GPS Plus Manual - VECTRONIC Aerospace€¦ · GPS Plus Data Manager will use it automatically, if the R(D)Com Server is installed (see chapter 2.1 GPS Plus Data Manager installation)

Project:

GPS Plus Data Manager

Title:

Master Manual

Document No.: GPDM-D001

Version: 1.0.0

Last Change: 05.01.2009

VECTRONIC AerospaceProject: GPS Plus Data ManagerDoc. No.: GPDM-D001Date: 05.01.2009

Name Date Signature

Prepared by V. Zimmermann 05.01.2009

Checked by R. Schulte

Approved by R. Schulte

Authorized by R. Schulte

This design is the property of VECTRONIC Aerospace GmbH. Unauthorized duplication or distribution to a third party is prohibited.

VE Aerospace 2 /44 GPS Plus Data Manager.odt


DOCUMENT CHANGE RECORD

Issue Date Item(s) Affected Description

1 26.09.2001 - Initial Issue




Table of Contents1 Product overview...................................................................................................................72 Installation and Configuration............................................................................................8

2.1 GPS Plus Data Manager installation..................................................................................82.2 PostgreSQL and PostGIS Installation................................................................................82.3 R installation......................................................................................................................82.4 Starting the program..........................................................................................................8

3 The interface........................................................................................................................103.1 Main Menu.......................................................................................................................103.2 Tool bar............................................................................................................................11

4 Usage....................................................................................................................................124.1 Configuring your program...............................................................................................12

4.1.1 Export – Local mean time......................................................................................................................134.1.2 Export – GPS – ASCII...........................................................................................................................134.1.3 Export – GPS - CSV...............................................................................................................................134.1.4 Export – GPS – DBase Table.................................................................................................................144.1.5 Export – GPS – Google Earth................................................................................................................144.1.6 Formatting – Number.............................................................................................................................154.1.7 Formatting – Date...................................................................................................................................154.1.8 Formatting – Time..................................................................................................................................164.1.9 Home range............................................................................................................................................174.1.10 Database...............................................................................................................................................17

4.2 Creating a new Database.................................................................................................194.2.1 Prerequisites...........................................................................................................................................194.2.2 Database creation...................................................................................................................................19

4.3 Database Maintenance.....................................................................................................214.4 Set up a database connection...........................................................................................224.5 Selecting a database connection......................................................................................224.6 Making a database backup...............................................................................................224.7 Restoring a database from a backup................................................................................234.8 Import Data Files.............................................................................................................244.9 Basic categories...............................................................................................................25

4.9.1 Species....................................................................................................................................................254.9.2 Collar models.........................................................................................................................................254.9.3 Battery types...........................................................................................................................................264.9.4 Colours...................................................................................................................................................26

4.10 Animals..........................................................................................................................274.10.1 Creating a new animal..........................................................................................................................274.10.2 Editing animal properties.....................................................................................................................274.10.3 Removing an animal.............................................................................................................................284.10.4 Viewing an animals data......................................................................................................................28

4.11 Collars............................................................................................................................294.11.1 Creating a new collar............................................................................................................................304.11.2 Editing collar properties.......................................................................................................................304.11.3 Removing a collar................................................................................................................................314.11.4 Viewing a collars data..........................................................................................................................31

4.12 Links..............................................................................................................................324.12.1 Linking a collar to an animal................................................................................................................324.12.2 Editing link properties..........................................................................................................................334.12.3 Removing a link...................................................................................................................................33

4.13 Selections.......................................................................................................................334.13.1 Creating a new selection......................................................................................................................34




4.13.2 Editing a selection................................................................................................................................354.13.3 Removing a selection...........................................................................................................................364.13.4 Viewing a selections data.....................................................................................................................36

4.14 Home range....................................................................................................................384.14.1 Creating a home range..........................................................................................................................384.14.2 Exporting a home range.......................................................................................................................394.14.3 Removing a home range.......................................................................................................................40

4.15 Convex hull....................................................................................................................404.15.1 Creating a convex hull..........................................................................................................................404.15.2 Exporting a convex hull.......................................................................................................................414.15.3 Removing a convex hull.......................................................................................................................41

4.16 Trajectory.......................................................................................................................414.16.1 Creating a trajectory.............................................................................................................................414.16.2 Exporting a trajectory...........................................................................................................................424.16.3 Removing a trajectory..........................................................................................................................42

4.17 Exporting data................................................................................................................42




List of figuresFigure 1: About Box showing at start-up................................................................................................9Figure 2: Program main window in collar mode...................................................................................10Figure 3: Settings dialogue initial view................................................................................................12Figure 4: Local mean time settings for export......................................................................................13Figure 5: ASCII/CSV/DBase Table export column selection frame.....................................................14Figure 6: Google Earth (KML/KMZ) export configuration frame........................................................15Figure 7: Number formatting frame......................................................................................................15Figure 8: Date formatting frame...........................................................................................................16Figure 9: Time formatting frame..........................................................................................................16Figure 10: Home range parameter settings...........................................................................................17Figure 11: Empty database configuration frame...................................................................................18Figure 12: Database configuration frame with configured connection.................................................18Figure 13: Introduction of wizard.........................................................................................................19Figure 14: PostgreSQL Server Access frame........................................................................................19Figure 15: Database creation parameters..............................................................................................20Figure 16: Summary of settings............................................................................................................20Figure 17: Creation log of Wizard........................................................................................................20Figure 18: Database configuration dialogue.........................................................................................21Figure 19: Database backup dialogue...................................................................................................22Figure 20: Database restore dialogue....................................................................................................23Figure 21: New/Edit animal dialogue...................................................................................................24Figure 22: Animal statistics tab sheet...................................................................................................25Figure 23: Positions tab sheet of animal...............................................................................................26Figure 24: Positions tab sheet of animal...............................................................................................26Figure 25: New/Edit collar dialogue.....................................................................................................27Figure 26: Animal statistics tab sheet...................................................................................................28Figure 27: Animal statistics tab sheet...................................................................................................28Figure 28: New/Edit link dialogue........................................................................................................29Figure 29: Add selection dialogue........................................................................................................31Figure 30: Editing a selection...............................................................................................................32Figure 31: Basic Data tab sheet of selection.........................................................................................33Figure 32: Statistics tab sheet of selection............................................................................................33Figure 33: Positions tab sheet of selection............................................................................................34Figure 34: Polygon home range............................................................................................................36Figure 35: Raster home range...............................................................................................................36Figure 36: Convex Hull as “elastic band”.............................................................................................37Figure 37: Trajectory of positions.........................................................................................................38




1 Product overviewThe GPS Plus Data Manager is used as a front end to a PostgreSQL Database containing po-sition, activity, and GSM quality data. It provides easy and structured access to large amounts of data and tools for simple analysis of it.The user interface is intuitive and simple. It provides powerful analysis, such as home range calculation, at the click of a button. Define your own subset of measurements and analyse it within the GPS Plus Data Manager or export the points to a range of file formats, such as text, CSV, DBase table, GPX (GPs eXchange format), BTX (Bio-Telemetry eXchange format), and google earth (KML/KMZ: Keyhole Markup Language).




