Automated image-based tracking and its application in ecology

Anthony I Dell; John A Bender; Kristin Branson; Iain D Couzin; Gonzalo G de Polavieja; Lucas P J J Noldus; Alfonso Pérez-Escudero; Pietro Perona; Andrew D Straw; Martin Wikelski; Ulrich Brose

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2014.05.004

Automated image-based tracking and its application in ecology

Trends Ecol Evol. 2014 Jul;29(7):417-28. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2014.05.004. Epub 2014 Jun 5.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Systemic Conservation Biology, Department of Biology, Georg-August University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany. Electronic address: [email protected].
² HasOffers Inc., 2220 Western Ave, Seattle, WA, USA.
³ Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Farm Research Campus, Ashburn, VA, USA.
⁴ Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
⁵ Instituto Cajal, CSIC, Av. Doctor Arce, 37, Madrid, Spain.
⁶ Noldus Information Technology BV, Nieuwe Kanaal 5, 6709 PA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
⁷ Computation and Neural Systems Program, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
⁸ Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna, Austria.
⁹ Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell, Germany; Biology Department, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
¹⁰ Systemic Conservation Biology, Department of Biology, Georg-August University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.

PMID: 24908439
DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2014.05.004

Abstract

The behavior of individuals determines the strength and outcome of ecological interactions, which drive population, community, and ecosystem organization. Bio-logging, such as telemetry and animal-borne imaging, provides essential individual viewpoints, tracks, and life histories, but requires capture of individuals and is often impractical to scale. Recent developments in automated image-based tracking offers opportunities to remotely quantify and understand individual behavior at scales and resolutions not previously possible, providing an essential supplement to other tracking methodologies in ecology. Automated image-based tracking should continue to advance the field of ecology by enabling better understanding of the linkages between individual and higher-level ecological processes, via high-throughput quantitative analysis of complex ecological patterns and processes across scales, including analysis of environmental drivers.

Keywords: automated image-based tracking; behavior; bio-logging; ecological interactions; tracking.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Review

MeSH terms

Animal Distribution*
Animals
Behavior, Animal*
Ecology / trends*
Telemetry*