New Jersey School of Conservation 1 Wapalanne Rd. Branchville, NJ 07826-5116

Voice: 800-624-7780 (Dial 3) or 973-948-4646 Fax: 973-948-5131 http://www.montclair.edu/school-of-conservation

Wildlife Tracking with Radio-telemetry INTRODUCTION:

In addition to providing environmental educational experiences for visiting students and teachers, the NJ School of Conservation is the field research station for Montclair State University. Graduate students, pursuing advanced degrees, investigate a variety of different wildlife species within Stokes State Forest. This research provides valuable information to the NJ Department of Environmental Protection on the overall health of the ecosystem and makes suggestions for any environmental management practices that should be made.

There are a variety of methods that researchers use to collect wildlife data. One method is by attaching transmitters to animals and tracking their movements through the environment.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

There are many methods that can be used to track animals. Biotelemetry or “the instrumental technique for gaining and transmitting information from a living organism and its environment to a remote observer,” has evolved tremendously since the 1800’s. Beginning with John James Audubon, the famous ornithologist and painter is credited with “conducting the first known bird banding experiment in North America by tying strings around the legs of Eastern Phoebes and observing which birds would return to the same nesting site every year”.

Today researchers and conservationists use various biotelemetry methods to track the health, quality, habits and range of wildlife species. These include, scale clippings from snakes, radar (for migrating animals, acoustic telemetry for birds and animals that use sonar, photo-identification that can show distinct patterns on certain animals in order to identify them in the wild, PIT (passive integrated transponder) tags inserted into the animal to determine if they have been captured before and if they tend to stay in the same location. In this class, we will use a type of biotelemetry known as VHF signals.

VHF (very high frequency) telemetry uses a transmitter attached to the animal, a receiver used by the researcher for capturing the signal from the transmitter and a hand-held directional yagi antenna to locate the animal in the field. This is the popular telemetry method that has been in use since the mid-1960s. This method typically requires a user to acquire the VHF transmissions from a VHF transmitter (usually in a collar or tag attached to the animal) via a receiver and hand-held yagi antenna.

The location of the transmitter is determined by acquiring the transmissions from three (or more) different locations to triangulate the location of the animal.

DESCRIPTION: With the use of transmitters and receivers, students will track down various animal species that are currently being investigated at the NJ School of Conservation. They will also learn about each animal and how researchers document the information they find during their investigation. OBJECTIVES: -Students will learn how to use the radio-telemetry to find wildlife at the NJSOC.-Students will learn about the different wildlife species currently being investigated at the NJSOC.-Students will develop observational/ inquiry skills by generating questions about animal speciesbeing investigated at the NJSOC.-Students will learn how to document their research findings.

MATERIALS:

•3 transmitters, 3 receivers•Information sheets on wood turtles, box turtles, bats and trout•GPS•Sheets for documentation**This class requires teacher/ chaperone participation as well in order to keep track ofthe students.**

PROCEDURES:

1. Ask the students what they imagine a scientist or biologist does for a living.

2. Discuss with the students some of the different methods used while conducting fieldresearch on wildlife species. Have students discuss the pros and cons of various researchtechniques based on the animal being investigated.

3. Explain to the students that today they will learn the same techniques used by MSUbiologists to track animals using transmitters. Demonstrate with the entire group how thestudents can use the receivers to track an animal fitted with a transmitter by placing atransmitter a good distance away and showing the students how to work the receivers. **Forstep by step instructions see attached “How to use a Receiver” guide. Then demonstrate howto use the GPS to record the location and take a picture using the iPads once they find the“animal”.

4. Divide the students into 3 groups with participants taking on roles such as: tracker, spotter/temperature recorder, iPad holder for pictures and GPS coordinates, and data collector.Students will rotate their roles while finding three different animals. Show students theboundaries on the map (attached) and explain that the animals will not be beyond certainareas of campus delineated by the map.

5. Explain that once they have found an “animal,” they are to document their observations on thesheet provided for that “animal” and leave the animal where they have found it like a scientist would.

6. After the students have rotated finding all 3 “animals”, they return to the classroom.What conclusions can they draw about each animal based on their research? Do theyhave any other questions about their research?

SUMMARY:

•Ask students, why is it important to do research on wildlife?•What information can we obtain by using radio-telemetry when studying these animals?•Often times, conducting research like this poses more questions. What are some additionalquestions they have?

RESOURCES:

Anderson, G., Hansen, B.H, & Kirkegaard, M. (2005) The use of transmitters in biological

research. Hosten.

h ttp://folk.ntnu.no/clabec/pdf/TransmittersAnimalResearch.pdf

h ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_wildlife_tracking_technology

h ttps://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/programs/im/satellite_gps_telemetry/wildlifetrackingtelementry. h tm

Chris Shea, AmeriCorps and Graduate Student with Montclair State University tracking Wood Turtles along the Flatbrook.