Recent advances in animal tracking technology have ushered in a new era in biologging. However, the considerable size of many sophisticated biologging devices restricts their application to larger animals, whereas older techniques often still represent the state-of-the-art for studying small vertebrates. In industrial applications, low-power wireless sensor networks (WSNs) fulfill requirements similar to those needed to monitor animal behavior at high resolution and at low tag mass. We developed a wireless biologging network (WBN), which enables simultaneous direct proximity sensing, high-resolution tracking, and long-range remote data download at tag masses of 1 to 2 g. Deployments to study wild bats created social networks and flight trajectories of unprecedented quality. Our developments highlight the vast capabilities of WBNs and their potential to close an important gap in biologging: fully automated tracking and proximity sensing of small animals, even in closed habitats, at high spatial and temporal resolution.

动物追踪技术的最新进展开创了生物记录的新时代。然而，许多复杂的生物记录设备的尺寸相当大，限制了它们在大型动物中的应用，而较旧的技术通常仍然代表着研究小型脊椎动物的最先进技术。在工业应用中，低功耗无线传感器网络 (WSN) 满足类似于以高分辨率和低标签质量监测动物行为的要求。我们开发了无线生物记录网络 (WBN)，它能够以 1 至 2 g 的标签质量同时进行直接接近传感、高分辨率跟踪和远程远程数据下载。研究野生蝙蝠的部署创造了前所未有的质量的社交网络和飞行轨迹。我们的发展凸显了 WBN 的巨大能力及其缩小生物记录领域重要差距的潜力：即使在封闭的栖息地，也能以高空间和时间分辨率对小动物进行全自动跟踪和接近传感。