2 Installation and Configuration

2.1 GPS Plus Data Manager installation

Installation is simple and straightforward: On the media (CD, hard disk) there is one file: GP_DM_1.0.0_Setup.exe. Start it and follow the instructions.Within the installation you can choose, which components of the software package you would like to install. The current version only has two packages: “Basic Functionality” and “R(D)COM Server”. Basic Functionality is the GPS Plus Data Manager and its support files. This is the main program and the one you should install in any case. R(D)COM Server is a support program, that lets you use the R statistics program from within other applications. It is needed, if you want to calculate home ranges with the GPS Plus Data Manager. To do this you will have to install the R program on your computer, too.

2.2 PostgreSQL and PostGIS Installation

To use the GPS Plus Data Manager you need a running PostgreSQL database server of at least Version 8.2 with the PostGIS spatial extension. Server in this case is a piece of software and not a dedicated computer. This server may run on your local computer or on any com-puter reachable via your network connection.To install PostgreSQL start postgresql8.2-int.msi and follow the instructions.You need administration rights to the PostgreSQL server to install PostGIS. Start postgis-pg82-setup-1.3.3-1.exe on the computer the PostgreSQL server is running on and follow the instructions You can deselect the “Create spatial database” component as you will only need a PostGIS template, that will be created in any case, later.

2.3 R installation

To calculate home ranges GPS Plus Data Manager needs the R program to be installed on the computer GPS Plus Data Manager is running on. To install it start R-2.7.2-win32.exe and follow the instructions.GPS Plus Data Manager will use it automatically, if the R(D)Com Server is installed (see chapter 2.1 GPS Plus Data Manager installation).

2.4 Starting the program

After installation the program can be started without rebooting windows. Just start the GP_DM program from the windows start menu it is located in the GPS Plus start menu folder.




The About Box will show up (see Figure 1). You may click on the OK button or just wait a few seconds to make it disappear. It can be brought up again at any time by clicking on the logo in the centre of the main form or via the file menu About item. The About Box contains two links: A link to the homepage of VECTRONIC Aerospace and an email link to VECTRONIC Aerospace.

Figure 1: About Box showing at start-up




3 The interfaceThe program is a sizeable window. On top there is the main menu bar with a toolbar below. On the left side there is a drop down list to select the database; in Figure 1 “VECTRONIC Wildlife” is selected as database. Below it is a tree view of the database with the display name. The right side of the main form shows a default image. It will display different inform-ation depending on the item selected in the tree view.

Figure 2: Program main window in collar mode

3.1 Main Menu

The main menu has the following structure:• File• Settings: General program configuration options• Import Data Files: Import position and activity data files• About: Show the About Box• Close: End the program

• Database• Configure: Configure database connections• Reload: Refresh the tree view• Vacuum: Clean up database• Database Creation Wizard: Create a new database• Backup: Make a backup of the database




• Restore: Restore the database• Nodes• Add Animal: Create a new animal• Add Collar: Create a new collar• Add Link: Create a new Collar-Animal Link• Add Selection: Create a new selection of positions• Edit Node: Edit the current Node in the tree view• Remove Node: Deletes the current Node in the tree view

3.2 Tool bar

The toolbar gives access to the most used commands. The following command are available:

Configure database connections

Refresh the tree view

Create a new animal

Create a new collar

Create a new link

Create a new selection of positions

Edit properties of selected node

Delete selected node




4 UsageIn this chapter you will find instructions on how to achieve certain goals, like creating a new animal, making a backup of the database, or creating a convex hull.

4.1 Configuring your program

The program has a centralized settings form. In this dialogue you can configure program wide settings. This includes export formatting, display formatting of numbers, dates, and times, configuration of home range parameters and database connections.On the left of the form is a tree view, that contains categories you can configure. Not all of them contain configurable options. Some show only a message as shown in Figure 3. These nodes are only parents for other sub-nodes and only used for structuring the tree. When you select a node the content on the right will change. You then can configure the selected set-tings.After you have done your changes you can either click OK, which applies the settings and closes the form, click Cancel and discard them, or click Apply to apply the settings without closing the form. Cancel only discards changes made after opening the dialogue or the last ap-ply has been done. When applying, the format settings changes will be immediately visible in the programs main form, if corresponding data is visible.

Figure 3: Settings dialogue initial view




4.1.1 Export – Local mean time

These settings apply only to exports. Local mean time is, on the contrary to UTC/GMT, the local time you can configure to your needs. It is only used for exporting. So if you want to use a local time in your external analysis, you can configure it here. By default the windows time zone settings are used (first radio button). This also means, that daylight saving time will be used.If you choose to use custom time zone settings, you can not only use any time zone defined in windows, but also disable the use of daylight saving time. This will prevent jumps in local mean time (LMT) when exporting data including a date where time changes.

Figure 4: Local mean time settings for export

4.1.2 Export – GPS – ASCII

These settings apply only to exports. When exporting to an ASCII file, you can select the columns you want to have and their order. To select columns you can simply drag and drop the column names from the available columns box to the used columns box and vice versa or you can select multiple columns and press the “<- Remove” to move them from used to avail-able and “Add ->” to move them from available to used. To change the order you can drag and drop them within the used columns or use the “up” and “down” buttons to move the se-lected column on row up or down. The uppermost column will be the leftmost in the resulting file.Be aware, that there are three such configurations, one for ASCII, one for CSV, and one for DBase Table. If the result doesn't match your expectations, please check if you changed the correct configuration.

4.1.3 Export – GPS - CSV

This works the same way as the ASCII export, except that it configures the comma separated values file export. Please refer to chapter 4.1.2 Export – GPS – ASCII.




4.1.4 Export – GPS – DBase Table

This works the same way as the ASCII export, except that it configures the DBase table file export. Please refer to chapter 4.1.2 Export – GPS – ASCII.

Figure 5: ASCII/CSV/DBase Table export column selection frame

4.1.5 Export – GPS – Google Earth

These settings apply only to exports. Google earth is a free GIS tool, that offers a simple inter-face to import your data. This interface is called Keyhole Markup Language or KML for short. It comes in two flavours: ASCII so that humans you can read it and as a compressed file, KMZ for short. Both file types contain the same data. KMZ is not human readable but re-duces the size of the files drastically.The exported data will be shown as single yellow dots connected by a yellow polyline. The first and the last positions will be marked with a red or green square box respectively. You can choose to hide the fixes (dots) or the track (polyline) by unchecking the corresponding check boxes. This will not remove the information from the file but only disable its visibility and can be enabled in Google Earth in the Places Side Bar at any time. Two more options configure the positions appearance: Clamp to ground sets the altitude of the markers always to ground level. Extrude Track Path will show a semi transparent wall as the animals track. Though it is possible, it will not make much sense to use both options together since the ex-truded path will not be visible when the positions will always be on the ground.The View options control the view point of the user in Google Earth. The last position in time will always be the position in centre of the view. The Heading parameter gives the angle which direction is “up” on the map: 0 means North is up, 90 means East is up, 180 means South is up, and 270 means West is up. The Tilt parameter works similar: 0° means looking straight down, perpendicular to the ground, 45 means looking down at an angle of 45 degrees in the direction given by the Heading parameter, while 90 means looking at the horizon in the direction given by the Heading parameter.




