The Conservation Behavior Research Group

Despite on-going efforts, the gap between conservation decision-making and science still exists and is hindering the success of many conservation initiatives and programs. Conservation behavior is a relatively new field that employs a theoretical framework that examines the mechanisms, development, function and phylogeny of behavioral variation in order to develop practical tools for preventing biodiversity loss and extinction. The Conservation Behavior Research Group focus is conducting rigorous behavioral research aimed directly at mitigating conservation and wildlife management problems and advising the conservation and management decision-makers in Israel. Our research has a strong theoretical component combined with empirical field work in order to turn implied theoretical insights into applied principles that can be directly put to use in the fight against species extinction. Our work is composed on extensive field work in situ, on behavioral experimentation in controlled environments, and on intensive computer modeling.

ATLAS system (Together with Uri Roll's lab): The ATLAS system (Advanced Tracking and Localization of Animals in real-life Systems is an advanced tracking system based on the reverse-GPS principle: every 1–8 seconds, each tag transmits a unique long pseudo-random signal, which is picked up by radio receivers placed at known locations that communicate with each other to determine the identity and exact location of the tag. Animal locations are computed and stored in a remote location, and not on the tags themselves, allowing large amounts of high-resolution movement data to be collected from very small tags. This groundbreaking technology allows the acquisition of extremely detailed movement information on as many as 100 individuals simultaneously, far exceeding any current knowledge-base we have on animal behavior in the wild or otherwise. A tag can weigh as little as 1.15 g, enabling us to study, in unprecedented detail, the fine-scale movement patterns of small species such as passerine birds. Thus, the ATLAS system provides lightweight, cheap, energy-efficient tags that can revolutionize the field of ecology.