title: Prying into the intimate secrets of animal lives; software beyond hardware for comprehensive annotation in 'Daily Diary' tags.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Smart tags attached to freely-roaming animals recording multiple parameters at infra-second rates are becoming commonplace, and are transforming our understanding of the way wild animals behave. Interpretation of such data is complex and currently limits the ability of biologists to realise the value of their recorded information.
  
  
  METHODS
  This work presents Framework4, an all-encompassing software suite which operates on smart sensor data to determine the 4 key elements considered pivotal for movement analysis from such tags (Endangered Species Res 4: 123-37, 2008). These are; animal trajectory, behaviour, energy expenditure and quantification of the environment in which the animal moves. The program transforms smart sensor data into dead-reckoned movements, template-matched behaviours, dynamic body acceleration-derived energetics and position-linked environmental data before outputting it all into a single file. Biologists are thus left with a single data set where animal actions and environmental conditions can be linked across time and space.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Framework4 is a user-friendly software that assists biologists in elucidating 4 key aspects of wild animal ecology using data derived from tags with multiple sensors recording at high rates. Its use should enhance the ability of biologists to derive meaningful data rapidly from complex data.
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, Wales UK.
authors.forename: James S
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7184-584X
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, Wales UK.
authors.forename: Mark W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, Wales UK.
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Laramee
authors.affiliation: College of Engineering, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, Wales UK.
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Holton
authors.affiliation: Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, Wales UK.
authors.forename: Emily Lc
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Shepard
authors.affiliation: Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, Wales UK.
authors.forename: Hannah J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT9 7BL, Northern Ireland UK.
authors.forename: D Michael
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Scantlebury
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT9 7BL, Northern Ireland UK.
authors.forename: Nikki J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Marks
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT9 7BL, Northern Ireland UK.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Magowan
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT9 7BL, Northern Ireland UK.
authors.forename: Iain E
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Maguire
authors.affiliation: Institut für Terrestrische und Aquatische Wildtierforschung, Stiftung Tierärztliche Hochschule, Werfstr. 6, 25761, Hannover, Büsum Germany.
authors.forename: Owen R
authors.initials: OR
authors.lastname: Bidder
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio Ecotono, INIBIOMA-CONICET, National University of Comahue, Quintral 1250, (8400), Bariloche, Argentina.
authors.forename: Agustina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Virgilio
authors.affiliation: Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, Wales UK.
authors.forename: Rory P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Wilson