Skeletal muscle contractions rely on a finely tuned neurovascular response. This meachanism ensures oxygen delivery matches metabolic demand. A key mechanism, functional sympatholysis, or the attenuation of sympathetic vasoconstriction during exercise, supports blood pressure regulation and exercise tolerance.
Basal metabolic rate (BMR) and body temperature are two fundamental physiological traits in mammals, both influencing energy balance and obesity risk. While these traits are evolutionarily connected, their relationship within species is still poorly understood. Many mammals can lower their metabolic rate and body temperature during harsh conditions like cold or food scarcity.
A team from IMEDEA-CSIC and Wageningen University implanted 12 European seabass with Star-Oddi DST milli-HRT ACT biologgers. They subjected them to swim tunnel and crowding test and measured a range of parameters. The loggers recorded ECG signals at 200Hz for 7.5 seconds and the acceleration was recorded at 10Hz at set intervals.
A new long-term study reveals that polar cod is steadily retreating from the waters around Iceland as ocean temperatures rise. The research draws on nearly 40 years of standardised trawl surveys and shows a clear pattern: as waters warm, polar cod retreat northward and into deeper, colder environments. Star-Oddi's robust Starmon TD logger was used to validate the temperature measurements.
Major update of our free analysis tool with several new features and improvements of our free heart rate validation and ECG analysis tool. HRT Analyzer v2.0.0 is now available.
The rapid evolution and global spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 viruses, particularly subclade 2.3.4.4b, have raised serious concerns about their potential to cause future pandemics. These viruses have increasingly infected a wide range of avian and mammalian species, including recent spillover into marine mammals and livestock.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5) viruses continue to pose a significant threat to global health, affecting wild and domestic birds, and increasingly spilling over into mammals, including humans. Their rapid antigenic evolution complicates vaccine development and pandemic preparedness as traditional approaches struggle to keep pace with emerging variants. To address this challenge, researchers are exploring innovative strategies to design vaccines that offer broad protection across the diverse antigenic landscape of A(H5) viruses.
Star-Oddi will be exhibiting at the Coastal & Estuarine Research Federation CERF 2025 conference in Richmond, US, on November 9-13. We will showcase our small data loggers which fit well for stationary ocean monitoring in estuaries and coastal areas.
In a two-year study, scientists from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), University of Groningen, and the Naturalis Biodiversity Center have uncovered surprising secrets about one of the reef’s smallest residents — coral-dwelling gall crabs. Despite being only a few millimetres long, these crabs play a crucial but often overlooked role in the health and resilience of coral ecosystems.
Olive flounder is the cornerstone of South Korea’s aquaculture industry, accounting for about 81% of land-based tank-reared fish production between 2006 and 2023. Maintaining competitiveness across farms requires efforts such as improving aquaculture conditions, selective breeding, optimized feed, and efficient management. However, the high-density rearing practices often used to reduce production costs can increase disease risk and suppress growth.
Star-Oddi will be showcasing at the OCEANS conference and exposition in Chicago, US, September 29 - October 2, 2025. We will display our wide range of miniature multi sensor DST data loggers and online sensors for ocean monitoring and subsea gear research.
Aquaculture production is growing quickly, underscoring the need to improve welfare standards during harvesting. Pre-slaughter practices such as fasting and crowding, along with slaughter methods, are critical points with major welfare implications. A recent study evaluated how pre-slaughter protocols and seasonal temperature affect cardiac responses during slaughter in European seabass, using Star-Oddi’s DST milli-HRT heart rate bio-loggers.
Salinity and temperature drive changes in aquatic ecosystems, shaping the patterns of life across different places and seasons. In one of the saltiest marine environments on the planet, scientists have discovered that fish are not only surviving, but some are also thriving. A new study explored the extreme salinity gradient in Shark Bay in Western Australia using Star-Oddi's DST CTD.
