= Animal radiotelemetry
<Animal radiotelemetry> uses <radio waves> to transmit information from an instrument carried by an animal to a remote <radio receiver>. An animal-borne <radio transmitter> can supply a detectable identity signal; additional sensors can report activity or physiological measurements. The transmitted signal, the animal's estimated position and the biological quantity inferred from it are distinct stages of measurement.
For example, a location fix says where an animal was estimated to be, whereas a collar activity sensor asks whether it was moving. A 2011 study combined <animal radiotelemetry> with collar activity measurements in owned and unowned free-roaming domestic <cats>.<Home Range, Habitat Use, and Activity Patterns of Free-Roaming Domestic Cats by Jeff A. Horn and others>[Abstract and Introduction; combined location and activity measurements]{ref} The combination helps distinguish two animals using a similar <home range> but moving at different times.
A receiver's failure to detect a tag is not automatically an animal's absence. Transmission, reception, tag retention and sampling schedule all influence the observation. A useful experiment therefore checks the instrument against known positions or known activity before interpreting its output as <animal behaviour>. <Wildlife radio telemetry> applies these tools to free-living animals in the field.
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