The success of GPS collar deployments on mammals in Australia.

The article discusses the issues faced by some of the first researchers in the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) for tracking terrestrial mammal in Australia, based on 24 studies involving the use of GPS collars in 280 deployments on 13 species. The common problems encountered by researchers include those associated with collar design, the GPS, and very high frequency (VHF) and time-release components. The authors discuss the impact of collar failures on research programs and animal welfare, suggesting ways to avoid or improve. Although 96 percent of the 249 collars retrieved and/or downloaded recorded some data, the number of recorded locations was less than expected due to shortened operating life, intermittent failure and/or disruptions to the fix schedules and duty cycles.