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Abstract |
We describe an automated system for monitoring multiple very high frequency (VHF) transmitters, which are commonly employed in wildlife studies. The system consists of a microprocessor-controlled radio-frequency monitor equipped with advanced signal-processing capabilities that communicates with, and relays information to, a user interface unit at a different location. the system was designed for a capture-and-release snow leopard (Panthera uncia) study in Mongolia, where checking trap-site transmitters manually entailed climbing a hill with telemetry equipment several times each day and night. Here, it monitors the trap-site transmitters and actively produces an alarm when any of the traps have been triggered, or if the system has lost contact with any trap-transmitter. The automated system allowed us to constantly monitor transmitters from a research camp, and alerted us each time a trap was triggered. The system has been field-tested for 83 days from mid-September 2010 to mid-december 2010 in the Tost mountain range on the edge of Mongolia's Gobi desert. During this time, the system performed reliably, responding correctly to 45 manually generated alarms and 9 animal captures. The system considerably shortens the time the captured animals spend in traps, and also mitigates the need for manual trap-site transmitter monitoring, greatly reducing risk to the animal and the human effort involved. |
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