Satellite Telemetry: A New Tool for Wildlife Research and Management - - --- __- ----..._ UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service / Resource Publication 172 Resource Publication This publication of the Fish and Wildlife Service is one of a series of semitechnical or instructional materials dealing with investigations related to wildlife and fish. Each is published as a separate paper. The Service distributes a limited number of these reports for the use of Federal and State agencies and cooperators. A list of recent issues appears on inside back cover. Copies of this publication may be obtained from the Publications Unit, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Matomic Building, Room 148, Washington, DC 20240, or may be purchased from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Satellite telemetry. (Resource publication ; 172) Bibliography: p. 1. Biotelemetry. 2. Earth stations (Satellite telecommuni­ cation) I. Fancy, Steve G. II. Series: Resource publication (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service); 172. S914.A3 no. 172a 333.95'4'0973 s 88-600161 [QH324.9.B5] [621.3815'2] Satellite Telemetry: A New Tool for Wildlife Research and Management By Steve G. Fancy Larry F. Pank David C. Douglas Catherine H. Curby Gerald W. Garner Steven C. Arnstrup Wayne L. Regelin UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE Resource Publication 172 Washington, D.C. • 1988 Contents Page Abstract..................................................... 1 Overview of the Argos Data Collection and Location System . 2 History of Tracking Wildlife by Satellite . 4 Description of System Components . 6 Satellite Transmitters . 6 Satellites Used with the Data Collection and Location System . 6 Satellite Orbits . 9 Signal Acquisition and Transfer to Processing Centers . 13 Location Determination. 15 Applications to Wildlife Research and Management. 19 Transmitter Manufacturers, Specifications, and Costs . 19 Optimum Duty Cycles . 22 Sensor Development and Calibration. 24 Location Accuracy and Precision in Wildlife Applications . 26 Reliability of Transmitter Packages . 29 Real-time Processing with a Local User Terminal. 31 Effects of the Collar on the Animal . 33 Geographic Information Systems . 33 Conclusions. 36 Acknowledgments . 37 References . 38 Appendix A. Description of Software Package for Processing Argos Data . 44 Appendix B. Data Retrieval . 46 Argos File Types . 46 Dispose Files . 46 Telex Files . 48 Ajour File . 49 Argos Commands............................................ 49 Appendix C. Explanation of Satellite Orbital Elements . 52 Appendix D. Glossary . 53 Appendix E. Getting Started with Argos . 54 Satellite Telemetry: A New Tool for Wildlife Research and Management by Steve G. Fancy, 1 Larry F. Pank,2 David C. Douglas,2 Catherine H. Curby,1 Gerald W. Garner,2 Steven C. Amstrup,2 and Wayne L. Regelin3 Abstract The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game have cooperated since 1984 to develop and evaluate satellite telemetry as a means of overcom­ ing the high costs and logistical problems of conventional VHF (very high frequency) radio­ telemetry systems. Detailed locational and behavioral data on caribou (Rangifer tarandus), polar bears (Ursus maritimus), and other large mammals in Alaska have been obtained using the Argos Data Collection and Location System (DCLS). The Argos system, a cooperative project of the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales of France, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Ad­ ministration, is designed to acquire environmental data on a routine basis from anywhere on earth. Transmitters weighing 1.6-2.0 kg and functioning approximately 12-18 months operated on a frequency of 401.650 MHz. Signals from the transmitters were received by Argos DCLS instruments aboard two Tiros-N weather satellites in sun-synchronous, near­ polar orbits. Data from the satellites were received at tracking stations, transferred to processing centers in Maryland and France, and made available to users via computer tape, printouts, or telephone links. · During 1985 and 1986, more than 25,000 locations and an additional 28,000 sets of sensor data (transmitter temperature and short-term and long-term indices of animal activity) were acquired for caribou and polar bears. Locations were calculated from the Doppler shift in the transmitted signal as the satellite approached and then moved away from the transmitter. The mean locational error for transmitters at known locations (n = 1,265) was 829 m; 90% of the calculated locations were within 1,700 m of the true location. Caribou transmitters provided a mean of 3.1 ( ± 5.0 SD) locations per day during 6 h of daily operation, and polar bear transmitters provided 1. 