2023/12/21 by I.D.E. van Dixhoorn, Lydiane Aubé, Coenraad van Zyl +6 · 1 voice · 1 citation
Veterinary · Environmental Science · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation #Human-Animal Interaction Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.5281/zenodo.10420600
openalex publication_date 2023/12/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
The behaviour of an animal is closely linked to its internal state. Various metrics can be calculated from activity data. Complex patterns of activity within or between individuals, such as cyclic patterns and synchrony, can inform on the biological functioning, the health status, or the welfare of an animal. These patterns are now available thanks to sensors that continuously monitor the activity of individual animals over long periods. Data processing and calculations, however, should be clarified and harmonised across studies for the results to be comparable. We present metrics describing activity patterns, we discuss their significance, relevance and limitations for behavioural and welfare studies, and we detail how they can be calculated. Four groups of metrics are distinguished: metrics related to overall activity (e.g., time spent in each activity per unit of time), metrics related to fluctuations around mean activity, metrics related to the cyclicity of activity, and metrics related to the synchrony between animals. Metrics may take statistical approaches (e.g., average and variance) or modelling approaches (e.g., Fourier Transform). Examples are taken essentially from cattle for who individual activity sensors are easily available at present. The calculations, however, can be applied to other species and can be performed on data obtained from sensors as well as visual observations. The present methodological article will help researchers to obtain the most benefit from activity data and will support the decision of which metric can be used to address a given purpose.