To address the urgent need for effective large-scale depopulation methods in the event of foreign animal disease outbreaks in U.S. swine herds, researchers compared three techniques under field conditions: water-based foam (WBF), nitrogen-infused foam (N₂F), and carbon dioxide gas (CO₂). 84 finisher pigs were implanted with Star-Oddi’s centi-HRT ACT loggers.
In a recent study it is explored how dietary amino acids regulate energy expenditure and control adipose tissue function in mice. Existing research links caloric and methionine restriction in humans to increased “browning” of white fat, a process that enhances thermogenesis and supports core temperature maintenance. However, the specific role of individual amino acids in this metabolic shift remains unclear.
Star-Oddi will participate in the workshop: Tech Talk: Advancing Wildlife Monitoring Devices – From GPS Collars to Biologgers held at the International Wildlife Congress (IWC) in Lillehammer, Norway, on September 1-4, 2025.
The US government has imposed tariff on import of all international products to the US. All Star-Oddi products are manufactured and shipped from Iceland. This means that the buyer in the US in all cases has to pay a 15% tariff to the US government on products imported from Iceland to the US. The tariff varies between countries but Iceland is among countries in the second lowest tariff bracket.
Watch our latest webinar on physio-loggers in aquaculture and learn how our physio-loggers help improve fish welfare and aid in reducing mortality through analysing response to stress and behaviour in aquaculture.
If you are at SEB Annual Conference in Antwerp in July, do not miss Session A16 which Star-Oddi is sponsoring: "Insights and tools from biologging for conservation physiology". Session organisers are Prof. Andrea Fuller, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, and Emily Bennitt, University of Botswana.
Weaning triggers strong reactions in both ewes and lambs, raising important welfare concerns. However, data on the physiological responses of ewes remain limited and often inconsistent. A newly published study aimed to quantify the physiological changes in ewes following weaning.
Emotional arousal variation in vocalizations has been extensively studied in many animal species as well as humans. Various animals do produce distinct call types related to different behavioural context and emotional states. In a recent study the effects of orally administered glucocorticoids on emotional arousal and vocal communication in wild meerkats were investigated.
Sea lampreys are parasitic fish native to the Atlantic Ocean. Their populations spread into the Great Lakes in the mid-1800s, where they caused considerable harm to native fish such as lake trout, whitefish, ciscoes, and walleye. Sea lampreys feed by suctioning onto fish, using their tongues to rasp a hole through the skin, and consuming the blood and juices that flow out.
The melting of glaciers is accelerating, caused by higher ocean temperatures and changing climate. The Greenland Ice Sheet is a major contributor to sea level rise produced by both surface melt and glacier flow into the ocean. Researchers equipped a ocean robot with CTD online sensor and 360° sonar and explored the ice cavity of Petermann Glacier, Greenland.
We are soon heading for OCEANS conference and exposition in Brest, France, where we will exhibit our wide range of miniature multi sensor data loggers and online sensors for ocean monitoring and subsea gear research.
Learn how Star-Oddi’s small, high-performing physio-loggers help improve fish welfare research and behaviour analysis in aquaculture. Star-Oddi gives a free webinar during the Aquaculture Technology Webinar Week 2025.
We are soon heading to Washington DC to attend the World Vaccine Congress which is held April 22-24, 2025. We will then continue to APS 2025, American Physiology Summit, in Baltimore, MD, and exhibit from April 24-27, 2025. You will be able to meet two of our experts in the field in our booth, and get an introduction to our small, implantable, easy to use physio-loggers.
Learn about physio-logging in aquaculture at Aquaculture Technology Webinar Week where Star-Oddi is participating in May. And if you are at SEB in Antwerp in July, do not miss session A16 which Star-Oddi is sponsoring.
The US government has imposed tariff on import of products to the US. All Star-Oddi products are manufactured and shipped from Iceland. This means that the buyer in the US in all cases has to pay a 10% tariff to the US government on products imported from Iceland to the US. The tariff varies between countries but Iceland is in the lowest tariff bracket.
