Glossary

General

Term	Definition
Motus Network	A collaborative network of receivers, transmitters, partners, and researchers which use radio telemetry to study animal movement.
Collaborators	Any person who uses Motus for research, education, or otherwise
Project	A collection of Motus Tags and/or Motus Stations which all are all managed together. A single Motus project can used to manage equipment from multiple research projects.
Station	Encompasses all receiver deployments at a single location.
Station deployment	Describes a single setup of a receiver station. This includes information such as: number, types, directions, and heights of antennas; location of station, receiver listening frequency, computer serial numbers, type of antenna mounting structure. Deployments are registered on Motus.org.
Receiver	A computer designed to receive radio signals
Tag	A radio transmitter made by Lotek or Cellular Tracking Technologies.
Tag deployment	The time period of when a tag was activated and in the field.
CTT	Cellular Tracking Technologies (i.e.; one of the companies that makes tags and receivers).
Lotek	One of the companies that makes tags and receivers.

Projects

Term	Definition
Collaborators	Any person who uses Motus for research, education, or otherwise
Data Access Log	Whenever a user downloads data from your project, it is logged here. This can be used to draw statistics.

Stations

Term	Definition
Receiver	A computer designed to receive radio signals
Receiver deployment	Describes a single setup of a receiver station. This includes information such as: number, types, directions, and heights of antennas; location of station, receiver listening frequency, computer serial numbers, type of antenna mounting structure. Deployments are registered on Motus.org.
Station	Encompasses all receiver deployments at a single location.
Coax	Coaxial cable, typically used to connect antennas to receivers.
Antenna mount	The part which connects the antenna to the mounting structure. Typically a metal plate with U-bolts.
Antenna mounting structure	Usually a mast, but can be anything imaginable, such as a guard rail, a tree, or a wall.
Mast	A structure used to mount antennas. Typically a metal pipe and often telescopic (pop-up), such as the 20A and 50A masts.
Tripod	A three-legged structure used to support a mast. Usually 10-feet (3 m) tall (TRM-10L).
Angle iron	Can be steel or aluminum. Angled piece of metal typically used to affix solar panels to tripods.
Mast collar	A small section of metal tubing with a bolt in it which slides over the top-most section of a mast. It allows the spare guy ring to rest on it at the top of the mast.
Guy ring	A ring around the mast typically used to affix guy lines.
DMX	A triangular tower structure used for more permanent installations. Usually requires a concrete footing or a building for support.
Non-penetrating Roof Mount	A type of mast mount which does not require anchoring. Typically used on flat roofs. See non-penetrating roof mounts.
SensorGnome	Open source receiver developed at the Phil Taylor Lab, Acadia University.
CTT SensorStation	Receiver made by Cellular Tracking Technologies
Lotek SRX	SRX-series receiver made by Lotek Wireless Ltd.
Motus Network	A collaborative network of receivers, transmitters, partners, and researchers which use radio telemetry to study animal movement.
Galvanic Corrosion	When two dissimilar metals meet in a corrosive electrolyte (salt water), the more reactive metal will corrode much more quickly than normal. Aluminum when in contact with steel.

Detection Data

Term	Description
Hit	A single tag detection (equivalent to one 'burst').
Run	A collections of consecutive hits. Up to 60 bursts can be missed (not detected) before a new run starts.
Run length	The number of detections in the run
Batch	A batch of data collected over the same receiver boot session.

Tags

Term	Description
Tag Project ID	The ID of the Motus project that manages the tag. The user requests which project the tag be registered upon ordering tags.
Motus Tag ID	This is a Motus database ID unique to the physical tag and the project it sits in. If the tag was deployed twice between two projects (rare), there may be two tag IDs that exist for the same tag – one for each project.
Tag Deployment ID	This is a database ID defined by Motus which is unique to a single tag deployment record i.e., instance when a tag was attached to an individual animal. If the tag is recovered off the animal, the deployment is ended.
Manufacturer ID or mfgID	The ID of the tag as defined by the manufacturer. This is the ID that is also digitally encoded in the radio signal transmitted by the tag. It corresponds to the digits printed on the tag for Lotek tags.
Tag ID	Generally refers to the Motus Tag ID within Motus documentation, but informally it can also mean the manufacturer ID.
Burst	A single transmission by the tag which contains its digitally encoded ID. A burst is made up of Pulses. This is equivalent to a 'hit' in the detection data.
Burst Rate; Burst Interval; or Period	Time interval between successive bursts (in seconds). This value is measured from the sample recording of the tag.
Period SD	Standard deviation of the time interval between successive bursts (in seconds). This value is measured from the sample recording of the tag.
Frequency or Nominal Frequency	The central radio frequency used to transmit the signal, usually reported in megahertz (MHz).
Frequency offset	The difference between the nominal frequency and the measured frequency of the tag, usually reported in kilohertz (KHz). This value is measured from the sample recording of the tag.
Pulse length	Tag pulse length (in milliseconds). Pulses make up a Burst. This value is measured from the sample recording of the tag.
Datebin	Period (i.e., year and quarter-annum) when the tag was registered.
Date Registered	The date the tag was registered with motus.
Tag Type	Type of signal transmitted by the tag (e.g. Beeper or ID).
Tag Codeset	If a manufacturer has more than one code set from which a code can come, this must uniquely identify the one for this tag (e.g., ‘Lotek-3).
Tag manufacturer	Tag manufacturer (e.g., Lotek or CTT).
Tag model	Information on the model of tag (e.g., NTQB-3-2).
Estimated tag lifespan	How many days after activation the tag is expected to last based on the tag model. This value is calculated using the model and period.
Estimated buffered lifespan	Predicted lifespan plus an additional 50% to account for unusually long-lasting tags.
Anticipated deployment start date	Placeholder dates that begin on the earliest date which tags are expected to be deployed. This date tells us when to start looking for the tag in detection data. This date can be inputted upon registration of the tags, or anytime before the actual deployment of tags.
Confirmed deployment start date	The exact deployment dates and times for each tag provided after tag deployment. Confirmation is required after the anticipated date has passed by updating the tag deployment metadata.
Pending tag deployment	Tag deployment record does not have a start date, or start date is in the future.
Active tag deployment	Currently active in the system based on start date, estimated life span, and absence of an end date. Indicates that the deployment can be activated and looked for by Tag Finder between start date and calculated end date (start date + lifespan).
Terminated tag deployment	User provided a known end date to deployment because the tag has been recovered from the animal. This indicates a finalized deployment. If the tag has remaining lifespan it can either be redeployed or deprecated.
Estimated deployment end date/time	A deployment end date that is calculated by Motus based on tag lifespan plus an additional 50% to account for unusually long-lasting tags. This date is used when the user leaves the end date/time blank.
Terminated deployment date/time	User manually inputs a known end date when they recover the tag from the animal or end a “tag test”.
Deprecated tag	A tag that the user has/had in their possession, but has been damaged, expired, or lost and will never be (re-)deployed. Users can check this box to allow tag properties to be released for use by other projects.
Deleted tag	Tag registered to a project by manufacturer, but fails to turn on or is returned to the manufacturer. The tag was therefore never activated and we do not want to match detections to this tag. Tag has been deleted from both the motus and Tag Finder database entirely.