Ecological inference using data from accelerometers needs careful protocols

Thumbnail Image
Files
Garde_2-a8xav7qycqup8.pdf(1.51 MB)
Date
2022
Authors
Garde, Baptiste
Wilson, Rory P.
Fell, Adam
Cole, Nik
Tatayah, Vikash
Holton, Mark D.
Rose, Kayleigh A.
Metcalfe, Richard S.
Robotka, Hermina
Show 4 more
Editors
Contact
Journal ISSN
Electronic ISSN
ISBN
Bibliographical data
Publisher
Series
URI (citable link)
urn:nbn:de:bsz:352-2-a8xav7qycqup8
DOI (citable link)
10.1111/2041-210X.13804
ArXiv-ID
International patent number
Link to the license

CC BY 4.0

EU project number
Project
Open Access publication
Collections
Exzellenzcluster "Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour"
Biologie
Restricted until
Title in another language
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Publication type
Journal article
Publication status
Published
Published in
Methods in Ecology and Evolution ; 13 (2022), 4. - pp. 813-825. - British Ecological Society, Wiley-Blackwell. - ISSN 2041-210X. - eISSN 2041-210X
Abstract
1. Accelerometers in animal-attached tags are powerful tools in behavioural ecol-ogy, they can be used to determine behaviour and provide proxies for movement- based energy expenditure. Researchers are collecting and archiving data across systems, seasons and device types. However, using data repositories to draw ecological inference requires a good understanding of the error introduced ac-cording to sensor type and position on the study animal and protocols for error assessment and minimisation.
2. Using laboratory trials, we examine the absolute accuracy of tri-axial accelerom-eters and determine how inaccuracies impact measurements of dynamic body acceleration (DBA), a proxy for energy expenditure, in human participants. We then examine how tag type and placement affect the acceleration signal in birds, using pigeons Columba livia flying in a wind tunnel, with tags mounted simul-taneously in two positions, and back- and tail- mounted tags deployed on wild kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla. Finally, we present a case study where two genera-tions of tag were deployed using different attachment procedures on red-tailed tropicbirds Phaethon rubricauda foraging in different seasons.
3. Bench tests showed that individual acceleration axes required a two- level cor-rection to eliminate measurement error. This resulted in DBA differences of up to 5% between calibrated and uncalibrated tags for humans walking at a range of speeds. Device position was associated with greater variation in DBA, with upper and lower back- mounted tags varying by 9% in pigeons, and tail- and back- mounted tags varying by 13% in kittiwakes. The tropicbird study highlighted the difficulties of attributing changes in signal amplitude to a single factor when confounding influences tend to covary, as DBA varied by 25% between seasons.
4. Accelerometer accuracy, tag placement and attachment critically affect the sig-nal amplitude and thereby the ability of the system to detect biologically mean-ingful phenomena. We propose a simple method to calibrate accelerometers that can be executed under field conditions. This should be used prior to deploy-ments and archived with resulting data. We also suggest a way that researchers can assess accuracy in previously collected data, and caution that variable tag placement and attachment can increase sensor noise and even generate trends that have no biological meaning.
Summary in another language
Subject (DDC)
570 Biosciences, Biology
Keywords
accelerometry, accuracy, biologger, biotelemetry, calibration, DBA, tag placeme
Conference
Review
undefined / . - undefined, undefined. - (undefined; undefined)
Cite This
ISO 690GARDE, Baptiste, Rory P. WILSON, Adam FELL, Nik COLE, Vikash TATAYAH, Mark D. HOLTON, Kayleigh A. ROSE, Richard S. METCALFE, Hermina ROBOTKA, Martin WIKELSKI, Fred TREMBLAY, Shannon WHELAN, Kyle H. ELLIOTT, Emily L. C. SHEPARD, 2022. Ecological inference using data from accelerometers needs careful protocols. In: Methods in Ecology and Evolution. British Ecological Society, Wiley-Blackwell. 13(4), pp. 813-825. ISSN 2041-210X. eISSN 2041-210X. Available under: doi: 10.1111/2041-210X.13804
BibTex
@article{Garde2022-04Ecolo-56937,
  year={2022},
  doi={10.1111/2041-210X.13804},
  title={Ecological inference using data from accelerometers needs careful protocols},
  number={4},
  volume={13},
  issn={2041-210X},
  journal={Methods in Ecology and Evolution},
  pages={813--825},
  author={Garde, Baptiste and Wilson, Rory P. and Fell, Adam and Cole, Nik and Tatayah, Vikash and Holton, Mark D. and Rose, Kayleigh A. and Metcalfe, Richard S. and Robotka, Hermina and Wikelski, Martin and Tremblay, Fred and Whelan, Shannon and Elliott, Kyle H. and Shepard, Emily L. C.}
}
RDF
<rdf:RDF
    xmlns:dcterms="http://purl.org/dc/terms/"
    xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
    xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"
    xmlns:bibo="http://purl.org/ontology/bibo/"
    xmlns:dspace="http://digital-repositories.org/ontologies/dspace/0.1.0#"
    xmlns:foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/"
    xmlns:void="http://rdfs.org/ns/void#"
    xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#" > 
  <rdf:Description rdf:about="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/server/rdf/resource/123456789/56937">
    <dc:contributor>Wikelski, Martin</dc:contributor>
    <dc:contributor>Tatayah, Vikash</dc:contributor>
    <dc:contributor>Metcalfe, Richard S.</dc:contributor>
    <dc:creator>Wikelski, Martin</dc:creator>
    <dc:creator>Cole, Nik</dc:creator>