Figure 6: Google Earth (KML/KMZ) export configuration frame

4.1.6 Formatting – Number

These settings apply to exports as well as numbers displayed in the program. It defines the ap-pearance of numbers and lists.By default the program will use the settings windows is using (“use windows format” radio button). If you choose “use custom format” you can select a symbol as decimal separator from the drop down list or enter your own character. Only single characters are allowed as a separ-ator. The same applies to the list separator, which is used by the CSV Export to separate the columns, with the exception that it offers “<Tabulator>” as a selection from the drop down box. In this case the tabulator character is used as the list separator. The result of the configur-ation is immediately displayed in the Format Example box.

Figure 7: Number formatting frame

4.1.7 Formatting – Date

These settings apply to exports as well as dates displayed in the program. It defines the ap-pearance of calendar dates.By default the program will use the settings windows is using (“use windows format” radio button). If you choose “use custom format” you can select the date separator character and the




date format containing order and length of the dates components. The date separator is a single printable character. Common values are '-', '.', and '/'. The date format can be selected from the drop down box or be entered manually. Be aware, that only the slash will be accep-ted as the placeholder for the date separator. You can not enter any other characters than “y”, “m”, “d”, and “/”.

Figure 8: Date formatting frame

4.1.8 Formatting – Time

These settings apply to exports as well as times displayed in the program. It defines the ap-pearance of calendar dates.

Figure 9: Time formatting frame

By default the program will use the settings windows is using (“use windows format” radio button). If you choose “use custom format” you can select the time separator character, the time format containing order and length of the dates components, AM and PM symbols. The time separator is a single printable character. Common values are ':' and '.'. The time format can be selected from the drop down box or be entered manually. Be aware, that only the colon will be accepted as the placeholder for the date separator. You can not enter any other charac-ters than “h”, “m”, “s”, “a”, “p”, and “:”.




If you use the “ampm” string in your time format, 12-hour formatting will be used. 24-hour formatting is used in any other case.

4.1.9 Home range

These settings control various parameters used by the home range calculation. You can select the Kernel, the smoothing parameter method and their parameter values, the grid raster, and if, when multiple home ranges are to be calculated from one selection, all should use the same grid size. Theses parameters are all derived from the ade habitat R library home range calcula-tion, which is used to calculate the home ranges.The Polygon Level parameter gives the percentage of the polygonal home range stored in the database.

Figure 10: Home range parameter settings

4.1.10 Database

The database connections are configured in this form. Without a configured database connec-tion, you will have no database to work with.To create a new connection, click on the yellow database symbol with the green plus sign on it. You can then enter Database settings on the right. After all data is entered, you have to click on the apply button in the database settings, not the apply button for the settings form it-self. The new connection will appear with its display name in the list.By selecting en entry from the list its properties will be displayed on the right side. You can then edit them by clicking on the edit button with the database symbol and the pencil on it. To discard any changes in the edit mode, you can click on the database settings cancel button, to store them click on the database settings apply button.To remove a connection from the list, select it and click on the remove button with the data-base symbol and the minus sign on it.




The following database properties can be configured:• Display Name: The text displayed in the database connection box.• Host: The computer, where the PostgreSQL server is running on. If PostgreSQL is installed

on the same Computer as the Data Manager, you can use “localhost”. Otherwise enter a val-id TCP/IP name or address. “VECTRONIC-Aerospace.com” as well as “82.165.89.128” would be syntactically valid entries.

• Port: The TCP/IP port of the PostgreSQL server. Usually this is 5432, but the server can be configured to use any value in the range of 0 to 65535

• Database: The name of the database. There may be several databases hosted by one data-base server. You have to select the one you want to use.

• Username: Username of the database user.• Password: Password of the database user.

Figure 11: Empty database configuration frame

Figure 12: Database configuration frame with configured connection




4.2 Creating a new Database

To use the program you need to create a database. This requires as prerequisite: A running PostgreSQL with a PostGIS extension.

4.2.1 Prerequisites

Before you can create a database, you need a running database server. The GPS Plus Data-base Manager will only work with PostgreSQL version 8.2 or higher as the database server. Furthermore the spatial extension PostGIS version 1.3 or higher has to be installed in the data-base server. So the first thing you have to do is get a PostgreSQL server with PostGIS up and running. On the installation media there is a PostgreSQL ZIP file (postgresql-8.2.4-1.zip) containing all files for the installation. You can install PostgreSQL either on your local machine or on any machine you have administration access to and which is reachable by your computer via network.After PostgreSQL is installed you have to install PostGIS on the database server. There is a setup executable on the installation media (postgis-pg82-setup-1.3.3-1.exe). Run on the same computer on which the PostgreSQL server is installed on to install PostGIS. To test the connection to a PostgreSQL server we recommend pgAdmin III. You can get it on http://www.pgadmin.org.

4.2.2 Database creation

To create a new and empty database select Database Creation Wizard... from the Database menu. A wizard will appear with a short Introduction of what is necessary to create a data-base.Throughout the Database creation the wizard will always have four buttons at the bottom. De-pending on the situation they will be enabled or disabled. The “<< Back” button goes one step



Figure 13: Introduction of wizard Figure 14: PostgreSQL Server Access frame


back in the wizards dialogues. Next >> moves on to the next dialogue. Finish will only be act-ive when the last frame is done. It will close the wizard. The “Cancel” button will terminate the wizard at any stage.

Next you have to enter the database administration access data:• Server name or IP address: The computer, where the PostgreSQL server is running on. If

PostgreSQL is installed on the same Computer as the Data Manager, you can use “localhost”. Otherwise enter a valid TCP/IP name or address. “VECTRONIC-Aerospace.com” as well as “82.165.89.128” would be syntactically valid entries.

• PostgreSQL Port: The TCP/IP port of the PostgreSQL server. Usually this is 5432, but the server can be configured to use any value in the range of 0 to 65535

• PostgreSQL Admin Username: Username of the PostgreSQL administration user.• PostgreSQL Admin Password: Password of the PostgreSQL administration user.In the next step you define the parameters of your new database. You need an owner of the database. Select if you want to create a new user as the owner of the database or if an existing user shall be the owner. In the first case you have to enter a new Database Owner Name, that is not listed in the drop down box, and enter a password twice to prevent typos. In the latter case just select a name from the Database Owner Name drop down box as the owner of your new database.Database creation works in a similar pattern: Choose, if you either want to create a totally new database or to use an existing, but empty, PostGIS database. In the first case you have to enter a new Database Name, that is not listed in the drop down box and select a PostGIS template from the drop down box. The drop down box lists all databases on the server that are PostGIS enabled. Not all of them are just templates. A good choice



Figure 17: Creation log of Wizard

Figure 15: Database creation parameters Figure 16: Summary of settings


would be something like “postgis” or “postgis_template”. If you are unsure, ask the person re-sponsible for the database server.If you want to use an existing but empty database, just select one from the Database Name drop down box.The next frame you get to see is a summary of your selections.The last frame, called Creation, is executing what you configured. You will see the com-mands, that are used for creating your database, and the results of them.

