2014, Dell, Anthony I., Bender, John A., Branson, Kristin, Couzin, Iain D., de Polavieja, Gonzalo G., Noldus, Lucas P. J. J., Pérez-Escudero, Alfonso, Perona, Pietro, Straw, Andrew D., Wikelski, Martin, Brose, Ulrich

The behavior of individuals determines the strength and outcome of ecological interactions, which drive population, community, and ecosystem organization. Bio-logging, such as telemetry and animal-borne imaging, provides essential individual viewpoints, tracks, and life histories, but requires capture of individuals and is often impractical to scale. Recent developments in automated image-based tracking offers opportunities to remotely quantify and understand individual behavior at scales and resolutions not previously possible, providing an essential supplement to other tracking methodologies in ecology. Automated image-based tracking should continue to advance the field of ecology by enabling better understanding of the linkages between individual and higher-level ecological processes, via high-throughput quantitative analysis of complex ecological patterns and processes across scales, including analysis of environmental drivers.