ABISSMAL

Automated Behavioral tracking by Integrating Sensors that Survey Movements Around a target Location

Summary

ABISSMAL is a hardware and software platform for automated behavioral tracking with built-in system monitoring and error logging. ABISSMAL also provides the capacity to make behavioral inferences by integrating data across multiple types of movement sensors. We tested the tracking system by tracking parental care behaviors with captive zebra finches that raised young birds over 50 days. The system operates different modules written in python and managed by Linux Screen sessions scheduled by cron. See the accompanying methods manuscript for more detailed information about ABISSMAL. Our Wiki page has detailed information about how to set up and build hardware, as well as software installation and troubleshooting.

Manuscript in preparation

Smith-Vidaurre, G., Molina, T., Jarvis, E.D., and Hobson, E.A. (2023). Automated tracking of avian parental care behavior. In prep. EcoEvoRxiv preprint: https://doi.org/10.32942/X2Z60C

Ethics Statement

We developed and tested this tracking system with an institutional animal care and use (IACUC) protocol that was approved for captive zebra finches by Rockefeller University. If you plan to use this tracking system for research with live animals (captive or wild), then you must have your own approved institutional protocols and permits for ethical and responsible use of animals in research.