4.3 Database Maintenance

Every time you add data to the database it gets bigger and the access to the data gets slower. But the reason is only partly caused by the size. The other reason is that the indexes for searching data are not automatically updated so the data is kind of “not sorted”, which makes access to it slower.To clean up and re-index your database call the vacuum command from the database menu, especially after adding or removing a lot of data. Depending on the amount of changes this may take from a few seconds up to several minutes. Alternatively you can do this with your favourite database management tool, which probably offers more options and delivers a more detailed report.

Figure 18: Database configuration dialogue




4.4 Set up a database connection

To use a database you have to set up a database connection. Select Database – Configure from the main menu. It is the same as the Settings dialogue, except it only shows the database node in the tree. It is mainly in this menu for making it easier to find. Refer to chapter 4.1.10 Database of the Settings chapter.

4.5 Selecting a database connection

When you have set up at least one database connection you can select a database connection and connect to the database.In the main form is a drop down combo box right above the tree view. It contains all database connections you have configured listed by their display name. By selecting one of the data-bases from this list the previous database connection is closed and the a connection to the se-lected is opened. The tree view will then be populated with the data from the database. You can refresh the data in the tree view by clicking on the reload button in the toolbar.Any changes done to a database connection (like changing the server name) will only be ap-plied after reselecting it from the drop down combo box!

Figure 19: Database backup dialogue

4.6 Making a database backup

For security reasons it is reasonable to make a backup every now and then. A backup is al-ways made from the currently connected database.To start backup creation click on the “Backup...” menu item of the Database menu. Select or edit the file name and enter your user name and password. Then click the “Start” button. De-




pending on the size of the database this can take several minutes. He result is a SQL script containing the data of the database, but not the structure. This is important for restoring. You will only be able to restore to a database with a complete GPS Plus structure.

4.7 Restoring a database from a backup

Restoring a database will first clear all data from the current database and then fill the data-base with data from the backup. Any change of data done between the backup and the re-store will be lost. A restore is always done to the currently active database connection.A backup always needs a existing database structure it can be written to. It will not work on a database without a structure. There are two options for this: Create a new empty database structure with the database creation wizard or overwrite an existing database.To start a restore click on the “Restore...” menu item of the Database menu. Select or edit the file name and enter an administrative user name and password. Normal users do not have the rights to restore a database. Then click the “Start” button. Restoring is a lengthy process. It can easily take several hours on a medium sized database. The reason it takes that long, is not data transfer but, because of the calculation, which is done in the database for each posi-tion inserted. This calculation is done while the collar – animal links are created.

Figure 20: Database restore dialogue




4.8 Import Data Files

To get data into the database you need to read in the GPS data files (*.GDF) containing posi-tion data and the activity data files (*.ADF) containing activity and GSM quality data.Select the import data files command from the file menu. The form shown in Figure 21 will open up with no files in the list. Now select data files by clicking on the “Add..” button. An open file dialogue will show up. Select whatever GDF and/or ADF files you want to import. You can select both types at the same time, if they are in the same folder. To remove files from the list select them and click the “Remove” button. Click “Clear” to remove all files from the list. Clicking on “Start” will begin the import process.

Figure 21: Import data files form while importing

While importing data your form will look similar to Figure 21. The current file will be shown as “Processed File:” and the current record (of all files) will be shown together with the over all record count as “Record No:”. Importing works as follows: • Read the record from the file• Check if the record is already in the database by checking collar ID and acquisition time• If already in database, start over and read next record• Otherwise insert record into the raw data table• The database will add the collar to the collars table, if it is not already in it.• If a matching link with an animal exists to this collar add record to processed data table and

calculate supplementary information• Continue with next record until file has been read completely• Continue with next file until all files have been processedDepending on the connection speed to your database computer and the sped of the database computer, the import can take very long. Typically you can import a few records a second. Activity data is a little bit faster per record but normally you have much more activity records per collar than position records. Records already in the database are handled much faster than new record. You can cancel the import at any time by clicking the “Cancel” button.We strongly recommend to run the “vacuum” command after importing data (see chapter 4.3 Database Maintenance).




4.9 Basic categories

Some properties of animals and collars are categorized to allow definite selections and com-pares. Species is such a category. To assign a species to an animal you first have to enter it to the species table. This prevents spelling errors like “moose” and “mose”, which would be two different species in the database. Other categorises are collar models, battery types and collar colours.

4.9.1 Species

The species category allows you to predefine anim-al species. By doing so you can then do selections based on the species of the animal without worry-ing about spelling errors because when assigning a species to an animal you can do so only by select-ing from a list based on the species table. The same applies to the selection.

Adding a species is done by clicking on the add species button in the species toolbar. A

new row will be added to the list with an ID already filled in. Just enter a description for the species and you are done.Changing the description of a species is also easy: Click on the description and edit it. Be aware that the species description of all animals of this species will be changed.

Removing a species is done by clicking on the remove species button in the species toolbar. The currently selected species will be removed. You can not remove species

to which animals are associated to.

4.9.2 Collar models

The collar model category allows you to predefine collar models. When creating a database, the six collar models as seen in Figure 23, will automatic-ally be created.

Adding a collar model is done by clicking on the add model button in the collar model

toolbar. A new row will be added to the list with an ID already filled in. Just enter a description for the model and you are done.Changing the description of a model is also easy: Click on the description and edit it. Be aware that the model description of all collars of this model will be changed.



Figure 22: Species list with ID 4 selected

Figure 23: Collar model list


Removing a model is done by clicking on the remove model button in the collar model toolbar. The currently selected model will be removed. You can not remove models to

which collars are associated to.

4.9.3 Battery types

The battery type category allows you to predefine battery types. When creating a database, the seven battery types as seen in Figure 24, will automatic-ally be created. In contrast to the other categories, this one has three columns: ID, type, and descrip-tion. Type is the name of the battery and descrip-tion contains more detailed information about the battery.

Adding a battery type is done by clicking on the add battery button in the battery type

toolbar. A new row will be added to the list with an ID already filled in. Just enter short name as type and a description for the battery type and you are done.Changing the type short name or the description of a battery type is also easy: Click on the field and edit it. Be aware that the type short name and description of all collars with this battery type will be changed.

Removing a battery type is done by clicking on the remove model button in the battery type toolbar. The currently selected type will be removed. You can not remove battery

types currently used by a collar.

4.9.4 Colours

The colour category allows you to predefine collar colours. When creating a database, the eight collar colours as seen in Figure 25, will automatically be created.

