Re: Tagging Gun Becomes DNA Trace System
Madelyn Grindel
Radio tagging gives scientists a lot of information about the movement of birds. However, the scientific questions that can be answered with radio telemetry are limited, because scientists have to be relatively close to the tagged birds to determine location. For example, scientists can use radio telemetry to follow the movements of migratory birds during their breeding season, because they stay within the same area while nesting and raising their young. But once the birds leave the breeding area to migrate, they quickly move beyond the range of the transmitter, and scientists can no longer detect where they are.
Typically, manatees are captured and receive a health assessment on site before being tagged and released for a research project. This provides an opportunity for researchers to assess the health of the individual prior to inclusion in the research study and to ensure the best fit of the tagging gear. Standard capture techniques using nets deployed from a specialized manatee capture/rescue vessel have been employed since the 1990s. Manatee captures can occur in open water or alongshore. Typically, an aerial observer flying in a single-engine Cessna airplane locates individual manatees and guides the capture boat captain in setting the net. This increases the efficiency and safety of capture operations. Other vessels wait nearby to collect data on the capture attempts, to carry gear, and to provide assistance if needed. The crew aboard the capture boat is made up of a team of people with experience in the capture and handling of large marine mammals. After capture, the manatee can either remain aboard the capture boat or be moved to land for the health assessment and application of tagging gear.
Once the health assessment and tagging are complete, the manatee is placed in a stretcher and released just off shore. In some situations, a manatee that has been successfully rehabilitated in captivity will be tagged just before it is released back into the wild. Visit the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Partnership website to learn more about tagged, rehabilitated manatees.
Directly observing the tagged manatees in the field allows biologists to document behavior patterns, associations with other manatees, features of the habitat, and reproductive success of females. Such observations provide insights into why manatees visit particular sites; for example, to drink from sources of freshwater. The tagging assembly does not harm the animal or affect its behavior. The belt is padded so it fits comfortably around the peduncle, and the tag is buoyant which allows the animal to feed or rest with the tag at the surface. Manatees with tags behave just like untagged manatees; they migrate long distances, feed, socialize, mate, give birth, and raise calves.
We make every attempt to ensure that the tagging gear is removed from the animals at the end of the study. A programmable breakaway release unit is incorporated into many of the belts as a means to automatically release all of the gear from the animal at a pre-programmed date and time; this permits staff to easily retrieve the tag and belt assembly without approaching the manatee. Otherwise, a researcher quietly approaches the tagged manatee and cuts off the belt with a custom-made pole-mounted tool. As a further precaution, nuts and bolts used in the construction of the belt corrode in salt water, allowing the belt to detach from the manatee if it is not relocated.
The USDA decided years ago to combat Scrapie, a disease similar to Mad Cow Disease that affects sheep and goats. In its effort to do so, it became law in the United States that you must get a premise ID number for your sheep farm and tag your sheep with scrapie-approved ear tags. The tags have consecutive numbers when these sheep are older than 18 months and leave the farm, or for lambs and sheep of any age when they go across state borders. The idea behind the program is to trace animals that are tested and are determined to be affected with Scrapie back to its owners. The link at the end of the article describes this mandatory program, which includes a factsheet.
I used to not tag my sheep. However, if life gives you lemons, I figured I might as well make lemonade. So, I got creative with these ear tags, the available colors, and the numbers to trace animals and bloodlines. Since the inception of these mandatory scrapie tags, I started selling a lot of breeding stock. Because returning customers need new bloodlines on their way forward, using ear tags became a necessity. While a burden to many, using ear tags became a blessing in disguise for me. I developed a tagging system with color codes and number codes. I never felt compelled to share this system because it is indeed a bit cumbersome. However, it has become more frequent that I am asked how I keep track of the bloodlines of my ewe lambs, who sired them, and how to avoid inbreeding.
