species in 167 projects worldwide. We evaluate the success rate in obtaining GPS fixes as well as in transferring these fixes to the user and we evaluate failure rates. Average fix success and data transfer rates were high and were generally better predicted by species and unit characteristics, while environmental characteristics influenced the variability of performance. However, 48% of the unit deployments ended prematurely, half of them due to technical failure. Nonetheless, this study shows that the performance of satellite telemetry applications has shown improvements over time, and based on our findings, we provide further recommendations for both users and manufacturers.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to the authors.
Subjects:	A ATREE Publications > G Journal Papers
Divisions:	SM Sehgal Foundation Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation > Biodiversity Monitoring and Conservation Planning
Depositing User:	Ms Suchithra R
Date Deposited:	24 Nov 2025 04:36
Last Modified:	24 Nov 2025 04:36
URI:	http://archives.atree.org/id/eprint/1089

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