    <dcterms:isPartOf rdf:resource="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/server/rdf/resource/123456789/28"/>
    <dc:contributor>Fell, Adam</dc:contributor>
    <dc:contributor>Wilson, Rory P.</dc:contributor>
    <dc:creator>Whelan, Shannon</dc:creator>
    <dspace:hasBitstream rdf:resource="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/bitstream/123456789/56937/1/Garde_2-a8xav7qycqup8.pdf"/>
    <dc:creator>Elliott, Kyle H.</dc:creator>
    <dc:creator>Fell, Adam</dc:creator>
    <dc:creator>Wilson, Rory P.</dc:creator>
    <dcterms:abstract xml:lang="eng">1. Accelerometers in animal-attached tags are powerful tools in behavioural ecol-ogy, they can be used to determine behaviour and provide proxies for movement- based energy expenditure. Researchers are collecting and archiving data across systems, seasons and device types. However, using data repositories to draw ecological inference requires a good understanding of the error introduced ac-cording to sensor type and position on the study animal and protocols for error assessment and minimisation.&lt;br /&gt;2. Using laboratory trials, we examine the absolute accuracy of tri-axial accelerom-eters and determine how inaccuracies impact measurements of dynamic body acceleration (DBA), a proxy for energy expenditure, in human participants. We then examine how tag type and placement affect the acceleration signal in birds, using pigeons Columba  livia flying in a wind tunnel, with tags mounted simul-taneously in two positions, and back-  and tail- mounted tags deployed on wild kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla. Finally, we present a case study where two genera-tions of tag were deployed using different attachment procedures on red-tailed tropicbirds Phaethon rubricauda foraging in different seasons.&lt;br /&gt;3. Bench tests showed that individual acceleration axes required a two- level cor-rection to eliminate measurement error. This resulted in DBA differences of up to 5% between calibrated and uncalibrated tags for humans walking at a range of speeds. Device position was associated with greater variation in DBA, with upper and lower back- mounted tags varying by 9% in pigeons, and tail-  and back- mounted tags varying by 13% in kittiwakes. The tropicbird study highlighted the difficulties of attributing changes in signal amplitude to a single factor when confounding influences tend to covary, as DBA varied by 25% between seasons.&lt;br /&gt;4. Accelerometer accuracy, tag placement and attachment critically affect the sig-nal amplitude and thereby the ability of the system to detect biologically mean-ingful phenomena. We propose a simple method to calibrate accelerometers that can be executed under field conditions. This should be used prior to deploy-ments and archived with resulting data. We also suggest a way that researchers can assess accuracy in previously collected data, and caution that variable tag placement and attachment can increase sensor noise and even generate trends that have no biological meaning.</dcterms:abstract>
    <dcterms:title>Ecological inference using data from accelerometers needs careful protocols</dcterms:title>
    <dc:creator>Tatayah, Vikash</dc:creator>
    <dc:contributor>Elliott, Kyle H.</dc:contributor>
    <dc:contributor>Rose, Kayleigh A.</dc:contributor>
    <dspace:isPartOfCollection rdf:resource="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/server/rdf/resource/123456789/43615"/>
    <dc:creator>Robotka, Hermina</dc:creator>
    <dc:creator>Rose, Kayleigh A.</dc:creator>
    <dc:language>eng</dc:language>
    <dc:creator>Tremblay, Fred</dc:creator>
    <dc:contributor>Shepard, Emily L. C.</dc:contributor>
    <dcterms:available rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime">2022-03-22T10:09:43Z</dcterms:available>
    <dc:contributor>Robotka, Hermina</dc:contributor>
    <dc:creator>Garde, Baptiste</dc:creator>
    <dc:contributor>Cole, Nik</dc:contributor>
    <dc:date rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime">2022-03-22T10:09:43Z</dc:date>
    <dc:creator>Holton, Mark D.</dc:creator>
    <dspace:isPartOfCollection rdf:resource="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/server/rdf/resource/123456789/28"/>
    <dcterms:issued>2022-04</dcterms:issued>
    <dcterms:hasPart rdf:resource="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/bitstream/123456789/56937/1/Garde_2-a8xav7qycqup8.pdf"/>
    <dc:contributor>Holton, Mark D.</dc:contributor>
    <bibo:uri rdf:resource="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/handle/123456789/56937"/>
    <dc:contributor>Whelan, Shannon</dc:contributor>
    <dcterms:isPartOf rdf:resource="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/server/rdf/resource/123456789/43615"/>
    <dc:creator>Shepard, Emily L. C.</dc:creator>
    <dc:contributor>Tremblay, Fred</dc:contributor>
    <void:sparqlEndpoint rdf:resource="http://localhost/fuseki/dspace/sparql"/>
    <foaf:homepage rdf:resource="http://localhost:8080/"/>
    <dc:rights>Attribution 4.0 International</dc:rights>
    <dc:contributor>Garde, Baptiste</dc:contributor>
    <dcterms:rights rdf:resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"/>
    <dc:creator>Metcalfe, Richard S.</dc:creator>
  </rdf:Description>
</rdf:RDF>
Internal note
xmlui.Submission.submit.DescribeStep.inputForms.label.kops_note_fromSubmitter
Contact
URL of original publication
Test date of URL
Examination date of dissertation
Method of financing
Comment on publication
Alliance license
Corresponding Authors der Uni Konstanz vorhanden
International Co-Authors
Bibliography of Konstanz
Yes
Refereed
Yes