Wildl. Soc. Bull. 20:232-233. 1992

                             WILDLIFE SOFTWARE
                                     
                   AUTOMATED MAPPING OF RADIOTELEMETRIC
                      LOCATIONS FOR WILDLIFE STUDIES
                                     
RYAN W. TANNER, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University,
     Corvallis, OR 97331

KEVIN M. KILBRIDE,1 Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University,
     Corvallis, OR 97331

JOHN A. CRAWFORD, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University,
     Corvallis, OR 97331

BILL A. WILLIAMS,2 Corvallis Environmental Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental
     Protection Agency, Corvallis, OR 97333

A. JON KIMERLING, Department of Geography, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
     97331

1 Present address:  U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 9317 N. E. Highway 99, Suite D,
Vancouver, WA  95665.
2 Present address:  Ecological Planning and Toxicology, Inc., 5010 S. W. Hout Street
Corvallis, OR  97333.

     Radiotelemetry has been used to study animal movements and to assess patterns
of environmental use. Telemetry studies can produce large numbers of animal locations,
which require data management, analysis, and sometimes geographical display. Computer
programs XYLOG (Dodge and Steiner 1986) and TRIANG (Garrott et al. 1986) were
developed to facilitate the management and analysis of telemetry location data. We
developed a computer program (MAP) that converts locations from a XYLOG or TRIANG file
to a format that can be imported into AutoCAD 10.0 (Autodesk, Inc., 2320 Marinship
Way, Sausalito, CA 94965). These locations can be combined with a file of study area
features for geographical display with AutoCAD (Fig. 1). MAP can be used to create
and edit a history file for each radio-tracked animal with location data from XYLOG
or TRIANG files processed during program operation. Animal locations from history
files may be selected based on a range of dates or status codes and combined with a
file of study area features for geographical display with AutoCAD.
     MAP was written in Turbo Pascal 5.5 (Borland International, 1800 Green Hills
Road, Scotts Valley, CA 95067) and designed for use with AutoCAD 10.0. Location data
in XYLOG or TRIANG files may be processed, but XYLOG file format is required for
program operation. Consequently, TRIANG files must first undergo a format conversion.
A program option permits the user to convert a TRIANG file into a XYLOG file. XYLOG
files contain 4-character animal identifiers (e.g., A100), time and date based upon
the computer internal clock, Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinates of
locations, and l-character status codes such as A or I to indicate whether the animal
is active (moving) or inactive (stationary). XYLOG files derived from TRIANG files
contain T's for status codes because TRIANG files do not store them. A text editor
may be used to replace T's with desired status codes.


Fig. 1. Flow chart for XYLOG or TRIANG, MAP, and AutoCAD programs to map locations
of radio-tracked wildlife.


     AutoCAD is used to generate a file with study area features in drawing (dwg)
format. An IBM compatible computer (ò512 K memory, numeric coprocessor, ò10 Mb hard
disk, ò360 K floppy drive) is required to create a dwg file of study area features
from a source sheet (e.g., topographic map) with AutoCAD and a digitizing tablet with
a crosshair cursor. The digitizing tablet is required to create the dwg file of the
study area. The computer with AutoCAD plus an AutoCAD-compatible plotter and a mouse
are required to run MAP, manipulate files of mapped locations, and produce plotter
outputs.
     Program options are available to map locations either from a XYLOG file with
locations for multiple radio-tracked animals or from a MAP-generated history file,
which has the same format as a XYLOG file. After completion of queries and program
operation, a file is produced that is in a format (data transfer format [dxf]) that
can be imported into AutoCAD. AutoCAD commands to combine animal locations in the dxf
file with the dwg file of the study area include '-edit a dwg file," ''dxfin," and
"zoom." "Area" and "dist" commands may be used for analysis of mapped locations. The
"plot" command can be used to generate study area maps with animal locations. MAP is
available from the Bird Monitor bulletin board (301/498-0402).
     Acknowledgments. - R. G. Anthony, R. L. Jarvis, and D. A. Leckenby reviewed
this manuscript. The study was supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) through Assistance Agreement CR813661 to Oregon State University. The manuscript
was not subjected to EPA review, does not necessarily reflect EPA views, nor should
official endorsement be inferred. This paper is Technical Publication 8857 of the
Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station.

                             LITERATURE CITED

DODGE, W. E., AND A. J. STEINER. 1986. XYLOG: a computer program for field processing
     locations. U.S. Fish and Wildl. Serv., Fish Wildl. Tech. Rep. 4. 22pp.

GARROTT, R. A., G. C. WHITE, R. M. BARTMANN, AND D. L. WEYBRIGHT. 1986. Reflected
     signal bias in biotelemetry triangulation systems. J. Wildl. Manage. 50
     747-752.

Received 5 June 1989.
Accepted 26 November 1991.
Software Editor: Samuels/Rexstad.