Low-cost DIY GPS trackers improve upland game bird monitoring

摘要

We tested the possibility and feasibility of assembling Arduino GPS trackers without previous engineering experience and modified them for upland game birds under extreme environmental conditions. Low-cost GPS trackers were assembled and deployed on ring-necked pheasants Phasianus colchicus in conjunction with an ongoing winter survival study. To assess GPS receiver accuracy, we deployed trackers in a static test. The static test fix rate was 1.0, median error was 2.5 m and mean error was 13.3 m (SD = 39.5). During the mobile test, wild pheasants were captured using walk-in funnel traps baited with corn from January to March 2019. During winter, 407 VHF locations and 1574 GPS locations of 35 individuals were collected, resulting in a 287% increase in data density at only 23% increase in cost. The fix rate during the mobile test averaged to 0.83. To determine if trackers were low-cost, we calculated cumulative costs of equipment and supplies required to recreate the GPS tracking unit. GPS costs were $47.60 per unit with an additional $202.00 for the supplemental VHF transmitter.