EAGER: Novel Ultralight Sensors for Avian Migration and Movement Studies

Indiana University, Bloomington IN

Investigators

Abstract

The goal of this project is to develop, test, and deploy novel sensors that will enable the study of activity and migration of small songbirds (20-50 grams). The sensors required for such small animals require weight and energy budgets (1 gram and 1 micro Watt, respectively) below most low-energy devices and must survive in challenging environments and collect useful data over many months. This project has the potential to significantly impact the science of animal behavior because many important species cannot be effectively monitored with existing technologies -- for example roughly half of bird species weigh less than 50 grams. While the focus of this project is to develop the technologies that will enable other researchers to study the behavior of small animals, the project will test these devices on a specific model species (Dark-eyed Juncos) in order to enhance the understanding of the variation of timing on reproduction, migration, and biodiversity. Finally, while the target application for this project is animal biology, many of the fundamental technical problems are common to general low-energy sensing problems. For example, a key problem is detecting the onset of interesting events using extremely low energy levels prior to expending the significantly higher levels of energy needed to collect high resolution data.