A biological data acquisition platform for problem animals in agricultural areas

An increase in mesopredator population size has significantly impacted South Africa’s red meat farming industry and the farming community. The problem is difficult to analyse, has many aspects and the behaviour of these animals is poorly understood. To this end, this thesis investigated the design of a biotelemetry system capable of contributing behavioural information for such animals in agricultural areas. The system is aimed at capturing video and environmental data, for subsequent transmission to an online database, to contribute possible research material for environmental and wildlife biologists. Simulation software is utilised to analyse and optimise the system’s designed network strategy. A theoretical throughput analysis investigated the performance of the system. The results from a series of outdoor tests, one at a rural agricultural farm in Nuwerus and another on an equestrian farm, are utilised to evaluate the system performance. It was found that when the system detected movement, video data was successfully captured without human intervention and thereafter transmitted to a dedicated storage platform. Environmental data and transmission log files were additionally captured and transmitted to the platform.

Grantor dc:publisher

Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Le Roux, Megan

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Wolhuter, R.
• Niesler, T.
• Duckitt, Willliam

Language dc:language.iso

en

Repository record dc:identifier.uri

https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/136289

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/136289