Ioonos

How can an animal be followed from space?

The Argos system enables an animal to be located that has been tagged with a particular emitter, whatever its position. A satellite picks up signals from the animal. These messages are then sent to the scientist in charge of the program anywhere in the world, in less than twenty minutes.
The Argos system has been in use since 1978 and while it is used to protect animals, it is also used in navigation and fishing and in the study of oceans, which is its main field of application. The emitters come in all shapes and sizes, depending on what they are to be used for. The smallest are no bigger than a box of matches and weigh less than 18 grams.

But what do the animals do?

Every year about 3,000 animals are tagged with emitters and studied: storks, seals, turtles, eagles, whales…
What information are the biologists interested in?
- The movements of species and migrations
- The search for food and habitats
- Different behaviour depending on the season and the environment.
In other words, everything that affects the daily life of the animals in the world that surrounds them.
Example: before albatrosses were tagged with little emitters, it was thought that these birds of the South Seas flew no more than two or three hundred kilometres to find food. Surprise: the signals demonstrated that they could travel nearly 10,000 kilometres a month while looking for food. The albatrosses manage this by gliding and surfing wherever the winds take them.

Protecting the future

Scientists also use this system to protect endangered species. For example, they can locate the main migratory paths of species threatened with extinction (turtles, migratory birds etc.) and set up protective measures for these species and these areas.
Another example: the migration and reproduction sites of white whales, known as belugas, have been closely studied. This knowledge has enabled the establishment of a more intelligent fishing policy that is less destructive for the species.