Adding a colour is done by clicking on the add colour button in the colours toolbar. A

new row will be added to the list with an ID already filled in. Just enter a description for the colour and you are done.Changing the description of a colour is also easy: Click on the colour and edit it. Be aware that the colour description of all collars having this col-our will be changed.

Removing a colour is done by clicking on the remove colour button in the colours toolbar.

The currently selected colour will be removed. You can not remove colours currently used by collars.



Figure 24: Battery type list

Figure 25: Colour list


4.10Animals

Animals are the subject of any queries done in this program. Of course you can make a request to the database based on a collar, but not within this program. Animals are associated to positions by linking one or more collars with data to them.

4.10.1 Creating a new animal

When creating an animal, you will have to enter some basic data regard-

ing the animal. There are several ways to open the this dialogue.• Click on the add animal button on the

main toolbar.• Press the Ctrl-N while the node “Anim-

als” or any animal is selected in the main tree view.

• Select “Create Animal...” from the Nodes menu.A dialogue will open up showing all fields available as animal information. Bold fields are mandatory, all others are optional and just for your information or manual database queries. The fields have the following meaning:• Animal Code: This field is mandatory. A five character code for identification purposes.• Species Code: This field is mandatory. It defines the animals species. Select a species from

the drop down box. Species can be defined in the Basic categories section of the tree.• Sex: This field is mandatory. It defines the sex of the animal.• Name: A 40 character string to enter a (nick-)name.• Date of Birth: Since it is difficult to determine the day of birth of an animal, only month

and year can be specified.• Note: Anything you might want to remember regarding this collar. If you resize the dia-

logue, this field will get bigger.

4.10.2 Editing animal properties

The edit animal dialogue is the same as the new animal dialogue. There are several ways to open the this dialogue of an existing animal:• Double-click on the animal in the main tree view.• Press the enter key while the animal is selected• Right click on the animal and select “Edit Animal...” in the pop-up menu• Click on the edit button showing a pencil on the main toolbar while the collar is selected• Select “Edit Node...” from the Nodes menu while the collar is selected.



Figure 26: New/Edit animal dialogue


4.10.3 Removing an animal

In general there is no way of undoing a remove operation. So be very careful with this com-mand. There are several ways to remove a animal from the database:• Press the Del key while the animal is selected• Right click on the animal and select “Remove Animal” in the pop-up menu• Click on the remove button showing a diagonal red cross on the main toolbar while the col-

lar is selected• Select “Remove Node...” from the Nodes menu while the collar is selected.A message asking for confirmation will always be shown before executing this command. Re-moving a animal linked with one or more collars will trigger a message listing all collars linked to this collar and ask for confirmation. The links will also be removed if the animal is removed.

4.10.4 Viewing an animals data

To view an animals data, just select it in the main tree view. All data available will be shown on the right part of the main window. There are four categories of data, which are organized in tabs, available for each animal: Basic data, statistics, posi-tions, and observations.The basic data tab contains the data entered when creating a new animal plus the internal animal ID of the database.The statistics tab sheet provides simple statistical information about the animals movement. The following information is available:• Records: Number of position records

associated with the animal.• Valid Positions: Number of records

having position data.• Valid Positions [%]: Valid positions

percentage of all records. • First Record: Date of oldest record.• Last Record: Date of newest record.• Total Time: Time difference between

first and last record in days and hours.• Average Time: Average fix time peri-

od.• Total distance: Distance travelled in

study period in meters.• Average Distance: Average travelling

distance between two fixes in meters.



Figure 27: Animal statistics tab sheet


• Std. Deviation Distance: Standard deviation of average distance in meters.• Maximum Speed: Highest speed between two consecutive fixes in meters per hour.• Average Speed: Average speed between two consecutive fixes in meters per hour.• Std. Deviation Speed: Standard deviation of average speed in meters per hour.• Average Relative Angle: Relative Angle is the change of heading at a fix. Zero means not

change in heading, 90° means the next fix is either 90° to the right or left.• Std. Deviation Relative Angle: The standard deviation of the average relative angle.• Minimum Longitude: The animals most western longitude of all its fixes.• Average Longitude: The animals average longitude of all its fixes.• Maximum Longitude: The animals most eastern longitude of all its fixes.• Minimum Latitude: The animals most southern latitude of all its fixes.• Average Latitude: The animals average latitude of all its fixes.• Maximum Latitude: The animals most northern latitude of all its fixes.The positions tab sheet contains a table with all fixes of the selected animal. You can scroll through the table and check single posi-tions. At the moment it is for your information only. If you want to export this data, you will have to create a selection containing only this animal and export the result. In the selection you can add fur-ther restrictions on which records shall be selected and get several more columns in the table.The observations tab sheet allows you to make notes of observations done on this animal. You can enter an observer, an observation time, and a descriptive text. The update time will automatically be set when you enter or change one of the fields.

4.11Collars

Collars are needed in this pro-gram to associate positions to an-imals. An animal without a collar cannot have any positions associ-ated. You can create a collar manually, but it will be created automatically when you import data from an unknown collar. In these auto created collars only the Collar ID will be set. All other properties are empty.



Figure 29: Positions tab sheet of animal

Figure 28: Positions tab sheet of animal


4.11.1 Creating a new collar

There are several ways to open the this dialogue of an existing collar:

• Click on the add collar button on the main toolbar.

• Press the Ctrl-N while the node “Collars” or any collar is selected in the main tree view.

• Select “Create Collar...” from the Nodes menu.

A dialogue will open up showing all fields available as collar information. Bold fields are mandatory, all others are optional and just for your information or manual database queries. The fields have the following mean-ing:• Collar ID: Serial number of the collar.

This is the only mandatory field in this dialogue.

• Model Code: Model type of the collar.• Battery Code: Battery type of the collar.• Colour Code: Colour of the belt.• Belt Marking: Written Marking on the

belt, up to five characters long.• VHF Beacon Frequency: Frequency of the

VHF beacon transmitter.• UHF Beacon Frequency: Frequency of the

UHF beacon transmitter.• UHF Uplink Frequency: Frequency of the UHF data reception from the handheld terminal.• UHF Downlink Frequency: Frequency of the UHF data transmission to the handheld ter-

minal.• Weight: Weight of the collar, preferably in grams.• Diameter: Diameter of the collar, preferably in cm.• Purchase Date: Date when the collar has been purchased.• SIM ID: Identification number of the collars SIM card. This is not the PIN.• PIN: PIN of the collars SIM card.• Note: Anything you might want to remember regarding this collar. If you resize the dia-

logue, this field will get bigger.

4.11.2 Editing collar properties

The edit collar dialogue is the same as the new collar dialogue. There are several ways to open the this dialogue of an existing collar:• Double-click on the collar in the main tree view.• Press the enter key while the collar is selected



Figure 30: New/Edit collar dialogue


• Right click on the collar and select “Edit Collar...” in the pop-up menu• Click on the edit button showing a pencil on the main toolbar while the collar is selected• Select “Edit Node...” from the Nodes menu while the collar is selected.

