‘Internet of Animals’ may soon have new eyes in space to keep an eye on wildlife from above

If you’ve ever watched V-shaped flocks of swans and wondered where they’re flying and what they see during their travels, a newly launched satellite will be able to pinpoint their route.

After a three-year pause due to the Russia-Ukraine war, the International Cooperation for Animal Research Using Space (ICARUS) project, which aims to track wildlife from space, was relaunched on November 28 on a ship. spacex dragon spacecraft,

The system, which involves researchers from around the world, uses tiny transmitters fitted to animals, including birds, zebras, sea turtles and even insects, to track their interactions with each other and their surroundings.

The project was dreamed up in 2002 by Martin Wikelski, a biologist at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, as “The Internet of Animals”. So far, hundreds of thousands of tags have been placed on animals. Ground-based receivers take that information and transmit it to researchers, who have already done so Hundreds of scientific studies released As a result.

But placing receivers on satellite means they can collect data from areas where ground-based receivers can’t reach, like mountain tops, deep in forests, or in the far north.

Look What animal spying can tell us about the natural world the current:

The first space-based receiver was connected to an experimental antenna outside the Russian segment of the International Space Station in 2020. During trial runs, ICARUS proved successful Tracking the movements of hundreds of animals Like the common cuckoo bird, from 15 species worldwide. But after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, it was closed and cooperation was immediately halted.

“The first data from Icarus are proof that with increased effort, a global network of animal sentinels is possible,” Wikelski said at the time. in a news release,

Since then, grassroots efforts have improved the technology, reducing the size of the receiver to 10 centimeters, consuming one-tenth the energy, and becoming more sensitive and able to track more animals at once. It was recently incorporated into a small satellite CubeSat on November 28 launched into space Along with many CubeSats from other countries.

Data can track environmental challenges facing wildlife

Researchers are also working on this shrink transmitters Who walk on animals themselves. After years of refinement, the latest iterations weigh just four grams, and can be attached to small animals like songbirds. They say, the next generation will be small enough to eat insects.

The devices transmit GPS location data as well as animal behavior and health information. They can record environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity and air pressure, meaning the data will include not only the animals’ activity but the conditions they encounter on the ground – and crucially, how they all interact with each other.

The combined information from thousands of animals can also be used to track changing conditions in the environment such as the growth of trees, ocean currents or the melting of glaciers. Even got used to it track earthquakes In remote areas.

All this data is relayed by satellite movebankA global database for animal activities.

And the information is freely available to other researchers so they can look at all the different interactions.

“That’s why it’s called the Internet of Animals. We want to connect all researchers with all their animals because sensor interactions are so much more than just summarizing them,” Wikelski said In an interview on quirks and quarks earlier this year. “We can learn what they know about the planet and we can protect them.”

The recent launch is the first of many satellites the team hopes to deploy. By 2027, ICARUS plan of include Six satellites provide global coverage in real time,

Such information is important because migration routes have existed for millennia, possibly even longer. Meanwhile, we are converting natural landscapes into city scenes that could block those routes.

For example, many migratory waterfowl, such as geese, ducks, and swans, require watery resting areas, such as marshes, ponds, or lakes, to spend the nights during their long journeys south. If humans “drain the swamp” to develop housing, birds have nowhere to land, or they have to fly farther to find shelter. This consumes more of their energy needed to complete the journey.

In addition to migration, the animals will also be tracked in their home ranges to see how they interact with human settlements or natural landscapes.

However, ICARUS scientists are interested in much more than just technical data obtained from the satellite. They will also rely on citizen scientists through their animal tracker appBird watchers and nature observers can use their smartphones to take photos, describe what the animals are doing, whether resting or eating, and send that data directly to Movebank as part of a scientific investigation,

We humans regularly board planes that fly specific routes to take us around the world. Animals innately have specific corridors that they fly or walk on that also cover the globe. Knowing about those natural pathways may enable us to better adjust land development to keep those corridors open.