It has been established that heart rate is a reliable indicator of energy expenditure and stress in livestock and wildlife. It has also been explored to see if it is feasible to use overall dynamic body acceleration (ODBA) as a proxy for heart rate, due to the simplicity of attaching a collar to an animal and transmitting data to a remote receiver.
We will be exhibiting our small, simple to use, physio-loggers at the American Physiology Summit, Baltimore, Maryland, held April 24-27. Our product expert, Asgeir Bjarnason, will then head straight to the IEEE MeAVeAS Workshop in Pisa, Italy, held April 28-30. He will co-host the Special Session #1: Biologging in Veterinary and Animal Sciences: Measuring Physiology, Behaviour and Movement.
The precise mechanism of how vaccines work is not always known. This is the case with the insect-based chimeric alphavirus vaccine against the Eilat (EILV)/chikungunya (CHIKV) virus. The CHIKV virus causes both acute and chronic infections in people, and an effective vaccine is needed.
Gilthead seabream is a key aquaculture species in the Mediterranean. Recently, a group of researchers from Portugal, Spain, and France published a study in Aquaculture Reports investigating the effect of environmental enrichment (EE) on the stress levels of the fish, using heart rate as a proxy during husbandry procedures such as feeding, netting, cleaning, and a formaldehyde bath as a prophylactic measure against parasites.
Excessively high global temperatures can cause strong negative physiological responses in corals such as bleaching, disease, and mortality. Marine heatwaves can also threaten the life of other coral reef organisms, including fish. A recently published study evaluated the correlation between the different water temperature data sources - both from space and the field.
We are happy to announce the release of a tutorial video for our free HRT Analyzer software. Learn how to set up and use the tool to process and validate raw ECG data.
Our heart rate product expert Ásgeir Bjarnason gave a webinar at the BeHappyFish Challenge. The webinar includes an introduction to fish physiology and how to use Star-Oddi loggers in welfare research on fish. It's available online.
It is unknown whether electrophysiological data from zoo lions is indicative of their wild counterparts since little is known about ECGs in wild lions. A known difference between the two groups is that zoo lions adapt to diurnal routines of their human zookeepers, compared to nocturnal lifestyle of their wild cousins.
We are proud to present an expansion to our hear-rate product line, presenting the DST micro-HRT Avian, and DST milli-HRT (ACT) Avian. These physio-loggers have been tested in hundreds of birds like broiler chickens, turkeys, and kittiwakes.
Star-Oddi's product expert, Asgeir Bjarnason, together with Professor José Alfonso Abecia at the University of Zaragoza, will host the Special Session #1 at IEEE MeAVeAS Workshop in Pisa held in April 2025.
More and more evidence points to the fact that bats are ancient natural hosts of many viruses, including coronaviruses. Furthermore, research has shown bats being reservoir hosts for zoonotic viruses such as betacoronaviruses, e.g., the SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19).
The Star-Oddi team wishes you happy holidays and a prosperous new year! We thank you for your cooperation in 2024. During the holiday season, our offices will be closed on December 24th-26th, 31st and January 1st.
European plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) is a commercially essential fish species in the North Sea, Skagerrak, Kattegat, and Baltic Sea. It is mostly caught with the Danish seine, an active fishing gear targeting demersal species like the plaice. Researchers from Denmark and Norway recently published a study on catch-induced injuries, post-capture recovery and short-term survival of European plaice.
In Atlantic Canada, the health and welfare of Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) in sea-cages face increasing challenges, particularly during the winter months when water temperatures plummet. Recent research highlights how cold conditions, compounded by climate change-induced temperature variability, pose significant threats to salmon survival.
We are soon heading to Nashville, US, to attend the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) National Meeting, which is taking place on November 3-7th, 2024. We will be exhibiting our small, implantable physio-loggers, measuring heart rate, activity, and temperature.
