Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Optimal Foraging

Optimal Foraging

How animals obtain and eat their food is called foraging behavior. Foraging can include searching for plants and hunting for prey and depends on the species and environment.

What is Behavior?

What is Behavior?

Behaviors are actions that an organism engages in—they can be related to finding food, reproducing, defending against threats, and many other possible actions. Behaviors include activities related to the environment around the animal—such as migration—as well as social interactions within a species or population. Many behaviors involve motor output—that is, muscle movements—while others involve less visible actions, such as learning.

Naturalistic Observations

Naturalistic Observations

If you want to understand how behavior occurs, one of the best ways to gain information is to simply observe the behavior in its natural context. However, people might change their behavior in unexpected ways if they know they are being observed. How do researchers obtain accurate information when people tend to hide their natural behavior? As an example, imagine that your professor asks everyone in your class to raise their hand if they always wash their hands after using the restroom. Chances...

Behaviorism

Behaviorism

The field of behaviorism was pioneered by figures such as Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, and B.F. Skinner fundamentally shifted the focus of psychology to the observable and controllable aspects of human and animal behavior. This shift marked a critical evolution in the discipline, emphasizing scientific rigor and experimental methodology.
The core premise of behaviorism is its focus on observable behavior rather than internal thoughts or feelings. This approach argues that true scientific...

Data Collection by Observations

Data Collection by Observations

Data collection refers to a systematic way of obtaining, observing, measuring, and analyzing accurate information. Observational studies are one of the most widely used methods of data collection. It involves collecting data by observing the behavior and physical characteristics of a sample without making any modifications to the sample.
An astronomer viewing the motion and brightness of stars in the sky and recording the data is an example of observational data collection. A botanist recording...

Fixed Action Patterns

Fixed Action Patterns

A fixed action pattern (FAP) is a specific, hard-wired sequence of behaviors that occurs in response to an external stimulus, called a sign stimulus. The behavior is “fixed” because it is essentially unchangeable—proceeding similarly across individuals of a species every time it occurs.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Europe's bottlenecks to the operationalisation of Essential Biodiversity Variables for Environmental Policy Support.

npj biodiversity·2026

Same author

Who Is Paying the Extinction Debt? Phylogenetic and Functional Structuring on Greek Islands Is Shaped by Sea-Level Rise Since the Last Glacial Maximum.

Ecology and evolution·2026

Same author

Offshore wind farm avoidance by a discard-feeding seabird is independent of local fishing activity.

The Journal of animal ecology·2026

Same author

Plastic biovectoring by two closely-related gull species to coastal marshes.

Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)·2026

Same author

Habitat selection of three gull species in response to sudden changes in human mobility.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026

Same author

Best practice guidance for recreational and professional drones near colonial breeding birds.

PloS one·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 21, 2026

Long-term Video Tracking of Cohoused Aquatic Animals: A Case Study of the Daily Locomotor Activity of the Norway Lobster (Nephrops norvegicus)

Long-term Video Tracking of Cohoused Aquatic Animals: A Case Study of the Daily Locomotor Activity of the Norway Lobster (Nephrops norvegicus)

Published on: April 8, 2019

From sensor data to animal behaviour: an oystercatcher example.

Judy Shamoun-Baranes¹, Roeland Bom, E Emiel van Loon

¹Computational Geo-Ecology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. shamoun@uva.nl

|June 14, 2012

Summary

This study developed accurate models using animal-borne sensors to classify oystercatcher behavior. Accelerometer data proved more effective than GPS speed for distinguishing activities like flying and foraging.

More Related Videos

Decoding Natural Behavior from Neuroethological Embedding

Decoding Natural Behavior from Neuroethological Embedding

Published on: October 3, 2025

Recording Single Neurons' Action Potentials from Freely Moving Pigeons Across Three Stages of Learning

Recording Single Neurons' Action Potentials from Freely Moving Pigeons Across Three Stages of Learning

Published on: June 2, 2014

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 21, 2026

Long-term Video Tracking of Cohoused Aquatic Animals: A Case Study of the Daily Locomotor Activity of the Norway Lobster (Nephrops norvegicus)

Long-term Video Tracking of Cohoused Aquatic Animals: A Case Study of the Daily Locomotor Activity of the Norway Lobster (Nephrops norvegicus)

Published on: April 8, 2019

Decoding Natural Behavior from Neuroethological Embedding

Decoding Natural Behavior from Neuroethological Embedding

Published on: October 3, 2025

Recording Single Neurons' Action Potentials from Freely Moving Pigeons Across Three Stages of Learning

Recording Single Neurons' Action Potentials from Freely Moving Pigeons Across Three Stages of Learning

Published on: June 2, 2014

Area of Science:

Animal behavior research
Bio-logging and sensor technology
Ecological fieldwork

Background:

Animal-borne sensors offer remote tracking of animal movement and physiology.
Current methods often infer behavior from sensor data without direct validation.
Accelerometers are used for movement and energy expenditure, mainly in marine species.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and validate models for classifying oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) behavior using sensor data.
To compare the accuracy of accelerometer-based models versus GPS-speed-based models.
To establish a workflow for behavior classification applicable to various species.

Main Methods:

Deployed GPS trackers and tri-axial accelerometers on three oystercatchers.
Conducted simultaneous visual observations of bird behavior in their natural habitat.
Developed supervised classification trees using sensor data and observational data.

Main Results:

Accelerometer-based models achieved higher accuracy (0.14 error) in classifying behaviors (fly, terrestrial locomotion, no movement) compared to GPS-speed models (0.35 error).
A parsimonious acceleration model distinguished five out of eight behaviors (fly, forage, body care, stand, sit) with 0.28 error.
Certain behaviors like aggression and prey handling could not be differentiated.

Conclusions:

Accelerometer data provides a more accurate method for classifying oystercatcher behavior than GPS speed alone.
The developed workflow facilitates the creation of behavior classification models for diverse species.
This approach enhances the study of free-living animal behavior and habitat utilization.