Archival Tags

Lotek Archival/Geolocation Products

To locate specific Lotek archival products, follow the product category links below:

About

Obtaining information about the behaviour of animals in their natural environment is a difficult task. Archival tags allow researchers to reach beyond the limitations of traditional telemetry and obtain that information. Whether you require a temperature logger, a time depth recorder (TDR) or a full service data storage tag (DST) with geolocation capabilities, Lotek offers the most versatile and effective archival tags available.

Equipment

The LTD (Light, Temperature and Depth) archival tag is the smallest commercially available archival tag to offer temperature, depth, and ambient light measurement with data storage capabilities. Those with geolocation capability use light level readings to determine geographic location, using a combination of on-board light-based geolocation and Sea Surface Temperature (SST) measurements.

With 12 bit resolution, our LTD has the largest sampling interval and the best datalogging life specifications. Sampling is controlled by a flexible user-specified sampling protocol. Communications with the tag is via a user friendly Windows®- based program. No other tag offers the range of capabilities at the size of the LTD.

• The LTD 2310 is the ideal product for returning high quality multi-year positions on pelagic animals.
   
• The LTD 1100 is our lowest price temperature and depth logger, well suited for large scale research projects.

The items listed above are the flagship products of each series. Within a series there are various configurations and options available to suit your study needs.

Types & Options

• Sensors: the LTD Series makes it possible to measure:
• Temperature
• Pressure (Depth)
• Light (Geolocation tags only)
  
  
• Internal/External Placement: The LTD Series employs, as standard features, a flat mooring bottom and attachment cord groove(s) that enable external attachment. These externally attached geolocators have built-in light sensors. The LTD also offers an optional sensor stalk (light and temperature) so that internal placement of the tag is also possible.
  
  
• Depth Versions: the LTD series has several depth versions that are depth-rated for up to 2000 meters.
  
  
• Memory: the LTD Series offers a variety of memory options up to 16 Mbytes, with an option for 32MB expected to be available in the near future.
  
  
• Tag-Reader and Software: the LTD Series works with a tag reader and software (TagTalk). Optionally, Lotek can also provide a download service.

Innovations

Lotek's archival tags are among the most advanced of their kind in the world. We are proud to be on the leading edge of the development of archival technology. Some of our biggest innovations in this area:

• External light detector (Light Stalk) for the LTD
• 3000 meter depth rated casing
• 5+ years battery life
• On-board geolocation algorithms
• Sea Surface Temperature data
• Advanced memory management (Time Extension Recording and Telescoping)
• Robust and thin sensor stalks
• Tiny geolocation tags

Species & Habitats

The LTD series is designed to be flexible and has been used on such diverse species as salmon, cod, plaice, sharks, sablefish, turtles, penguins, albatross and even platypus.

Examples

Just a few examples of applications of this technology:

• A bluefin tuna was tagged off Kyushu Island, Japan and recaptured off Baja, Mexico, giving the first continuous track for a tuna across the North Pacific (611 days).
   
• The deployment of an LTD on an albatross gathered more data concerning albatross movements than had ever been, in total, collected before.
   

More information

A wide range of transmitters, receiver configurations and accessories are available to address your archival tagging needs. The system design most suitable for your particular study is dependent upon an equally wide range of application specific factors.

We invite you to contact us - our application specialists will be happy to discuss your telemetry system requirements in detail, and assist you through all the stages of your project planning to ensure that your system design and data gathering capabilities are optimized to capture the information that you seek.