A new Magneto-Inductive tracking technique to uncover subterranean activity: what do animals do underground?

1. Despite the importance of the subterranean ecotope, knowledge of underground movement and behaviour has been extremely limited. Previous technologies have relied upon techniques with very low spatial or temporal resolution, such as VHF telemetry. Rather incongruously therefore, relatively simple underground activity regimes have often been assumed, with insufficient attention to the ecological importance of burrow use. 2. We test the capability of Magneto-Inductive (MI) tracking, recording underground movement within a European badger sett over a two week period in February. These data allowed us to: quantify subterranean movement; extrapolate the three-dimensional burrow architecture; simultaneously track multiple individuals; and establish the function of specific movement patterns; demonstrating the technique's utility. Contrasting data generated using MI tracking, against the resolution achievable with VHF tracking, we establish how sampling frequency can influence the percecptio...