Utilization and development of biologging in marine mammal studies

Abstract

In recent years, studies on wild animals have advanced with a technique termed “Bio-logging,” which uses data loggers that are attached to animals to measure parameters that are normally difficult to observe directly. Bio-logging was first used to study the basic diving physiology of marine mammals. Currently, its application has been expanded to the measurement of an array of diverse parameters, including depth, swimming velocity, acceleration, geomagnetic field, horizontal location, sound, heart rate, and to record videos. In this article, we summarize studies conducted on the diving physiology, behavioral ecology, and biomechanics of marine mammals using bio-logging technology. In recent years, bio-logging has been used for the investigation of animal ecology, oceanographic observation, and the management of livestock and pets. In this article, we present these latter cases, and discuss the future development of bio-logging.