A groundbreaking study performed by a group of researchers from Max Planck and Yale University caught the eye of the world earlier this fall when the latest information in an ongoing study was released, using Star-Oddi physio-loggers. The world press made the result accessible to the public worldwide in prominent publications, New York Times and Newsweek.
It has been well established that Syrian golden hamster is a good animal model for COVID-19 studies due to their susceptibility and that they elicit similar viral replication, disease progression and pathological manifestations as is seen in human COVID-19 pneumonia. In a recent study, scientists looked at behavioural changes as well using activity in comparison with body temperature and daily energy expenditure.
We are currently at the Safety Pharmacology Society (SPS) Annual Meeting which is taking place in San Diego, US, on September 22-25, 2024. We are showcasing our small, implantable physio-loggers, measuring heart rate, activity, and temperature.
Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior has published revolutionary research showing the long-term energetic costs of migratory and resident populations of the common blackbird using Star-Oddi‘s Heart Rate and Temperature data loggers.
Star-Oddi will be showcasing at the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting (AFS) in Honolulu, US, September 15-19, 2024. We will then exhibit at the OCEANS conference and exposition in Halifax, Canada, September 23-26.
Marine mammals rely on blubber as their only insulation from the surrounding environment. Blubber has low conductivity which is preferable in water condition as heat loss is 25 times faster in water than in air at same temperatures. In cetaceans, or whales, the blubber is the main or only barrier for heat loss by reducing conductive heat transfer resulting in lower heat loss in the water.
Marine spatial models can predict the impact of environmental factors on a given species and the distribution of it in a certain area. Several models have been developed in numerous areas of the oceans, but they are all with low resolution, often several kilometres.
A northward heat stress is common occurrence in dairy cow farming and can be a challenge for the farmer to deal with. Heat stress can lead to reduced feed intake which causes reduced milk yield, fertility and in worst case scenario, death. In a current study, a group of researchers looked at if cooling by airspeed would result in longer daily lying times, and lower body temperature.
The world‘s smallest animal implantable temperature logger, our DST nano-T, only 1.3g in weight and 17mm in length, has now twice the memory size. The upgrade enables higher frequency sampling of data over longer period of time. Memory fills after 60 days sampling every minute and 450 days sampling every 10 minutes. It now stores 87,166 measurements. Battery life is up to 14 months and fastest possible measurement interval is 1 second.
The transference of zoonotic, in this case Mosquito-borne diseases, causing dead-end infections to pandemics, has been accelerating. Translocation of viral disease between continents is known to have happened, e.g. in the case of yellow fever originated in non-human primates in Africa was carried via ships to the neo-tropics. In a current study, researchers sought to establish the likelihood of the Old World diseases of mosquito borne Dengue and Zika viruses developing enzootic cycle in a neo-tropical locations.
We will be exhibiting our small, implantable, data loggers that can measure variables such as heart rate, activity, temperature, salinity and depth at AQUA 2024 conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, next week, August 26-30. Come by if you are attending.
A northward range shift of the North American flying squirrel (Glaucomys spp.) has been observed in the last few decades. The North American flying squirrel is in fact many species that all have made the shift northwards starting in the 90ties. The exact reason for this shift is unknown, let alone the impact this has on the forest communities which is also unknown.
About 10% of rodent species have adapted to subterranean live style. Some of the challenges faced by these animals are the risks of overheating, lack of oxygen (hypoxia) and high levels of carbon dioxide (hypercapnia). Some of the key adaptations these species have developed are low resting metabolic rate and low core body temperature.
Second Tuesday of July is the Cow Appreciation Day. Star-Oddi supplies biosensors to researchers in their efforts to understand the factors that impact animal welfare.
We will exhibit our small, implantable, data loggers that measure variables such as heart rate, activity, temperature and depth at 15th International Congress on the Biology of Fish (ICBF) in Ann Arbor, USA, on June 23rd-27th.