4.11.3 Removing a collar

There are several ways to remove a collar from the database:• Press the Del key while the collar is selected• Right click on the collar and select “Remove Collar” in the pop-up menu• Click on the remove button showing a diagonal red cross on the main toolbar while the col-

lar is selected• Select “Remove Node...” from the Nodes menu while the collar is selected.A message asking for confirmation will always be shown before executing this command. Re-moving a collar linked with one or more animals will trigger a message listing all animals linked to this collar and ask for confirmation. The links will also be removed if the collar is removed.

4.11.4 Viewing a collars data

To view a collars data, just select it in the main tree view. All data available will be shown on the right part of the main window. There are three categories of data, which are organized in tabs, available for each collar: Basic data, statistics and positions.The basic data tab contains the data entered when creating a new animal plus the internal an-imal ID of the database.The statistics tab sheet provides simple statistical information about the animals movement. The following information is available:• Records: Number of position records associated

with the animal.• Valid Positions: Number of records having pos-

ition data.• Valid Positions [%]: Valid positions percentage

of all records. • First Record: Date of oldest record.• Last Record: Date of newest record.• Minimum Longitude: The collars most western

longitude of all its fixes.• Maximum Longitude: The collars most eastern

longitude of all its fixes.• Minimum Latitude: The collars most southern

latitude of all its fixes.• Maximum Latitude: The collars most northern latitude of all its fixes.





The positions tab sheet contains a table with all fixes of the selected collar. You can scroll through the table and check single positions. At the moment it is for your in-formation only. If you want to ex-port this data, you will have to create a selection containing only this animal and export the result. In the selection you can add fur-ther restrictions on which records shall be selected and get several more columns in the table.

4.12Links

Links are the core elements of the database. They assign a collar for a defined period in time to an animal. This way you can analyse an animals behaviour although it has worn different collars over the years. You can also distinguish between animals that have worn the same col-lar. All analysis can be done on an animal base and you don't have to think about the tools used to get the data. There are some restrictions to links: • It is not allowed that a collar is worn by to different animals at the same time.• It is not allowed that an animal wears to collars at the same time.While the first is a physically restriction , the second is just a definition to prevent two con-flicting positions at possibly the same time for one animal. To have two collars at the same animal in the system you have to define two animals in the system for one real animal.

4.12.1 Linking a collar to an animal

Linking a collar to an animal requires few in-formation to be entered. Collar, animal, and period. You can create a link in several ways:• Drag a collar onto an animal and drop it

there. Animal and collar will already be defined in the form.

• Right click on the animal and select “Add Link...” in the pop-up menu. Animal will already be defined in the form.

• Click on the add link button showing an an-imal, a collar, and a blue arrow together with a green plus sign on the main toolbar.

• Select “Add Link...” from the Nodes menu.




Figure 33: New/Edit link dialogue


A dialogue will open up showing all fields available as link information. Bold fields are man-datory, all others are optional . The fields have the following meaning:• Animal ID: This field is mandatory. Select the animal wearing the collar.• Collar ID: This field is mandatory. Select the collar worn by the animal.• Study Begin: This field is mandatory. Date, on which the collar has been attached to the

collar.• Study End: Date, on which the collar has been removed from the animal. This field can be

left blank, while the animal wears the collar.• End Reason: The reason, why the animal is not wearing this collar any more. This may be

something like maintenance of the collar, season end, or death of animal..• Note: Anything you might have to note regarding the link.

4.12.2 Editing link properties

The edit link dialogue is the same as the new animal dialogue. There are several ways to open the this dialogue of an existing animal:• Double-click on the link in the main tree view.• Press the enter key while the link is selected• Right click on the link and select “Edit Link...” in the pop-up menu• Click on the edit button showing a pencil on the main toolbar while the link is selected• Select “Edit Node...” from the Nodes menu while the link is selected.

4.12.3 Removing a link

There are several ways to remove a link from the database:• Press the Del key while the link is selected.• Right click on the link and select “Remove Link”in the pop-up menu.• Click on the remove button showing a diagonal red cross on the main toolbar while the link

is selected.• Select “Remove Node...” from the Nodes menu while the link is selected.A message asking for confirmation will always be shown before executing this command. Re-moving a collar linked with one or more animals will trigger a message listing all animals linked to this collar and ask for confirmation. The links will also be removed if the collar is removed.

4.13Selections

Selections represent one or more groups of fixes matching certain criteria. These criteria are defined by the user when a selection is created and result in a SQL query string. This string is editable by the user on creation. Selections are not editable. Only the name and note of a se-lection can be changed after creation.




4.13.1 Creating a new selection

To create a new selection you can either click on the add selection button of the main tool bar, select “Add Selection...” from the Nodes menu, or press Ctrl-N while the se-

lections or any selection Node is selected in the treeview. A dialogue will pop up showing all the criteria categories you can choose from.

Figure 34: Add selection dialogue




In general the categories have three options: “For One”, “For Each”, and “For All”. “For All” is the default and means all datasets in this category, so no selection is made in this category. “For Each” means that all datasets from this category will be selected, but they will be split up into groups for each distinct value in this category. “For One” selects exactly one value from the category and only records matching this value will be selected. In the following you can study some examples to explain the functionality.

Example 1: Kangaroos at nightSuppose you want to analyse the movement at night of each kangaroo you have in your data-base separately. You will have to do the following:• Select “For Each” in the animal category. Since you want to analyse each animal separ-

ately, you have to select “For Each” in the animal category.• Select “For One” in the animal species category. You want only kangaroos, no bears, tigers

or any other species.• Check “Night” in the day/night category. This will select all records that were taken at

night. Night in this case is defined as the sun being below a defined angle to the horizon. In this case we choose it to be at least 6 degrees below he horizon. This is called civil twilight. You can choose any other standard angle from the drop down list or enter any other value.

• Enter a name for the selection and optionally an note.All other categories remain on the default. As a result you can see that there are two groups in the statistics tab sheet of the created selection. This is what we would expect, since there are two kangaroos in the database. The IDs of the groups are:• 00014_x_007_N_xx_xxxx_xxxxxxxx_xxxxxxxx• 00015_x_007_N_xx_xxxx_xxxxxxxx_xxxxxxxxFor a description of these IDs please refer to chapter 4.13.4 Viewing a selections data.

4.13.2 Editing a selection

The edit selection dialogue is different from the new selection dialogue. You can only change the name and the note of the selection, not the criteria of the selection. This is because changing the criteria will make already existing home ranges, con-vex hulls, and trajectories created from this selection inconsistent with the selections criteria.There are several ways to open the this dia-logue of an existing animal:• Double-click on the selection in the main

tree view.• Press the enter key while the selection is

selected• Right click on the link and select “Edit Selection...” in the pop-up menu• Click on the edit button showing a pencil on the main toolbar while the selection is selected



Figure 35: Editing a selection


• Select “Edit Node...” from the Nodes menu while the selection is selected.

