Finding our way: On the sharing and reuse of animal telemetry data in Australasia

Hamish A Campbell; Hawthorne L Beyer; Todd Elliott Dennis; Ross G Dwyer; James D Forester; Yusuke Fukuda; Catherine Lynch; Mark A Hindell; Norbert Menke; Juan M Morales; Craig Richardson; Essie Rodgers; Graeme Taylor; Matthew E Watts; David A Westcott

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.01.089

Back

Finding our way: On the sharing and reuse of animal telemetry data in Australasia

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Finding our way: On the sharing and reuse of animal telemetry data in Australasia

Hamish A Campbell, Hawthorne L Beyer, Todd Elliott Dennis, Ross G Dwyer, James D Forester, Yusuke Fukuda, Catherine Lynch, Mark A Hindell, Norbert Menke, Juan M Morales, …

Science of the Total Environment, Vol.534, pp.79-84

2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.01.089

PMID: 25669144

Files and links (2)

pdf

Finding our way - On the sharing and reuse of animal telemetry data in Australasia442.58 kBDownload View

Accepted VersionCC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access

url

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.01.089View

Published Version

Abstract

biotelemetry

wildlife tracking

inter-disciplinary

movement ecology

GPS

ARGOS

The presence and movements of organisms both reflect and influence the distribution of ecological resources in space and time. The monitoring of animal movement by telemetry devices is being increasingly used to inform management of marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we brought together academics, and environmental managers to determine the extent of animal movement research in the Australasian region, and assess the opportunities and challenges in the sharing and reuse of these data. This working group was formed under the Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (ACEAS), whose overall aim was to facilitate transorganisational and transdisciplinary synthesis. We discovered that between 2000 and 2012 at least 501 peer-reviewed scientific papers were published that report animal location data collected by telemetry devices from within the Australasian region. Collectively, this involved the capture and electronic tagging of 12 656 animals. The majority of studies were undertaken to address specific management questions; rarely were these data used beyond their original intent. We estimate that approximately half (similar to 500) of all animal telemetry projects undertaken remained unpublished, a similar proportion were not discoverable via online resources, and less than 8.8% of all animals tagged and tracked had their data stored in a discoverable and accessible manner. Animal telemetry data contain a wealth of information about how animals and species interact with each other and the landscapes they inhabit. These data are expensive and difficult to collect and can reduce survivorship of the tagged individuals, which implies an ethical obligation to make the data available to the scientific community. This is the first study to quantify the gap between telemetry devices placed on animals and findings/data published, and presents methods for improvement. Instigation of these strategies will enhance the cost-effectiveness of the research and maximise its impact on the management of natural resources. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Details

Title: Finding our way: On the sharing and reuse of animal telemetry data in Australasia
Authors: Hamish A Campbell (Author) - University of New England
Hawthorne L Beyer (Author) - The University of Queensland
Todd Elliott Dennis (Author) - University of Auckland
Ross G Dwyer (Author) - The University of Queensland
James D Forester (Author) - University of Minnesota
Yusuke Fukuda (Author) - Department of Land Resource Management
Catherine Lynch (Author) - Arid Recovery
Mark A Hindell (Author) - University of Tasmania
Norbert Menke (Author) - Queensland Department of Science, Information, Technology, Innovation and the Arts
Juan M Morales (Author) - National University of Comahue
Craig Richardson (Author) - Department of the Environment and Energy
Essie Rodgers (Author) - The University of Queensland
Graeme Taylor (Author) - Department of Conservation
Matthew E Watts (Author) - The University of Queensland
David A Westcott (Author) - CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences (Australia)
Publication details: Science of the Total Environment, Vol.534, pp.79-84
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date published: 2015
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.01.089
ISSN: 1879-1026; 0048-9697
PMID: 25669144
Organisation Unit: University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99629339102621
Output Type: Journal article

Metrics

102 File views/ downloads

21 Record Views

29 Times Cited - Web of Science

See more details

InCites Highlights

These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output

Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Environmental Sciences

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

Source: InCites