Example migration paths taken by black kites as assessed GPS and Argos tags (Figure taken from Tanferna et al.).
A new paper in PloS ONE looks at compatibility among telemetry data that were gathered using different methods with different sampling frequency and spatial accuracy.
Tanferna, A., L. Lopez-Jimenez, J. Blas, F. Hiraldo, and F. Sergio. 2012. Different Location Sampling Frequencies by Satellite Tags Yield Different Estimates of Migration Performance: Pooling Data Requires a Common Protocol. PLoS ONE 7(11): e49659.
The authors conclude:
“To avoid flaws in future meta-analyses or unnecessary loss of data, we urge researchers to reach an agreement on a common protocol of data presentation, and to recognize that all transmitter-based studies are likely to underestimate the actual distance traveled by the marked animal. As ecological research becomes increasingly technological, new technologies should be matched with improvements in analytical capacity that guarantee data compatibility.”
