Open-source collar logger records wildlife exposure to wildfire smoke
Colorado State University researchers have released an open-source smoke logger that can be attached to wildlife collars and paired with location and physiological data. Initial mule deer deployments in Colorado and Utah found air-quality readings could differ tenfold from those at the nearest fixed monitoring station. The tool records fine-particle exposure in remote habitats where routine air-quality monitoring is limited.
The story
Colorado State University researchers developed a solar-powered air-quality logger designed to sit on collars worn by medium and large wildlife. The device measures particulate matter 2.5, or PM2.5, using a low-cost commercially available sensor and stores readings every 30 minutes. It can be combined with existing animal-tracking systems that collect GPS locations and physiological information, such as heart-rate data, allowing researchers to compare smoke exposure with an animal’s activity and welfare indicators. The team has made the logger’s design and programming open source following publication of initial results in Methods in Ecology and Evolution. Researchers can add the device to collar packages that are later recovered, or assemble a unit themselves for about $100 in materials, according to the team. In initial mule deer deployments in Colorado and Utah, sensor readings differed by an order of magnitude from the closest air-quality stations, either higher or lower. The monitored deer were not exposed to unhealthy levels of wildfire smoke, but the loggers detected small traffic-related pollution spikes among urban deer. The researchers are also working with projects involving cougars, deer and elk, and have placed stationary sensors in habitat used by the endangered Sierra Nevada fisher.
Why it matters
Wildlife managers often need to make decisions without knowing the smoke concentration animals actually experience in their habitat. Fine-scale measurements could help identify places that provide relatively cleaner air during smoke events and clarify whether important habitats or sensitive periods coincide with higher exposure. That information could support the timing and planning of prescribed burns while preserving their forest-management purpose. It may also improve interpretation of wildlife health and movement data by adding an environmental exposure measure that fixed stations cannot necessarily supply.
Evidence and context
The researchers describe wildfire smoke as a growing and prolonged stressor for wildlife, while noting that air quality is generally not monitored in wilderness areas. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow network monitors air quality primarily in populated parts of the country, leaving a gap between regional station readings and conditions in remote animal ranges. PM2.5 consists of particles 2.5 micrometers in diameter or smaller; the source notes these particles are detrimental to cardiovascular and respiratory health. The logger adapts a sensor similar to those used by the PurpleAir monitoring network, but its collar format is intended to measure exposure where a particular animal travels rather than at a fixed site.
Limits and unknowns
The early deployments establish that the device can detect localized variation in particle pollution, not that wildfire smoke has caused a particular health or behavioral effect in wildlife. In the Colorado and Utah deer tests, animals were not exposed to unhealthy wildfire-smoke levels, so further studies are needed to assess responses during severe smoke events. The logger also does not transmit data: it must be recovered to download its records because transmission would add cost, drain battery power and face connectivity limits in wildlands. Its collar design is intended for medium and large animals, limiting direct use on smaller species.
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Open-source collar logger records wildlife exposure to wildfire smoke
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Highlights
- Measuring smoke exposure in wildlife habitat
- A reading every 30 minutes
- Readings differed tenfold from nearby stations
- Local readings could guide habitat decisions
Transcript
A new open-source collar logger can measure the fine particles wildlife encounter in remote habitats.
Colorado State researchers built a solar-powered unit that logs particle readings every thirty minutes.
In early mule deer tests, readings were ten times higher or lower than nearest stations.
Managers could use those measurements to find cleaner habitat and better time prescribed burns.
The deer weren't exposed to unhealthy wildfire smoke, so health effects need further study.