We keep on improving our free heart rate validation and ECG analytical tool with feature suggestions from our users. New version (1.3.2) includes various improvements on the user interface that help you process your ECG data recorded with Star-Oddi heart rate loggers.
In a recent study, researchers from Dalhousie University and Innovasea implanted Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) with Star-Oddi DST centi-HRT ACT and Innovasea ADST (V13AP) tags in a commercial sea cage (Cooke Aquaculture) in Nova Scotia. Over a period of 245 days, the tags recorded heart rate, temperature, activity (external acceleration), and depth to explore the effects of thermal response of Atlantic salmon during a standard production cycle.
We are proud sponsors of the Meeting of the European Evolutionary Developmental Biology (EED) Society in Helsinki, Finland on June 25-28, 2024.
Ammodytes, or species of sand lances, are small pelagic fish which lack a swim bladder and burrow into sand to avoid predators and save energy. Sand lances are important in the coastal ecosystems as a food source for many marine fish species, seabirds, and mammals. Low numbers of sand lances have been connected to failure in reproduction of predators in other regions.
Primate gestation occurs at a high cost to the female wild vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) mostly due to the long gestational period. Reproductive effort should or most likely is naturally repressed if it poses a risk of survival for the mother. During periods of limited resources, females in poor condition are less likely to conceive, and if they do conceive, are less likely to complete the pregnancy compared to females in good condition.
Vulnerability of grazing dairy cattle is substantial and quite often it is difficult to provide sufficient shade for the grazing animals. Individual reactions to the heat load can vary greatly between different cows and the climate cannot reflect the actual heat load they are experiencing. One of the concerning factors is that the cows lower their metabolic heat production by reducing feed intake, which in turn lead to losses in milk yield and financial loss for the farmer. The hypothesis a group of scientists put forward in a recent study claimed that: “grazing dairy cows exhibit behavioural changes due to increasing heat load in temperate climate.”
Yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) is an active and fast-growing marine species, with efficient conversion of feed to fish and behaviour suitable for aquaculture conditions. It is becoming a popular fish in Recirculatory Aquaculture System (RAS) aquaculture worldwide.
Deep-water basins in The Bahamas are excellent locations when studying pelagic sharks and how they connect surface and deep ocean through vertical behaviour. Studying sharks’ behaviour can otherwise be tricky due to logistic challenges when locating individuals in the deep ocean.
Endotherms have the ability to enter torpor, a hypometabolic state known as survival mode. The animal can reduce its body temperature by 10°C to 30°C and suppress its metabolic rate by 70–90% while in this state. Torpor is a survival state used by many warm-blooded animals, or endotherms, to store energy in times when food supplies are limited or when the temperature makes it difficult to maintain a normal state.
To better understand how mammals respond physiologically and behaviourally to climate change, scientists are studying animals that already live in hot and dry environments to see how they cope with changes in food supply and the weather. The animal species that are most threatened by climate change are those with specialist diets and are unable to relocate to more suitable habitats when food is scarce.
Star-Oddi has received questions on the current situation in Iceland after the volcanic eruption on January 14th in the south-west part of Iceland. We are safe as is the vast majority, and operations are running as usual.
The catfish aquaculture industry is the largest finfish aquaculture industry in the United States. However, there is limited understanding of the relationship between acceleration, metabolism, and swimming speed for these species. Researchers from Mississippi State University recently published a paper in the journal Aquaculture where Star-Oddi DST micro-ACT activity and accelerometry data loggers were implanted into channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) to study the aforementioned relationships.
Star-Oddi will exhibit at the 8th International Bio-Logging Science Symposium (BLS8) in Tokyo, Japan, on March 4-8, 2024. We will showcase our bio-loggers measuring heart rate, activity, depth, and temperature. On March 3, our physio-logging expert Asgeir Bjarnason will organize a pre-conference workshop with Andreas Fahlman (Linköping University/Global Diving Research) on physio-logging in both terrestrial and aquatic animals.
