Improving the Spatial Accuracy of Wildlife Tracking Data with Automated Radio Telemetry Systems

Improving the Spatial Accuracy of Wildlife Tracking Data with Automated Radio Telemetry Systems | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Method Article Improving the Spatial Accuracy of Wildlife Tracking Data with Automated Radio Telemetry Systems Sean Burcher, Sheldon Blackshire, Jessica Gorzo, Michael Lanzone, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6298210/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 11 Nov, 2025 Read the published version in Animal Biotelemetry → Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Automated Radio Telemetry Systems (ARTS) consisting of animal-borne radio transmitters and networks of fixed radio receivers are frequently used to continuously track wildlife movements over time. The low weight of available radio transmitters and the ability of these systems to collect data with high temporal resolution makes ARTS an attractive alternative to other wildlife tracking technologies. However, the research questions that can be addressed with ARTS are often limited by the spatial accuracy of location data produced by the system. One of the primary methods used to produce location estimates with ARTS involves the comparison of the Received Signal Strength (RSS) of a radio transmission detected in multiple receivers of a network. The accuracy of the resulting locations is highly dependent on the algorithm used to process the raw RSS data generated by the ARTS into location estimates. In this work we have developed a new algorithm, the Inductive Grid Search method, and shown that it is capable of producing more accurate location estimates than other commonly used methods such as multilateration. The improvement in spatial accuracy realized through the use of this new algorithm enables the design of wildlife tracking studies utilizing ARTS to address research questions that were previously inaccessible. automated radio telemetry wildlife tracking position localization Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 11 Nov, 2025 Read the published version in Animal Biotelemetry → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 29 May, 2025 Reviews received at journal 28 May, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 08 May, 2025 Reviews received at journal 23 Apr, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Apr, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Mar, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 28 Mar, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 27 Mar, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 27 Mar, 2025 First submitted to journal 24 Mar, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6298210","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Method Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":439656989,"identity":"ada88e07-aa58-4f16-8eb5-caa974795bc0","order_by":0,"name":"Sean 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