![]() This underscores the importance of and value in integrating multiple tracking sensors for studies of movement ecology. Positional tracking alone would have missed the major activity events as they rarely resulted in large positional displacements. ![]() Accelerometer data revealed that toads exhibited brief but intense activity bursts between 10 pm and midnight, resting periods during the night and intermittent activity during the day. Hence, we confirmed the predominantly nocturnal activity patterns and recorded low overall movement at this urban site. We demonstrate that our devices could reliably monitor toad movement and activity during the observation period. A total of nine toads were tracked, ranging from three to nine tracking days per individual during the post-breeding season period. We deploy custom made tracking devices, that consist of very-high-frequency transmitters and tri-axial accelerometers, to track toads in their native urban environment in Vienna (Austria). However, recent advances make it possible to use such devices on smaller animals such as the European green toad ( Bufotes viridis), the focus of our current study. Previously, such accelerometers were restricted to larger animals due to size and mass constraints. In addition, high-resolution accelerometer sensors provide powerful insights into animal activity patterns and can help to identify specific behaviors from accelerometer profiles alone. Advancements in tracking technologies provide an increasingly important tool in animal monitoring and conservation that can describe animal spatial behavior in native habitats and uncover migratory routes that otherwise may be difficult or impossible to map.
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