Monitoring Fish and Wildlife
in Freshwater Habitats

Species | Options | Sample studies | Obtainable data
Types of research | Recommended products | How can we help?

The type of telemetry system most suitable for aquatic research will depend on the environmental conditions in the area of interest. These conditions include freshwater, estuaries and saltwater or open ocean environments.

The tracking method of choice for most freshwater research is radio telemetry, which operates in the VHF (very high frequency) band. Telemetry systems designed for operation in higher VHF ranges give better overall performance, for most freshwater applications, than systems operating in lower VHF ranges. Higher VHF frequencies are more efficient and less susceptible to noise than systems operating at low frequencies. They also allow the use of high gain directional antennas to further extend system reception range.

Acoustic telemetry is normally required in saltwater and estuarine environments. In some cases it is also used in freshwater applications, particularly in high water conductivity environments and/or in applications where typical depths exceed 12-15 meters. Radio telemetry system designs commonly utilize aerial antennas of various design to establish "listening" zones to detect signals, whereas conventional acoustic telemetry systems use hydrophones for this purpose.

Lotek telemetry receivers are unique within the wildlife and fisheries research field, in that they afford scientists the ability to use a single receiver for a variety of applications and under all of these conditions.

• escapement estimates of Chinook salmon in large river systems
• Chinook and Steelhead migrations to evaluate effectiveness of passage structures at dams on the Snake and Columbia Rivers
• entrainment of shad on Rivière des Prairies in Québec
• bioenergetic expense to sturgeon downstream from a hydroelectric facility
• bioenergetic expense to sockeye salmon attempting to negotiate a natural velocity barrier on the Fraser River in British Columbia
• effectiveness of passage structures in Newfoundland based upon bioenergetic expense to migrating Atlantic salmon

Positional data: precise information on the location and movement of fish in fresh water
Temperature data
Physiological data: including fish muscle activity and related metabolic costs
Mortality data
Historical data: archival storage of more than 500,000 data samples for up to 25 years
3D mapping: accurate 3-dimensional spatial mapping of fish with accuracies to one meter

At Lotek, we recognize that every research project, study area and application is unique. Our telemetry systems and the depth of their sophistication provide the researcher with the diversity and flexibility to design a specific system best able to address project objectives. We also recognize the value of efficiency. That's why many of our systems are fully compatible and provide a straightforward upgrade path from simple to complex receiver systems as dictated by evolving project requirements. Our SRX_400 telemetry receivers can be configured for applications involving:

• Manual/mobile telemetry tracking via boat, air, automobile or ground
• Remote automatic and continuous (24 hour) datalogging stations
• Manual Tracking and/or Datalogging in radio and acoustic environments
• Digitally encoded telemetry systems
• Datalogging systems using digitally encoded transmitters
• Digitally encoded systems with digital spectrum processing capability
• Digitally encoded systems using Wireless Hydrophones
• Datalogging systems with remote viewing, upload and retrieval capability
• Datalogging physiological activity

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