Recently, the Interagency Satellite Needs Working Group has identified the potential for increased availability of animal movement data, the dynamic integration with remotely sensed data, and the novel computational tools to support data-informed decision-making across U.S. agencies. Consequently, NASA established the Internet of Animals initiative which aims to identify high priority science questions, applied objectives, and future observation systems needs.

This event is the first in an intended series of workshops to be hosted by the Max Planck-Yale Center for Biodiversity and Global Change at Yale University on 2-4 Nov 2022. The meeting will bring together ca. 15-25 experts from academia, agencies, and beyond to discuss and identify:

1. Key research, management, and conservation objectives for spaceborne tracking of animal movements and lives;
2. Associated observation system capability needs (e.g., the size and lifetime of tags, the accuracy and cadence of geolocation knowledge, ancillary in-situ measurements or remote sensing products, the latency between a location observation and end-user availability of that information);
3. Higher-level product needs (e.g. home ranges, migratory pathways, habitat use, connectivity metrics, etc.) and data infrastructure for exploring, monitoring, visualizing, and communicating animal movements and lives; and,
4. Potential synergies, partnerships, and high priority opportunities.

Symposium speakers include: Ryan Pavlick (NASA JPL), Martin Wikelski (Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior), Walter Jetz (Yale), Peter Marra (Georgetown University), Tanya Berger-Wolf (Ohio State University), Jill Deppe (Audubon), Ruth Oliver (U. California Santa Barbara), Autumn-Lynn Harrison (Smithsonian), Scott Rogerson (NOAA), Cara Wilson (NOAA), Tobey Curtis (NOAA), Ian Brosnan (NASA AMES),  Ben Carlson (Yale), and more.

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Poster Session

The symposium will also include a poster session on November 2. This poster session will be open to the public and will include contributions and attendees from a wide array of disciplines in academia, conservation NGOs, and government agencies.

Posters should broadly relate to the fields of movement ecology, space-based Earth observation for biodiversity science,  remote sensing, conservation and management of mobile species, and/or emerging technologies in animal ecology. We take an explicitly broad view of the session remit and particularly invite contributions that span discipline boundaries or offer a forward-looking perspective on these topics as well as projects which demonstrate the potential utility of animal movement and associated data types. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Posters should be no larger than 48” wide X 36” tall. Alternative sizes may be accommodated on a case-by-case basis - please contact the organizers (scott.yanco@yale.edu and/or alexander.killion@yale.edu) if you have questions about poster format.

Poster abstracts can be submitted here:  https://forms.gle/tSCRjsL9LA2SKYBA8

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