About
Motus Wildlife Tracking System is a large-scale, international collaborative research infrastructure that enables scientists and conservationists to study animal movement using automated radio telemetry technology. Operated as a program of Birds Canada, Motus unifies data from over 2,055 receiver stations across 34 countries, supporting more than 887 active research projects and tracking over 50,932 individual animals representing 402 species. The platform is designed for researchers studying migratory birds, bats, and insects, offering a suite of data management tools including project management, collaborator management, tag and station management, and detection file uploads. Data collected across the network is pooled into a shared repository, allowing researchers to gain insights that would be impossible with isolated, local studies. Motus has enabled landmark discoveries in migration ecology — from Snow Buntings and Golden-winged Warblers to Monarch Butterflies — and has driven over 255 peer-reviewed publications. The network follows a collaborative policy that welcomes participation from academic institutions, government agencies, Indigenous communities, and citizen scientists alike. By providing open access to movement data and fostering a global community of practice, Motus serves as a foundational resource for conservation planning, habitat protection, and understanding how climate change affects animal behaviour and migration routes. The system is free to join and supported by donations and partnerships.
Key Features
- Automated Radio Telemetry Network: Leverages a global array of 2,055+ receiver stations to automatically detect and log tagged animals as they move across landscapes and international borders.
- Collaborative Data Repository: All detection data from participating stations is pooled into a shared, open-access database, enabling cross-project analysis and large-scale movement studies.
- Comprehensive Project Management: Researchers can manage projects, collaborators, animal tags, receiver stations, and detection file uploads through a centralized web platform.
- Multi-species Support: Supports tracking of birds, bats, and insects, with 402 species currently tagged, making it applicable across a broad range of wildlife research disciplines.
- Research & Publication Integration: Links tracking data to a growing library of 255+ peer-reviewed publications, supporting evidence-based conservation and policy decisions.
Use Cases
- Tracking migratory songbird routes across North and South America to identify critical stopover habitats for conservation planning.
- Studying bat movement patterns and roosting behaviour to inform wind energy siting decisions and reduce wildlife conflict.
- Monitoring Monarch Butterfly migration from breeding grounds to overwintering sites in Mexico using miniaturized radio tags.
- Assessing the impact of climate change on the timing and routes of shorebird migration by analyzing multi-year detection datasets.
- Building research capacity in Latin America and Indigenous communities by deploying receiver stations and training local scientists in telemetry data collection.
Pros
- Free and Open Access: As a non-profit program of Birds Canada, Motus is freely accessible to researchers, practitioners, and community participants worldwide.
- Massive Global Network: With 2,055 stations in 34 countries, researchers benefit from a continent-spanning detection infrastructure without needing to build it themselves.
- Supports Diverse Research Needs: The platform serves academic, government, Indigenous, and citizen science communities, enabling broad participation in wildlife conservation.
- Rich Historical Dataset: Years of accumulated detection data across hundreds of species provides an unmatched longitudinal resource for studying long-term ecological trends.
Cons
- Requires Specialized Hardware: Participating as a station operator requires purchasing and deploying radio telemetry receivers, which involves upfront equipment and installation costs.
- Primarily Research-Oriented: The platform is designed for scientific researchers and conservation professionals; it may have a steep learning curve for casual users or non-specialists.
- Limited Real-Time Visualization: Data exploration features, while functional, may lack the advanced real-time dashboards and analytics tools expected by modern data scientists.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Motus Wildlife Tracking System?
Motus is an international collaborative research network operated by Birds Canada that uses automated radio telemetry to track the movement and behaviour of small animals such as birds, bats, and insects across 34 countries.
How does radio telemetry work in Motus?
Small radio transmitter tags are attached to animals. As tagged animals move, they are detected by a network of automated receiver stations, which log the time, location, and signal strength of each detection and upload the data to the Motus database.
Is Motus free to use?
Yes. Motus is a free platform supported by Birds Canada, donations, and institutional partnerships. Researchers and collaborators can join the network and access shared data at no cost, though hardware for deploying stations has associated equipment costs.
Who can participate in the Motus network?
Anyone is welcome, including academic researchers, government agencies, conservation organizations, Indigenous communities, companies, and citizen scientists. Motus encourages broad participation to expand the network's geographic coverage and research impact.
What kinds of animals can be tracked with Motus?
Motus currently supports tracking of 402 species across birds, bats, and insects. Notable tracked species include Snow Buntings, Golden-winged Warblers, Monarch Butterflies, Dunlin shorebirds, and Eastern Red Bats.
