Selected Publications

A showcase for our users' work featuring Firetail

Citing Firetail

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M. Berger, T. Petri, M. Gentile, and F. Schäuffelhut, “Firetail – a fast and versatile software for the visualization and analysis of animal sensor data”, Schäuffelhut Berger GmbH, Version 14, 2026. [Software]. Available online from https://www.firetail.de

Firetail is used for research, monitoring and wildlife management. We are glad to share selected works from peer groups that applied Firetail for their challenges.

13 publications · Sorted by year · Submit your publication

Ground-truth validation of behavioral classifications from accelerometer data using an integrated GPS-accelerometer-camera device: application to an elusive scavenger

Basso, E., Beirne, C., Petri, T., Goldhahn, C., Luthy, K., Crowe, W., Zinke, M., Wicks, S., Tubelli, E., Chulla, D. R., Berger, M. and Whitworth, A. · Animal Biotelemetry, Springer Science and Business Media LLC (2026)

Firetail used for: Video-based ground truth for Self-Organizing Map behaviour classification of king vultures (tailored Firetail modules)

2026

Classifier architecture and data preprocessing jointly shape accelerometer-based behavioural inferencePreprint

Brun, L., Rothrock, J., van de Waal, E. and George, E. A. · bioRxiv (2026)

Firetail used for: Synchronising video and acceleration data to train behaviour classifiers

2026

Space Use and Movements During Egg Laying Associated With Nest Fate and Female Survival in Eastern Wild Turkeys

Goodman, P. E., Bakner, N. W., Gulotta, N. A., Ulrey, E. E., Collier, B. A. and Chamberlain, M. J. · Ecology and Evolution, Wiley, Vol. 16(2) (2026)

Firetail used for: Mapping GPS tracks in space and time to determine the onset of egg laying and incubation

2026

Different sources of wind turbine data produce sharp differences in estimates of high-risk areas for foraging Griffon Vultures

Cerri, J., Fozzi, I., Costantino, C., Banic, A. D., De Rosa, D., Echeverria, J., Pavin, L., Muzzeddu, M., Scacco, M., Secci, D. and Berlinguer, F. · Bird Conservation International, Cambridge University Press, Vol. 36, e21 (2026)

Firetail used for: Movement analysis for wind turbine collision risk assessment

2026

Sensor-based analysis of behaviour time budgets in young warmblood stallions entering initial preparation for licensing

Eichler, F., Klitzing, L., Strutzke, S., Pilger, F., Kroschel, L., Thöne-Reineke, C., Hoffmann, G. and Kirsch, K. · Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Vol. 294, 106873 (2026)

Firetail used for: Acceleration-based behavioral classification using Firetail's annotation tools

2026

Home ranges, feeding sites, and daily movement behavior of the highly threatened Livingstone’s fruit bat revealed through GPS tracking

Mandl, I., Abdou, B. B. A., Said, I., O’Mara, T., Flanders, J., Chaihane, S. S. A., Lewis, O. T., Mohamed, M. and Doulton, H. · Conservation Science and Practice, Wiley (2025)

Firetail used for: FireSOM behavioural annotation of GPS points to identify potential feeding sites

2025

Influence of lymphoproliferative disease virus on behaviors of female eastern wild turkeys during reproductive periods

Goodman, P. E., Bakner, N. W., Bakner, D. L., Nemeth, N. M., Goodwin, C. C., Collier, B. A. and Chamberlain, M. J. · Wildlife Society Bulletin, Wiley, Vol. 49(S1), e1632 (2025)

Firetail used for: Mapping GPS tracks in space and time to determine the onset of laying and incubation

2025

Investigating diel patterns of predation events in wild turkeys using tri-axial accelerometer data

Wightman, P. H., Gulotta, N. A., Cohen, B. S., Collier, B. A. and Chamberlain, M. J. · Wildlife Society Bulletin, Wiley, Vol. 49(S1), e1631 (2025)

Firetail used for: Timing of predation events and roost position from projected GPS and accelerometer data

2025

Where do Gyps fulvus (Griffon Vulture) feed? Combining biologging with socioeconomic analysis can guide sustainable ecotourism development

Fozzi, I., Cerri, J., Costantino, C., De Rosa, D., Aresu, M., Muzzeddu, M., Secci, D. and Berlinguer, F. · Ornithological Applications, duaf042 (2025)

