Fall 2020 Motus Infrastructure Update

Fall 2020 Motus Infrastructure Update

November 9, 2020

This update summarizes our accomplishments in developing infrastructure related to the Motus Wildlife Tracking System as part of the Intermountain West Collaborative.

2020-10-30_krs_wmb-1.jpg

Motus Infrastructure Update Kate Stone and William Blake November 1, 2020

2020-10-30_krs_wmb-2.jpg

Project Summary: This report summarizes our accomplishments in developing infrastructure related to the Motus Wildlife Tracking System as part of the Intermountain West Collaborative

2020-10-30_krs_wmb-3.jpg

Motus Stations: Big Picture In just two years, we’ve seen major expansion of the Motus network in all directions from MPG Ranch

2020-10-30_krs_wmb-4.jpg

We expanded regional coverage by making improvements to our array in the Bitterroot Valley and adding stations across the Snake River plain in Idaho.

2020-10-30_krs_wmb-5.jpg

In addition to the stations installed last year, we experimented with increasing our coverage at the south end of the Bitterroot Valley. In this area the width of the valley narrows, and we expect some migratory birds to concentrate.

2020-10-30_krs_wmb-6.jpg

We retrofitted the computers and antennas on several Bitterroot Valley stations to automatically transmit data and allow detection of Lotek’s nanotags and a second tag type made by Cellular Tracking Technologies

2020-10-30_krs_wmb-7.jpg

We worked with staff from the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) to install a station at the Warm Springs WMA east of the MPG Ranch along the Interstate-90 corridor

2020-10-30_krs_wmb-8.jpg

We ventured farther east in Montana to the Dry Fork area of the American Prairie Reserve (APR) to install the first of several stations in a newly developing array led by the Smithsonian Institute.

2020-10-30_krs_wmb-9.jpg

We continued our work with the Intermountain Bird Observatory (IBO) for site selection and installation of multiple new stations in Idaho.

2020-10-30_krs_wmb-10.jpg

Installations at three National Wildlife Refuges in Idaho serve as examples for an expansion of Motus stations across refuges in the Pacific Northwest.

2020-10-30_krs_wmb-11.jpg

We also erected several stations on WMAs managed by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game

2020-10-30_krs_wmb-12.jpg

In early September we worked with Klamath Bird Observatory (KBO) to install Oregon’s first two Motus stations.

2020-10-30_krs_wmb-13.jpg

2020-10-30_krs_wmb-14.jpg

Some collaborative bird research projects involve questions of small-scale movements difficult to study with the coarse-scale detections of standard Motus stations.

2020-10-30_krs_wmb-15.jpg

2020-10-30_krs_wmb-16.jpg

Previous Research Update

2020 Arthropod Sampling Research Update

Next Research Update

2020 Motus Tag Update

What would you like to learn about?

Fall 2020 Motus Infrastructure Update

Block title

Fall 2020 Motus Infrastructure Update

Previous Research Update

Next Research Update

Related Research Updates