A data storage tag (DST), also sometimes known as an archival tag, is a combination of a

data logger A data logger (also datalogger or data recorder) is an electronic device that records data over time or about location either with a built-in instrument or sensor or via external instruments and sensors. Increasingly, but not entirely, they a ...

and multiple sensors that record data at predetermined intervals. DSTs usually have a large memory size and a long lifetime: most are supported by batteries that allow the tag to record positions for several years. Alternatively some tags are solar powered and allow the scientist to set their own interval; this then allows data to be recorded for significantly longer than battery-only powered tags.

Operation

Data storage tags can have a variety of sensors; temperature, depth, light,

salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensionless and equal ...

, pressure, pitch and roll, GPS, magnetic and compass. They can be used internally or externally in

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% ...

, marine animals or

research animals Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...

. They are also used in other industries such as the food and beverage industry. At the end of the monitoring period, the loggers can be connected to a computer and the data uploaded for analysis. Data collected by data storage tags can be used to infer locations of the animal when it is at large.

Deployment

Archival tags archive data to internal memory. Once they are recovered the data is then extracted by the researcher. The tag is generally mounted to the animal either by cutting a slit into the animal, inserting the tag, and sewing the opening closed. Alternatively researchers externally attach tags to animals by running anchor lines through the tag and into the dorsal fin for most "fish" species. For turtles the tag is epoxied to the shell of the turtle.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Data storage tag Digital electronics Research methods Data recovery Fisheries science Sensors

Operation

Deployment

See also

Notes