I tag all my lambs during the first day of their lives when the ewes are for 24 hours in the jug with their new-born lambs for bonding purpose. The starting point for my tagging system is that all male lambs get tagged in the left ear while all female lambs get tagged in the right ear. I use my chute often when I treat animals, such as deworming and vaccinating. However, I use the chute far more often to sort out lambs that get sold as market lambs or breeding stock. As the sheep and lambs come up in the chute, I can determine in a split second what is male and what is female. That is helpful.
As mentioned before, all ewe lambs get tagged in the right ear, the color of the tag indicates who the sire of each ewe lamb is. A select number of ram lambs that are born in any given year will be left intact and receive an ear tag with the color that indicates who the sire is in the left ear. The male lambs that will be market lambs will be castrated during tagging and will receive a white ear tag, also in the left ear. This may again sound cumbersome and one might think I would easily lose track over the colors and left versus right ear. However, my kids often help tagging and while they often cannot remember at all what I told them in the morning they should do that day, they do have an amazing ability to shout out all at once when I am about to tag a lamb the wrong way. They remember that, go figure.
Asset management software comprises asset tracking. It is a web-based system for recording asset movements and providing up-to-date data. Asset tagging makes it simplified for defined information and eliminates duplication in the system.
All essential assets must be tagged so that they can add value to the organization by providing crucial information about assets. Assets are expensive & & & they are vulnerable to loss or theft that is why tagging critical assets are the most basic and important asset tagging best practice.
For organizations that rely on a large number of assets to conduct their operations, tracking those assets is essential. Asset tagging is a popular and effective method of tracking assets, and it involves attaching a unique identifier to each asset for easy identification and monitoring. However, not all asset tags are created equal, and choosing the right asset tag for your organization is critical to ensure efficient and effective asset tracking. In this article, we will discuss the importance of selecting the right asset tag for your organization and provide pointers to consider when choosing an asset tag for tracking assets in your organization.
Among popular tracking technologies like GPS, NFC, Barcode, and QR Code, RFID is a system that can be traced back to the Second World War where it was used to identify and track enemy aircraft. Over the next 80 years, RFID technology evolved and became a main feature in the way businesses track, monitor, and manage their assets by using passive RFID and active RFID tags.
RFID is used for item level tagging in retail stores. In addition to inventory control, this provides both protection against theft by customers (shoplifting) and employees ("shrinkage") by using electronic article surveillance (EAS), and a self checkout process for customers. Tags of different types can be physically removed with a special tool or deactivated electronically once items have been paid for.[48] On leaving the shop, customers have to pass near an RFID detector; if they have items with active RFID tags, an alarm sounds, both indicating an unpaid-for item, and identifying what it is.
Privacy concerns have been raised[by whom?] surrounding library use of RFID.[97][98] Because some RFID tags can be read up to 100 metres (330 ft) away, there is some concern over whether sensitive information could be collected from an unwilling source. However, library RFID tags do not contain any patron information,[99] and the tags used in the majority of libraries use a frequency only readable from approximately 10 feet (3.0 m).[93] Another concern is that a non-library agency could potentially record the RFID tags of every person leaving the library without the library administrator's knowledge or consent. One simple option is to let the book transmit a code that has meaning only in conjunction with the library's database. Another possible enhancement would be to give each book a new code every time it is returned. In future, should readers become ubiquitous (and possibly networked), then stolen books could be traced even outside the library. Tag removal could be made difficult if the tags are so small that they fit invisibly inside a (random) page, possibly put there by the publisher.[citation needed]
However, read range is a function of both the reader and the tag itself. Improvements in technology may increase read ranges for tags. Tags may be read at longer ranges than they are designed for by increasing reader power. The limit on read distance then becomes the signal-to-noise ratio of the signal reflected from the tag back to the reader. Researchers at two security conferences have demonstrated that passive Ultra-HighFID tags normally read at ranges of up to 30 feet can be read at ranges of 50 to 69 feet using suitable equipment.[145][146]
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