The Bodega Marine Laboratory of U.C.-Davis will undertake an instrumentation development project to develop a position- determining archival tag for monitoring the movements of marine vertebrates. This small microprocessor-based tag will be equipped with sensors that will store (archive) environmental measurements from which geographical location can be derived. The work involves the modification of a commercially available tag that is used for terrestrial applications. Sensors will measure irradiance as a function of time for determining longitude and total geomagnetic field intensity for determining latitude. Temperature and pressure will also be measured. Data will be stored in a file and when the tag is retrieved and the data examined, the movements of the tag over time can be determined. The archival tag has potential application in studying the migratory patterns of pelagic fish, such as tuna, and marine mammals. NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service is collaborating with this project.
