Introduction
Even though it was primarily developed for military purposes by the US army, the Global Positioning System (GPS) has since had several uses beyond military needs. The most recent one is that it has been found more useful in the scientific study of wildlife distribution than even imagined. As a matter of fact, today, scientific study of wildlife distribution significantly depends on the system. The Global Positioning Technology enables individuals to observe animal behavior from a distance without disturbing their natural behavior, that is to say, animals can be remotely observed without any form of physical involvement. To be precise, the system has been specifically used to observe the free range movement of wildlife from one geographical location to the next; a practical scenario is the study of elephant and lion distribution in Africa (Backman, 2011, p.33).
However, for this kind of observation to register success, there must be an initial physical contact, though, after which, the animals can remotely be observed. The original activity is to fit the wildlife with Global Positioning System receiver, a device that allows for the remote monitoring of the animals (John, 2012, p.27). After which, their physical location can be determined not by any means but using GPS signals sent to the satellites high above the earth surface. From a simplistic view, the use of satellite technology helps a great deal in determining wildlife physical location not in any sense but from the sense that the system functions within a global context. In other words, once an animal has been fitted with the device, its physical location can be precisely determined from any part of the world.
Discussion
The use of GPS technology to study wildlife distribution has brought about a breakthrough in the study of wildlife distribution, as a matter of fact; some of these studies were thought to be impractical, however, with the use of the technology things have turned out to the unexpected. Even though the system was still reserved for military purposes until 1990 when it was released for civilian use, many ecological activities have since turned out to be practical. Research has shown that Global Positioning System telemetry can provide highly accurate information about the temporal and spatial location of wildlife (Noah, 2013). All these can be effectively used to study the movement patterns, the feeding habits, and certain characteristics that ecologist would like to know about these animals, a typical case is the study of whale distribution in the Atlantic Ocean.
The major advantage of using GPS to study wildlife distribution is that it’s a non-invasive procedure, that is to say, the procedure can collect all the required information without any form of physical disturbance. The system has brought about a major revolution in ecology; it has eliminated the biasedness of human observation. In the past, all these were limited to the human ability to collect the required information, specifically observation. Still, the system has proved more useful in the study of wildlife distribution; extreme weather conditions significantly incapacitate human beings. However, GPS systems can operate under extreme conditions. Therefore, wildlife distribution can be studied even under winter or darkness. Moreover, GPS can be used to access inhabitable regions like the deep sea to study some of the fiercest mammals living under the wild waters of the seas (John, 2012, p.31).
Recently, the Global Positioning System has been coupled up with the much efficient data retrieval power of the Argos. That insinuates that ecologists can get the most accurate information since Argos technology gives the most accurate information. Basing arguments on the functionality of the hybrid system, that is, GPS/Argos, high precision data about various wildlife species can now be obtained (Backman, 2011). Furthermore, the use of both GPS/Argos gives a further freedom to substantial time investment; ecologists have since been relieved of the laborious and tiresome duty of manually obtaining information about animal locations. Previously, VHF-based location technologies greatly relied on human resources to collect the much-needed information on animal species, however, with the advent of GPS system all that has become a thing of the past. The advantages derived from using Global Positioning System ostensibly give ecologists more time to study some of the finer details of wildlife distribution. Today, a lot of information relating to wildlife distribution is freely available, thanks to GPS (Noah, 2013, p.45).
Conclusion
The advent of the Global Positioning System has brought about several advantages as far as the study of wildlife migration is concerned. Simply put, the use of the system has yielded some of the most yearned for ecological insights. As things stand, wildlife distribution has been realized to be having some motivational factors, from the studies derived from GPS; animals are distributed as they are due to some underlying ecological issues, be it food or suitable habitat (Backman, 2011, p.46). The advantages that come with the use of Global Positioning System are just incomparable; the system brings forth more useful information that can be used to advocate for or implement wildlife conservation activities. Unlike in the past where ecology was only limited to human activities, using the system sees to it that information can be retrieved on a 24-hour basis regardless of location.
References
Backman, L., (2011). Tracking the Small with the Smallest - Using Nanotechnology in Tracking
Wildlife Distribution. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, NJ: John Wiley and Sons
Publishers.
John, W., (2012). Stable Isotopes As One of Nature's Ecological Recorders. Trends in Ecology
and Evolution. Pearson: Pearson Hall Publishers.
Noah, A., (2013). Telemetry Techniques: A User Guide for Wildlife Research. London: MacGraw
Hill Publishers.
