An exploratory clustering approach for extracting stride parameters from tracking collars on free-ranging wild animals.
Changes in stride frequency and length with speed are key parameters in animal locomotion research. They are commonly measured in a laboratory on a treadmill or by filming trained captive animals. Here, we show that a clustering approach can be used to extract these variables from data collected by a tracking collar containing a GPS module and tri-axis accelerometers and gyroscopes. The method enables stride parameters to be measured during free-ranging locomotion in natural habitats. As it does not require labelled data, it is particularly suitable for use with difficult to observe animals. The method was tested on large data sets collected from collars on free-ranging lions and African wild dogs and validated using a domestic dog.
Structure and Motion Laboratory, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hatfield AL9 7TA, UK odewhirst@rvc.ac.uk.
Oliver P
0000-0002-3493-8721
OP
Dewhirst
Structure and Motion Laboratory, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hatfield AL9 7TA, UK.
Kyle
K
Roskilly
Structure and Motion Laboratory, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hatfield AL9 7TA, UK.
Tatjana Y
TY
Hubel
Botswana Predator Conservation Trust, Maun, Botswana.|Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.|Taronga Conservation Society Australia, Applied Eco-Logic Group, Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Obley Road, Dubbo, NSW 2830, Australia.
Neil R
NR
Jordan
Botswana Predator Conservation Trust, Maun, Botswana.|Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
Krystyna A
KA
Golabek
Botswana Predator Conservation Trust, Maun, Botswana.
J Weldon
JW
McNutt
Structure and Motion Laboratory, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hatfield AL9 7TA, UK.
Alan M
AM
Wilson
D061725:Accelerometry; D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000502:physiology*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004285:Dogs / Q000502:physiology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D008045:Lions / Q000502:physiology*; D008124:Locomotion; D000069550:Machine Learning; D008297:Male
Animal locomotion; Stride segmentation; Unsupervised machine learning