There is a lack of knowledge on the pH and salinity levels in the coastal waters of Eastern Canada and the connection between the two variables there. This knowledge is essential when estimating the threats of the marine life, as for instance the important oyster farming in New Brunswick. Ocean acidification causes corrosive conditions for the larvae shells, reduces the feeding rate of the larvae, increases the respiration rate, and more.
The Star-Oddi team wishes you happy holidays and a prosperous new year! We thank you for your cooperation in 2023. During the holiday season, our offices will be closed on December 25th-26th and January 1st.
It is known that core body temperature fluctuates significantly throughout the sexual cycle, and it has been shown in ewes that there is a link between the heart rate and each phase of the sexual cycle, increasing in ewes that are not in oestrus. This connection of increased heart rate has also been shown in cattle.
Wild boar (Sus scrofa) has made all continents home apart from Antarctica, and has become a pest in large areas. The dense European population has led to them destroying crops and causing trouble in urban areas. It is only mammals, apart from humans and their companion animals, the house mouse (Mus musculus) and the Norwegian rat (Rattus norvegicus), that have naturally settled in as many areas with these vast climatic differences.
Researchers at Memorial University of Newfoundland recently published a paper in the Journal of Experimental Biology, comparing three methods to estimate thermal tolerance, thermal maximum (CTmax), cardiac scope (CS) and heart rate (HR) in Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar).
Researchers from various institutions in Gothenburg, Sweden, and Trondheim, Norway, recently published a paper in the journal Aquaculture detailing their study, in which 13 Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) were equipped with Star-Oddi heart rate and activity bio-loggers, DST milli-HRT ACT. Additionally, intravascular catheters were inserted to enable sequential blood sampling from the sinus venosus during the experiment.
We have received questions on the current situation in Iceland as news have come out about earthquakes and a possible eruption. We are safe as is the vast majority of houses and infrastructure in Iceland. People have been moved away from the endangered area which is confined to a small portion of the island.
Hverju skilar tæknin? Velferð fiska og sjálfbærni fiskeldis hefur verið mikið í umræðunni undanfarið og mun meiri áhersla er á þessa þætti en áður um heim allan. Star-Oddi býður upp á brautryðandi tækni sem sýnir áhrif umhverfisbreytinga og mannlegs áreitis á eldisfiska og gerir stjórnendum eldisfyrirtækja kleift að nota þær upplýsingar til að minnka hin skaðlegu áhrif á fiskinn, auka velferð hans og þar með gæði afurðanna.
Measuring heart rate using bio-loggers in free swimming fishes to detect their response to environmental impacts is a promising tool in aquaculture. It is of great value to have an insight into what drives migration in fish and the impact this could have on commercial utilization and conservation. Due to the logistic challenges that are involved, especially in the study of physiology of large pelagic fish, it has been vital to design simple, less stressful procedures.
Sub-tropical coastal ecosystems are seen as a central place for species diversity. However, little is known about these regions and the lack of data is hindering informed species conservation strategies. For this reason, a study was conducted to understand and estimate the nature of spatial variability of the aquatic ecology of the coastal regions of Bangladesh. The causal relationship between environmental variables and phytoplankton species abundance was also examined.
Free ranging dairy cows are at high risk of developing heat stress under warm weather conditions, consequently increasing the chance of severe production and welfare problems. This is especially a threat where there is little or no shade in the grazing pastures. Lactating cows are prone to heat stress due to the increased internal heat production associated with milk production and rumination. To counteract the heat stress they seek shade, increase water intake, eat less and milk production declines.
The significance of vaccine development against the influenza virus remains critical due to the constant antigenic drift that aids the influenza virus in evading the existing immunity in the human population. Consequently, the importance of annual vaccination, and vaccination being the most effective preventative action in preventing disease from the influenza virus.
