Glossary

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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
Motus Tag ID
This is an 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 an ID defined by Motus which is unique to a single 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 manufactuere. This is the ID that is also digitally encoded in the radio signal transmitted by the tag.
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. This is equivalent to a 'hit' in the detection data.
Burst Interval; or Period
The length of time between the start of each burst.
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).
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Tag Retrieval
Last modified 2mo ago
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