Figure 2 - uploaded by Jean-François Le Galliard
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Use of passive radiofrequency identification (RFID) tags for demographic studies of small mammals . A. Subcutaneous injection of a RFID tag on the back of a juvenile root vole ( Microtus oeconomus ). B, C. Custom made reader connected to a battery and an antenna, tube-shaped single coil antenna placed on the ground. © J.-F. Le Galliard.
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... may be difficult to identify small animals with the help of techniques that avoid undue pain and stress, have no effect on fitness traits, and pro- duce marks that are not easily lost. Non-invasive techniques, such as paint marks or bead-tags, do not ensure the identification of a large number of individuals and are often only temporary, except for rings. Thus, most demographic studies of small species involve more invasive techniques such as branding, toe-clipping or scale-clipping. To avoid the potential pain and stress caused by these techniques, passive integrated transpond- ers (PIT) tags, also called passive RFID (radio frequency identification) tags, have been recommended because these ones provide permanent and reliable individual marks. This technology uses communication via radio waves to exchange data (identification number) between a reader and a passive electronic tag attached to the animal ( Gibbons and Andrews, 2004). Examples of their use include tracking studies where "antennas" positioned in the natural habitat are connected to the reader. However, because the animal can only be detected at a short distance (see table 1), antennas must be located at places of maximal use by animals (e.g. dis- persal corridors, nests or burrows, runways, etc.). We used this technol- ogy to study the spatial ecology of small mammals in northern Europe, even during the winter snow period (Hoset et al., 2008;Le Galliard et al., 2007). The custom-made system was developed by Harald Steen and Lars Korslund from the University of Oslo ( Korslund and Steen, 2006). It consists of a tube-shaped single coil antenna (20 × 4cm) placed on the ground along runways to maximize recording rates, and attached to Trovan® LID665 oEM PIT tag decoders (LID665, EID Aalten bV, Aalten, Netherlands) that record PIT-tag number, date and hour each time a tagged vole passed through the antenna (see figure 2). There are how- ever potential difficulties with PIT tags: they cannot be injected on the juvenile forms of most species, tags may get lost through the injection site, and injection as well as retention of these tags can cause small species pain and harm (e.g. Le Galliard et al., ...
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This species is listed as Data Deficient in view of the lack of information on distribution, population and past and current threats. Further research is required to determine its risk of extinction.
Citations
... Applying the 5 % rule on animals of 50 g allows a maximum telemetry weight of 2.5 g. There is hardly any commercial sensor that approaches this weight [11,18] Bats have already outfitted with light contact loggers [18], but information on the wireless technologies used is extremely limited. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) stands out between existing technologies in terms of energy efficiency [6,19]. ...
Biological research often tracks animal using collars containing a wireless sensor that transmit telemetry or positional data. However, when dealing with small animals, the size and weight of conventional telemetry is often an obstruction and can alter animal behavior. In this study we take a look at the the viability of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to develop a low power contact logger which tracks contacts between small rodents. Using the BLE Discovery Process, a contact logger can reliably detect nearby loggers without the need to set up an actual connection. We manufactured a prototype with an extremely small footprint to demonstrate the feasibility.
