Mk10-PAT tag heads into retirement
April 2013 - The venerable Wildlife Computers Mk10-PAT tag, which has been in service on a variety of species for many years, has reached the end of a very successful life.
Three and a half years ago, we introduced the MiniPAT in response to requests from the research community for a smaller pop-up tag. The MiniPAT, which is 30% smaller than the Mk10-PAT, has proven to be as reliable as its predecessor.
The MiniPAT’s smaller size allows smaller species to be studied and improves retention. The MiniPAT also offers additional features, such as
- two light sensors for cleaner light measurement to improve geolocation
- a dynamically determined sampling interval of Time-Series messages for premature releases, to give you better insight to the potential cause of the premature release
- a UHF pinger to assist in tag recovery
- additional message types such as the Mixed-Layer Analysis messages
In addition, the MiniPAT maintains compatibility with the data generated by the Mk10-PAT, and incorporates a more efficient transmitter that delivers even more data to you.
As we retire the Mk10-PAT, due in part to component obsolescence, we know that the MiniPAT is an excellent and reliable successor which will support your new and on-going research projects. Please contact us if you have questions about the transition of the Mk10-PAT to the MiniPAT.
If you require a towed tag with pop-up capabilities, or a tag for any other specialized application, we invite you to contact us about your needs.
A good year for conferences!
April 2013 - This year we have already attended the Alaska Marine Science Symposium in Anchoarage, AK, USA, and the International Sea Turtle Symposium in Baltimore, MD, USA. Still to come this year is the IAAAM Meeting in April in Sausalito, CA, USA, which we have helped to sponsor, and the annual International Tuna Conference in Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA, in May. We were happy to provide the Wildlife Computers Student Scholarship again this year for one of the presenting attendees at the Tuna Conference. In July, we will be off to South Africa for the 2nd International Conference on Fish Telemetry in Grahamstown, for which we are pleased to sponsor the ice breaker welcoming event. September brings the 8th International Pengiun Conference in Bristol, UK. We look forward to attending and assisting with sponsorhip on this conference, as well. Following in December is the Biennial Conference for Society for Marine Mammology, which will be held in Dunedin, New Zealand. Our sponsorship tradition is to support this meeting each time it comes around, and we welcome this opportunity to help. We hope to meet with you and hear about your projects, data, and tagging needs, whichever of these conferences you may be attending. If you are not able to attend and talk to us at one of these venues, please contact us directly to see how we can help you meet your project goals..