A solution to linking acceleration metrics with animal performance, state, behaviour and lifestyle

RORY WILSON; EMILY SHEPARD; GWENDOLINE I. WILSON; JAVIER CIANCIO; LAMA QASEM; FLAVIO QUINTANA; CHRISTINA C. MULVENNA; JAMES WALKER; VIANNEY L. WILSON; MIKE GRAVENOR; KELLY A. MACKINTOSH; PATRICIA M. GRAF; JUAN-EMILIO SALA; MARK W. JONES; MARK HOLTON; MIKE SCANTLEBURY; BRENDA TYSSE; MELITTA A. MCNARRY; FRANK ROSELL; AGUSTINA GOMEZ-LAICH; NICOLA J. MARKS

Movement Ecology

BioMed

Año: 2016

We are increasingly using recording devices with multiple sensors operating at high frequencies to produce large volumes of data which are problematic to interpret. A particularly challenging example comes from studies on animals and humans where researchers use animal-attached accelerometers to attempt to quantify behaviour, energy expenditure and condition. Here, we show how novel, gravity-based spherical plots are able to produce compelling visualizations that incorporate the complexity of such multidimensional acceleration data using a suite of different acceleration-derived metrics to highlight patterns that are not obvious using current approaches. We show how this approach links behaviour and energetics and can inform our identification and understanding of movement-related processes, highlighting subtle differences in movement and its associated energetics in areas as disparate as disease identification, lifestyle, sports practice and wild animal ecology.Quantification