Accelerometer recording of pitviper movement behavior: advantages, challenges, and a call for collaboration
DeSantis, Dominic L.
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences
Georgia College & State University
Milledgeville, Georgia USA
Observing and measuring the behavior of pitvipers in nature is challenging, and has long encouraged the use of technology, such as radio telemetry or fixed videography, to facilitate consistent and repeated observations of individuals through time. More recently, integrating these established methods with a variety of miniaturized animal-borne dataloggers has revealed exciting opportunities for improved evaluation of variation in behavioral decisions and outcomes. I overview a selection of completed and ongoing work that leverages simultaneous use of radio telemetry and accelerometry datalogging to quantify the interacting roles of individual-level traits and environmental factors in predicting variation in pitviper movement behavior. Among these case studies, ranging from road ecology, to mate searching, to foraging strategies, to individual repeatability in activity, we’ve found that high-resolution acceleration data reveals patterns and provides insights that would have been largely overlooked using traditional techniques, alone. However, initial application of this method can come with significant challenges and learning curves in big data collection, processing, and analysis. Accordingly, I advocate for the widespread use of integrated radio telemetry and accelerometry monitoring in pitviper behavioral ecology, while providing a set of best practices for reducing startup inertia.