4.13.3 Removing a selection

Removing a selection will always remove the home ranges, convex hulls, and trajectories cre-ated and linked with this selection! Home range raster files automatically created when a home range is calculated and exported data will not be removed.There are several ways to remove a selection from the database:• Press the Del key while the selection is selected• Right click on the selection and select “Remove Selection” in the pop-up menu• Click on the remove button showing a diagonal red cross on the main toolbar while the se-

lection is selected• Select “Remove Node...” from the Nodes menu while the selection is selected.A message asking for confirmation will always be shown before executing this command.

4.13.4 Viewing a selections data

To view a selections data, just select it in the main tree view. All data avail-able will be shown on the right part of the main window. There are three cat-egories of data, which are organized in tabs, available for each selection: Ba-sic data, statistics and positions.The basic data tab sheet the following information is:• ID: Unique Database internal ID of

the selection.• Name: Name you gave the selection

for easy identification.• Creation Time: Time at which the

selection was created.• User: Name of the user, who created

the selection.• Positions: Number of positions this

selection would include at the mo-ment.

• Selection Code: The SQL statement used to select all positions covered by the selection.

• Note: Anything you might want to remember regarding this selection.



Figure 36: Basic Data tab sheet of selection


The statistics tab sheet shows you information about the groups resulting from the selection. Since one selection can result in multiple groups this tab sheet contains a table with a row for each resulting group.

Figure 37: Statistics tab sheet of selection

It contains the following columns:• id_group: The group ID is generated from the criteria options selected in the selections cre-

ation. For a detailed description see below.• Fixes: Number of fixes generated for this group of the selection.• min_date: Date of first fix in the group of the selection.• max_date: Date of last fix in the group of the selection.• avg_lat: Average latitude of all fixes in the group of the selection.• avg_lon: Average longitude of all fixes in the group of the selection.• max_lat: Maximum latitude of all fixes in the group of the selection.• max_lon: Maximum longitude of all fixes in the group of the selection.• min_lat: Minimum latitude of all fixes in the group of the selection.• min_lon: Minimum longitude of all fixes in the group of the selection.The positions tab sheet shows you all positions resulting from the selection. Again the selec-tion can contain several groups, which can be distinguished by the id_group column.

Figure 38: Positions tab sheet of selection

It contains the following columns:• id_group: The group ID is generated from the criteria options selected in the selections cre-

ation. For a detailed description see below.• Animal: ID of the animal this position is from.• acquisition_time: The time at which the position was taken (UTC)• latitude: Latitude of the position in degrees (WGS84).• longitude: Longitude of the position in degrees (WGS84).• Height: Altitude as measured by the GPS in meters (WGS84).




Group IDA group ID describes the criteria that are used to define the fixes of the group. It is of the fol-lowing form:aaaaa_S_sss_d_mm_yyyy_bbbbbbbb_eeeeeeeeThe IDs consist of string groups separated by underscores ('_'). The selection's category op-tions are encoded in these strings. Categories with 'all' selected or nothing selected will be marked with one or more 'x'. The string groups have the following coding:• Animal ID (aaaaa): The ID of the animal selected, if specified.• Animal Sex (S): Identifies male ('m') or female ('f'), if specified.• Species ID (sss): The animals species ID, if specified. Refer to the list of species to identify

the species to see the species name.• Night/Day (d): Night ('N') or day ('D') according to the given sun angle, if specified.• Month (mm): Month as a two digit number from '01' (January) to '12' (December), if spe-

cified.• Year (yyyy): Year as a four digit number, if specified.• Date range begin (bbbbbbbb): Begin date as an eight digit number coded as YYYYMMDD,

if specified.• Date range end (eeeeeeee): End date as an eight digit number coded as YYYYMMDD, if

specified.

4.14Home range

To use this feature, R and R(D)Com (a interface software to R) must be installed. Home ranges are always calculated from selections.Calculating a home range is a method to determine the extent of movement of an animal by statistical calculations. Although a convex hull can also be considered a home rang this pro-gram uses the more advanced kernel methods for calculation and as a result delivers a probab-ility for the position of the animal. To do this, it makes use of the R programming language and the adehabitat package, especially its kernelUD method.The kernel methods are intended for use on few data points. More than a few hundred posi-tions don't make to much sense for this method and will not work (depending on your com-puter).

4.14.1 Creating a home range

Creating a home range is easy: Just select a selection from the tree view and click on the create home range button in the selection's tool bar and the home range(s) will be cre-

ated according to the parameters in the settings (see chapter 4.1.9 Home range). You get as many home ranges as there are groups listed in the statistics tab sheet of your selection.There are multiple results generated by a home range calculation: • A polygon in the database home range table ('home_ranges') together with the group ID,

kernel parameters, and area of the home range.




• A “shapefile” consisting of a collection of files with ".shp", ".shx", ".dbf", and other extensions with the group ID as common prefix.

• A GeoTIFF Image containing the home range probability as a raster map with geo refer-ence. The filename is the Group ID with ".tif" as extension.

On creation of the home range you will be prompted for a folder, in which the files will be stored. If you did not install the required R packages until now, you will be asked to confirm the download and installation of the packages to R. You need a working internet connection to do this. Alternatively the packages are available on the distribution media and can be in-stalled manually from the R interface.

R will open two windows, one with a (multi) polygon home range at a defined probability level and one with a raster image of the home range. Because the kernel algorithm uses dis-tances and not degrees for calculation, the fixes will be internally transformed to UTM co-ordinates and R shows UTM units from the best fitting UTM strip as chart scales. The raster image has no scales at all, because they are not wanted for the use as an overlay. When R has finished the computation, the data manager will show a message window. When the OK but-ton of it is clicked, the R windows will be closed again.

4.14.2 Exporting a home range

Although the home range is exported as a shape file when created, you can export the polygon of the home range as a shapefile by right-clicking on one of the home ranges listed under the “Home Ranges” node of the selection. A save dialogue will open and prompt you for a file name as a prefix for the shapefile files.



Figure 39: Polygon home range Figure 40: Raster home range

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dbf


4.14.3 Removing a home range

Removing a home range will only remove one home range even if multiple groups exist for the corresponding selection. Only the entry in the “home_ranges” table in the database con-taining the polygon will be removed. No file will be deleted. There are several ways to re-move a home range from the database:• Press the Del key while the home range is selected• Right click on the home range and select “Remove Geometry” in the pop-up menu• Click on the remove button showing a diagonal red cross on the main toolbar while the

home range is selected• Select “Remove Node...” from the Nodes menu while the home range is selected.A message asking for confirmation will always be shown before executing this command.

4.15Convex hull

A convex hull can be used to determine an area of an animals movement.It is defined as the boundary of the minimal convex set containing a given non-empty finite set of points in the plane. Unless the points are collinear, the convex hull in this sense is a simple closed polygon. It may be easily visualized by imagining an elastic band stretched open to encompass the given posi-tions; when released, it will assume the shape of the required convex hull. You can see this visualized in Figure 41, where the elastic band in the stretched position is black and in the released (convex hull) position is green.

