Senegal
Read MoreEvery year, thousands of wildfires burn across the arid grasslands of the Sahel. Some fires are ignited by lightning strikes, but they are also actively used to convert land for agriculture. Here, a wildfire stretching several kilometers rushes across grassland near Khelcom, Senegal, driven by strong wind.
Using a system of relay antennas strategically positioned around several roosts near Khelcom, Senegal, researchers can read out the birds' data loggers. This yields detailed information on birds' movements (e.g. location, elevation, flight speed, and temperature in three-second intervals), but also migratory data for birds that have been equipped with GPS-loggers at European breeding sites in previous years.
Steve Augiron hoists a solar panel up a water tower to power a base station that can communicate with relay antennas strategically placed in the the field. The base station takes care of two-way communication with GPS-loggers in the system's range, and transmits data to a cloud database over the cellular network. This allows for the collection of information on birds' movements at very short intervals, which the GPS-backpacks' internal memory cannot store for more than a few days.
Using a system of relay antennas strategically positioned around several roosts near Khelcom, Senegal, researchers can read out the birds' data loggers. This yields detailed information on birds' movements (e.g. location, elevation, flight speed, and temperature in three-second intervals), but also migratory data for birds that have been equipped with GPS-loggers at European breeding sites in previous years.
Almut Schlaich climbs a water tower to setup a base station that can communicate with relay antennas strategically placed in the field. The base station takes care of two-way communication with GPS-loggers in the system's range, and transmits data to a cloud database over the cellular network. This allows for the collection of information on birds' movements at very short intervals, which the GPS-backpacks' internal memory cannot store for more than a few days.