Firetail used for: GPS tracking and feeding site analysis of Griffon Vultures

2025

Death detector: Using vultures as sentinels to detect carcasses by combining bio-logging and machine learning

Rast, W., Portas, R., Shatumbu, G. I., Berger, A., Cloete, C., Curk, T., Götz, T., Aschenborn, O. and Melzheimer, J. · Journal of Applied Ecology, Vol. 61(12), 2936-2945 (2024)

Firetail used for: Annotating active and passive flight in acceleration data to complete the reference data for a behaviour classifier

2024

Post-fledging dispersal of Western Marsh Harriers (Circus aeruginosus): complex movements, behavioural changes and habitat preferencesMaster's thesis

Suanjak, M. · Conservation Biology and Biodiversity Management, University of Vienna (2023)

Firetail used for: GPS tracking and dispersal movement analysis

2023

GPS Telemetry Reveals a Zebra With Anthrax as Putative Cause of Death for Three Cheetahs in the Namib Desert

Portas, R., Aschenborn, O. H. K., Melzheimer, J., Le Roux, M., Uiseb, K. H., Czirják, G. Á. and Wachter, B. · Frontiers in Veterinary Science, Vol. 8 (2021)

Firetail used for: GPS telemetry visualization and trajectory analysis

2021

Spatial interrelations between raccoons (Procyon lotor), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), and ground-nesting birds in a Special Protection Area of Germany

Fiderer, C., Göttert, T. and Zeller, U. · European Journal of Wildlife Research, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Vol. 65(1) (2019)

Firetail used for: Multi-species spatial analysis and movement overlap visualization

2019

Research with the Movebank Acceleration Viewer

Before Firetail, there was the Movebank Acceleration Viewer, a Java program Matthias Berger started in 2011 and developed until 2020 (see our story). These publications used the viewer.

Health monitoring in birds using bio-loggers and whole blood transcriptomics

Jax, E., Müller, I., Börno, S., Borlinghaus, H., Eriksson, G., Fricke, E., Timmermann, B., Pendl, H., Fiedler, W., Klein, K., Schreiber, F., Wikelski, M., Magor, K. E. and Kraus, R. H. S. · Scientific Reports, Springer Nature, Vol. 11(1), 10815 (2021)

Viewer used for: Automated detection of heartbeats

2021

Spatial Ecology and Diel Activity of European Wildcat (Felis silvestris) in a Protected Lowland Area in Northern Greece

Migli, D., Astaras, C., Boutsis, G., Diakou, A., Karantanis, N. E. and Youlatos, D. · Animals, MDPI, Vol. 11(11), 3030 (2021)

Viewer used for: Computing ODBA for activity patterns (MAV v.34)

2021

Using GPS tracking for fruit bat conservation

Mandl, I., Houmadi, A., Said, I., Abdou, B. B. A., Fardane, A. K., Egger-Peitler, K., Oleksy, R., Doulton, H. and Chaihane, S. S. A. · Oryx, Cambridge University Press, Vol. 56(1), 50-53 (2021)

Viewer used for: Classifying behaviour from the acceleration axes (Fig. 2 is an MAV screenshot)

2021

Partial altitudinal migration of the Near Threatened satyr tragopan Tragopan satyra in the Bhutan Himalayas: implications for conservation in mountainous environments

Norbu, N., Ugyen, Wikelski, M. C. and Wilcove, D. S. · Oryx, Cambridge University Press, Vol. 51(1), 166-173 (2016)

Viewer used for: Cross-checking activity categories, calibrated with a tagged domestic chicken

2016

Scaring waterfowl as a management tool: how much more do geese forage after disturbance?

Nolet, B. A., Kölzsch, A., Elderenbosch, M. and van Noordwijk, A. J. · Journal of Applied Ecology, Wiley, Vol. 53(5), 1413-1421 (2016)

Viewer used for: Visualising tri-axial acceleration to distinguish flight from other behaviour

2016

Pronounced Seasonal Changes in the Movement Ecology of a Highly Gregarious Central-Place Forager, the African Straw-Coloured Fruit Bat (Eidolon helvum)

Fahr, J., Abedi-Lartey, M., Esch, T., Machwitz, M., Suu-Ire, R., Wikelski, M. and Dechmann, D. K. N. · PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, Vol. 10(10), e0138985 (2015)

Viewer used for: Plotting acceleration data and classifying behaviour

2015

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