4.15.1 Creating a convex hull

Creating a convex hull is easy: Just select a selection from the tree view and click on the create convex hull button in the selection's tool bar and the convex hull(s) will be cre-

ated. You get as many convex hulls as there are groups listed in the statistics tab sheet of your selection.As a result of the creation there will be only polygons in the “convex_hulls” table. All convex hulls are listed in the tree view below the selection. You can access these through a GIS or ex-port them.



Figure 41: Convex Hull as “elastic band”


4.15.2 Exporting a convex hull

You can export the polygon of a convex hull as a shapefile by right-clicking on one of the convex hulls listed under the “Convex Hulls” node of the selection. A save dialogue will open and prompt you for a file name as a prefix for the shapefile files.

4.15.3 Removing a convex hull

Removing a convex hull will only remove one convex hull even if multiple groups exist for the corresponding selection. Only the entry in the “convex_hulls” table in the database con-taining the polygon will be removed. There are several ways to remove a convex hull from the database:• Press the Del key while the convex hull is selected• Right click on the convex hull and select “Remove Geometry” in the pop-up menu• Click on the remove button showing a diagonal red cross on the main toolbar while the con-

vex hull is selected• Select “Remove Node...” from the Nodes menu while the convex hull is selected.A message asking for confirmation will always be shown before executing this command.

4.16Trajectory

A trajectory is a polyline connecting all positions in a selection group in chronological order. It shows the path the animal has taken by connecting consecutive points with straight lines. Of course the animal did not walk on these lines but it makes it easier to fol-low the movement of it.

4.16.1 Creating a trajectory

Creating a trajectory is easy: Just select a se-lection from the tree view and click on the cre-

ate trajectory button in the selection's tool bar and the trajector(y/ies) will be created. You get as many trajectories as there are groups listed in the statistics tab sheet of your selection.As a result of the creation there will be only polylines in the “trajectories” table. All trajector-ies are listed in the tree view below the selection. You can access these through a GIS or ex-port them.



Figure 42: Trajectory of positions


4.16.2 Exporting a trajectory

You can export the polyline of a trajectory as a shapefile by right-clicking on one of the tra-jectories listed under the “Trajectories” node of the selection. A save dialogue will open and prompt you for a file name as a prefix for the shapefile files.

4.16.3 Removing a trajectory

Removing a trajectory will only remove one trajectory even if multiple groups exist for the corresponding selection. Only the entry in the “trajectories” table in the database containing the polyline will be removed. There are several ways to remove a trajectory from the data-base:• Press the Del key while the trajectory is selected• Right click on the trajectory and select “Remove Geometry” in the pop-up menu• Click on the remove button showing a diagonal red cross on the main toolbar while the tra-

jectory is selected• Select “Remove Node...” from the Nodes menu while the trajectory is selected.A message asking for confirmation will always be shown before executing this command.

4.17Exporting data

Like creating a home range, convex hull, or a trajectory you can export data from a se-lection to several formats. Unlike the others it will not create a result for each group.

You get one file containing all positions matching the criteria of the selection.You can select from the following file types to export to:• ASCII: Export to a text file with fixed column widths.• Comma Separated Values (CSV): Export to a text file with a separator character between

column entries• DBase Table: Export to a DBase table file (dbf)• GPS Exchange Format: A common XML format for exchange tracks and point of interest

data between GPS devices and mapping software.• Keyhole Markup Language: The google earth XML format comes in two flavours: Plain

readable text (KML) or compressed (KMZ) which saves a lot of space (factor of ten or bet-ter).

• Bio Telemetry Exchange: A general XML exchange format for Bio Telemetry applications.To choose one of these, click on the drop down arrow of the export button. Then click on the export button itself. A save dialogue will open prompting you for a file name. In this dialogue you can also change the export file format by selecting a different file type.




Index

Aabout.........................................................................9activity data files....................................................24ade habitat..............................................................17ADF........................................................................24animal.....................................................................33animal.........................................................................

basic data...........................................................28code....................................................................27create.................................................................27date of birth........................................................27edit.....................................................................27name...................................................................27note.....................................................................27observations.......................................................29positions.............................................................29remove................................................................28sex......................................................................27species................................................................27statistics.............................................................28view....................................................................28

animals...................................................................27

Bbasic categories......................................................25battery type.............................................................26

adding................................................................26changing.............................................................26removing............................................................26

Ccollar.......................................................................33collar...........................................................................

basic data...........................................................31battery................................................................30colour.................................................................30ID.......................................................................30model..................................................................30positions.............................................................32statistics.............................................................31

collar model............................................................25adding................................................................25changing.............................................................25removing............................................................26

collars.....................................................................29colour.....................................................................26


convex hull.............................................................40create.................................................................40export.................................................................41remove................................................................41

Ddatabase......................................................................

backup................................................................22connection.........................................10pp., 17, 22create.................................................................19creation wizard..................................................19display name......................................................18host.....................................................................18maintenance.......................................................21password............................................................18port.....................................................................18restore................................................................23select..................................................................22username............................................................18

date separator.........................................................16decimal separator...................................................15

Eexport.....................................................................42

ASCII............................................................13, 42bio telemetry exchange......................................42comma separated values..............................13, 42CSV..............................................................13, 42DBase table..................................................14, 42Google earth......................................................14GPS exchange format........................................42KML...................................................................42KMZ...................................................................42

FFor All....................................................................35For Each.................................................................35For One..................................................................35formatting...................................................................

date.....................................................................15number...............................................................15time.....................................................................16

GGDF........................................................................24GeoTIFF.................................................................39GPS data files.........................................................24group ID.................................................................38

Hhome range.............................................................38

create.................................................................38export.................................................................39remove................................................................40settings...............................................................17




Iimport data.............................................................24installation..........................................................8, 19

KKML.......................................................................14KMZ.......................................................................14

Llink.........................................................................32

create.................................................................32edit.....................................................................33end reason..........................................................33note.....................................................................33remove................................................................33study begin.........................................................33study end............................................................33

list separator...........................................................15local mean time......................................................13

Mmain menu..............................................................10

PPostGIS.............................................................19pp.PostGIS......................................................................

installation.....................................................8, 19PostgreSQL..................................................6p., 18p.PostgreSQL................................................................

admin password.................................................20admin username.................................................20installation.....................................................8, 19port.....................................................................20server name........................................................20

RR.............................................................................39R.................................................................................

installation...........................................................8R packages.................................................................

installation.........................................................39

Sselection.................................................................33

basic data...........................................................36create.................................................................34export.................................................................42positions.............................................................37remove................................................................36statistics.............................................................37view....................................................................36

settings...................................................................12shapefile.................................................................39species..............................................................25, 27


Ttime separator.........................................................16time zone................................................................13trajectory................................................................41

create.................................................................41export.................................................................42remove................................................................42

tree view.................................................................10

Vvacuum.......................................................10, 21, 24



Documents

GPS Plus Manual - VECTRONIC Aerospace€¦ · GPS Plus Data Manager will use it automatically, if the R(D)Com Server is installed (see chapter 2.1 GPS Plus Data Manager installation)