An automated system, based on microchips, for monitoring individual activity in wild small mammals

A new battery-operated system based on microchips has been developed for detecting free-moving, wild small mammals. An electronic identification unit connected to a portable data-logger can simultaneously accommodate up to eight detector antennae, which are positioned in the habitat of the species under study. The system can operate even in extreme weather conditions and has the capacity to distinguish and record individual mammals entering burrows or visiting artificial feeding stations. Detection events are stored in a data-logger and subsequently can be edited and analysed by many common software packages. A pilot study tested the system by monitoring the visits of three species of small mammals to artificial feeding stations. Further possible applications are discussed.