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Estimates for energy expenditure in free-living animals using acceleration proxies: A reappraisal.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Wilson, RP; Börger, L; Holton, MD; Scantlebury, DM; Gómez-Laich, A; Quintana, F; Rosell, F; Graf, PM; Williams, H; Gunner, R; Hopkins, L ...
Published in: The Journal of animal ecology
January 2020

It is fundamentally important for many animal ecologists to quantify the costs of animal activities, although it is not straightforward to do so. The recording of triaxial acceleration by animal-attached devices has been proposed as a way forward for this, with the specific suggestion that dynamic body acceleration (DBA) be used as a proxy for movement-based power. Dynamic body acceleration has now been validated frequently, both in the laboratory and in the field, although the literature still shows that some aspects of DBA theory and practice are misunderstood. Here, we examine the theory behind DBA and employ modelling approaches to assess factors that affect the link between DBA and energy expenditure, from the deployment of the tag, through to the calibration of DBA with energy use in laboratory and field settings. Using data from a range of species and movement modes, we illustrate that vectorial and additive DBA metrics are proportional to each other. Either can be used as a proxy for energy and summed to estimate total energy expended over a given period, or divided by time to give a proxy for movement-related metabolic power. Nonetheless, we highlight how the ability of DBA to predict metabolic rate declines as the contribution of non-movement-related factors, such as heat production, increases. Overall, DBA seems to be a substantive proxy for movement-based power but consideration of other movement-related metrics, such as the static body acceleration and the rate of change of body pitch and roll, may enable researchers to refine movement-based metabolic costs, particularly in animals where movement is not characterized by marked changes in body acceleration.

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Published In

The Journal of animal ecology

DOI

EISSN

1365-2656

ISSN

0021-8790

Publication Date

January 2020

Volume

89

Issue

1

Start / End Page

161 / 172

Related Subject Headings

  • Movement
  • Energy Metabolism
  • Ecology
  • Animals
  • Acceleration
  • 3109 Zoology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 07 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences
  • 06 Biological Sciences
  • 05 Environmental Sciences
 

Citation

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Wilson, R. P., Börger, L., Holton, M. D., Scantlebury, D. M., Gómez-Laich, A., Quintana, F., … Shepard, E. L. C. (2020). Estimates for energy expenditure in free-living animals using acceleration proxies: A reappraisal. The Journal of Animal Ecology, 89(1), 161–172. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13040
Wilson, Rory P., Luca Börger, Mark D. Holton, D Michael Scantlebury, Agustina Gómez-Laich, Flavio Quintana, Frank Rosell, et al. “Estimates for energy expenditure in free-living animals using acceleration proxies: A reappraisal.The Journal of Animal Ecology 89, no. 1 (January 2020): 161–72. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13040.
Wilson RP, Börger L, Holton MD, Scantlebury DM, Gómez-Laich A, Quintana F, et al. Estimates for energy expenditure in free-living animals using acceleration proxies: A reappraisal. The Journal of animal ecology. 2020 Jan;89(1):161–72.
Wilson, Rory P., et al. “Estimates for energy expenditure in free-living animals using acceleration proxies: A reappraisal.The Journal of Animal Ecology, vol. 89, no. 1, Jan. 2020, pp. 161–72. Epmc, doi:10.1111/1365-2656.13040.
Wilson RP, Börger L, Holton MD, Scantlebury DM, Gómez-Laich A, Quintana F, Rosell F, Graf PM, Williams H, Gunner R, Hopkins L, Marks N, Geraldi NR, Duarte CM, Scott R, Strano MS, Robotka H, Eizaguirre C, Fahlman A, Shepard ELC. Estimates for energy expenditure in free-living animals using acceleration proxies: A reappraisal. The Journal of animal ecology. 2020 Jan;89(1):161–172.
Journal cover image

Published In

The Journal of animal ecology

DOI

EISSN

1365-2656

ISSN

0021-8790

Publication Date

January 2020

Volume

89

Issue

1

Start / End Page

161 / 172

Related Subject Headings

  • Movement
  • Energy Metabolism
  • Ecology
  • Animals
  • Acceleration
  • 3109 Zoology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 07 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences
  • 06 Biological Sciences
  • 05 Environmental Sciences