title: Using accelerometers to remotely and automatically characterize behavior in small animals.
abstract: Activity budgets in wild animals are challenging to measure via direct observation because data collection is time consuming and observer effects are potentially confounding. Although tri-axial accelerometers are increasingly employed for this purpose, their application in small-bodied animals has been limited by weight restrictions. Additionally, accelerometers engender novel complications, as a system is needed to reliably map acceleration to behaviors. In this study, we describe newly developed, tiny acceleration-logging devices (1.5-2.5 g) and use them to characterize behavior in two chipmunk species. We collected paired accelerometer readings and behavioral observations from captive individuals. We then employed techniques from machine learning to develop an automatic system for coding accelerometer readings into behavioral categories. Finally, we deployed and recovered accelerometers from free-living, wild chipmunks. This is the first time to our knowledge that accelerometers have been used to generate behavioral data for small-bodied (<100 g), free-living mammals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Biology, 1001 Valley Life Sciences Building, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3160, USA Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3160, USA thammond@berkeley.edu.
authors.forename: Talisin T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Hammond
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Biology, 1001 Valley Life Sciences Building, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3160, USA.
authors.forename: Dwight
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Springthorpe
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Biology, 1001 Valley Life Sciences Building, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3160, USA Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3160, USA.
authors.forename: Rachel E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.affiliation: Language Technologies Institute, 5000 Forbes Ave., Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Taylor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Berg-Kirkpatrick
mesh_terms: D061725:Accelerometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D000818:Animals; D001331:Automation; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D000069550:Machine Learning; D008390:Markov Chains; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012589:Sciuridae / Q000502:physiology*; D012621:Seasons; D013045:Species Specificity
keywords: Acceleration; Activity budget; Animal behavior; Behavioral ecology; Chipmunks; Machine learning