PM01 Amphibian Research and Monitoring
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Monday, 10 November 2003
(PM024) The use of personal digital assistants (PDAs) as automated call recorders (frog loggers).
Roberts, K1, Walls, S2, McCoy, J2, 1 Johnson Controls World Services, Lafayette, LA2 USGS National Wetlands Center, Lafayette, LA, 70506
ABSTRACT- Automated data collection is a convenient way to obtain data at intervals that might otherwise be impractical to collect. Automated call recorders, or frog loggers, using automated tape recorders have allowed researchers to collect frog calls throughout the evening and over several nights before field maintenance, such as tape retrieval is necessary. Once retrieved, the tape recordings may be analyzed and documented at a time convenient to the researcher. Recent technological innovations have allowed the use of a personal digital assistant (PDA) equipped with a digital voice recorder to be modified using proprietary software program to serve as a frog logger. We compare the advantages and disadvantages of both types of frog loggers and briefly discuss the potential use of PDA in general field data collection.
Key words: frog logger, PDA, amphibian monitoring, call recording