7 ( ± 6.9 SD) locations during 12 h of operation every third day. During the first 6 months of operation, the UHF (ultra-high frequency) signal failed on three of 32 caribou transmitters and 10 of 36 polar bear transmitters. A geographic information system (GIS) incorporating other data bases (e.g., land cover, elevation, slope, aspect, hydrology, ice distribution) was used to analyze and display detailed locational and behavioral data collected via satellite. Examples of GIS applications to research projects using satellite telemetry and examples of detailed movement patterns of caribou and polar bears are presented. This report includes documentation for computer software packages for processing Argos data and presents developments, as of March 1987, in transmitter design, data retrieval using a local user terminal, computer software, and sensor development and calibration. 2U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Fish and Wildlife Re­ tu.s. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Fish and Wildlife Re­ search Center, 1011 E. Tudor Road, Anchorage, Alaska 99603. search Center, 101 12th Avenue, Box 20, Fairbanks, Alaska 3Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 1300 College Road, Fair­ 99701. banks, Alaska 99701. 1 2 The ability to remotely locate and to obtain physio­ behavioral data on approximately 60 animals, in­ logical or behavioral data from free-ranging animals cluding polar bears (Ursus maritimus), caribou through use of biotelemetry techniques has resulted (Rangifer tarandus), muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus), in major advances in our understanding and manage­ and Dall sheep (Ovis dalli) in northern Alaska. These ment of wildlife populations. Radio-tracking of cooperative studies are being conducted by the U.S. animals using equipment operating in the VHF (very Fish and Wildlife Service, the Alaska Department high frequency) range of the electromagnetic spec­ of Fish and Game, the Arctic National Wildlife trum has become commonplace and has provided in­ Refuge, and the University of Alaska. We give ex­ formation not attainable by other means. However, amples of how the Argos system has been used to a major drawback of conventional VHF radio­ address a variety of research needs and explain pro­ tracking equipment, particularly in studies involv­ cedures we use to process and display locational data ing species that move long distances or inhabit using a geographic information system (GIS). remote or mountainous areas, is limited signal Third, this report describes a computer software range. This limited range often results in small or package we developed for processing and display­ incomplete data sets because data collection is con­ ing Argos data (Appendix A). These programs are strained by the high cost of getting to the animal available, for the cost of reproduction, to researchers and problems with harsh weather, darkness, worker using the Argos system to track animals. safety, and movements by the animal outside the On 1 April 1987, Argos introduced new software primary search area. for processing satellite telemetry data and opened The potential use of satellites for tracking and ob­ a second data-processing center in Landover, Mary­ taining physiological and other data from animals land. Except where noted, the results presented has been recognized for many years, but the tech­ here are based on data collected and analyzed before nology needed to construct accurate and reliable that date. Modifications and additions to the previ­ transmitters small enough to be attached to animals ous system are noted throughout the text. was not available until the early 1980's. The U.S. We also present preliminary findings from current Fish and Wildlife Service has been researching the research projects. The use of satellites to obtain data use of satellites to track wildlife since the mid-1970's on free-ranging animals is expanding rapidly, and when studies were initiated to track polar bears new developments and improved equipment become using the Nimbus satellite system (Kolz et al. 1980). available almost monthly. Other researchers have Since that time, numerous technological advances, used lightweight, solar-powered satellite trans­ most notably the availability of the Argos Data Col­ mitters to track large birds (Fuller et al. 1984; lection and Location System (DCLS) aboard Tiros-N Strikwerda et al. 1985, 1986), and we are now weather satellites and the development of batteries testing new units on gray wolves (Canis lupus), mule with a high power density, have made it possible to deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and walrus (Odobenus develop an accurate, reliable, and cost-effective rosmarus). Although the development of smaller,