Have you used bio-logging data in your fish research and want to publish it, check out these special issues: 1) Journal of Fish Biology (Advances in telemetry approaches and technologies applied to fish ecology and management) 2) Biology (Sensor Application to Study the Biology of Fish Movement)
Olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) is a common fish farmed in aquaculture settings in South Korea. As the general public becomes more and more aware of the importance of animal welfare, and in this case, fish welfare, there is an increased demand for the development of sustainable aquaculture. A major benefit accomplished by prioritizing the welfare of farmed fish is, among other things, higher yield and superior meat quality.
Star-Oddi will exhibit at the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting on August 20-24, in Michigan, USA. We will also attend Aquaculture Europe 2023 in Vienna, Austria, 18-21 September.
We will be exhibiting our small, simple to use, physiologgers at various conferences this summer. You can meet us at SEB 2023 in Scotland, and the 13th International Mammalogical Congress in Alaska. Come for a chat, and meet our experts, and see how you can add value to your research.
New World arenaviruses (NWAs) are known to cause haemorrhagic fevers and can have high mortality rates. Due to endemic NWAs viruses in South America and recent re-emergence of Machupo (MACV) virus, there is considerable need to discover novel approaches to vaccine development. Neutralizing antibodies (Abs) are critical in protection and control of NWAs.
Star-Oddi will be showcasing at the OCEANS conference and exposition in Limerick, Ireland, June 5-8.
We will be exhibiting our small, simple to use, physiologgers at the American Physiology Summit, Long Beach, California, in April. Come for a chat, and meet our experts, and see how you can add value to your research.
Our data loggers have been shown to be ideal for virology and vaccination studies. The temperature and activity loggers are reliable and simple in use, and are used in all biosafety levels. We have gathered publications in this field that can be accessed here.
Increasing temperatures as a result of global warming, could pose a thermoregulatory challenge to endotherms. The impact of these changes on physiology, health and distribution of animal species is advancing. The repercussions of persistent exposure to temperatures above the thermoneutral zone (TNZ) during the day and below during the night are uncertain. Could this mean that there is thermoregulatory trade off?
In livestock an increase in body temperature is usually the first sign of sickness and is also an indicator of stress response in the animal. Even more it shows the natural variation of responsiveness of breed and sex to stress.
Our product expert will be part of the WIAS course team of international experts, who will be giving lectures on sensor applications for aquatic species.
Star-Oddi is proud to announce the official release of its ECG and heart rate analysis tool, HRT Analyzer, for users of Star-Oddi‘s heart rate loggers. With the use of the HRT Analyzer, users can process raw ECG data to further extend and improve the quality and usability of the data.
Star-Oddi is proud to announce that the popular Starmon Tilt and Starmon Compass loggers are now rechargeable. The battery life on a single charge is significant and can be recharged 500 times before a battery replacement is needed.
Star-Oddi will be exhibiting physiologgers at the American Physiology Summit, Long Beach, California, in April; and at the 13th Mammalogical Congress, held in Anchorage, Alaska, in July. Swing by and say hello to our team of experts, and get information on how our physiologgers can add value to your studies.
If you are interested in these kind of studies you can find relevant information summarized on this topic. We have gathered and made an abstract from publications using our data loggers in torpor and hibernation studies.
Kasi Russell-Lodrigue, DVM, at Tulane National Primate Research Center, in collaboration with our heart rate product expert Asgeir Bjarnason worked together on a poster presented at AALAS 2022. The poster presents two different ways of implanting Star-Oddi heart rate (HR) and activity data loggers in NHP.
An article published in Science Advances in December of 2022 looked into the efficacy of nucleoside-modified mRNA-LNP vaccines technique. During the Covid-19 pandemic it was shown that vaccine based on this technique has great potential. Traditional influenza vaccines are limited in their ability to protect against new or mutated strains of influenza viruses.
Warm blooded animals maintain body temperature within a narrow range, and both hypothermia and hyperthermia are medical emergencies. In primates the knowledge about the thermoregulation center in the hypothalamus is limited.
We are soon heading to Austin, Texas in the US to attend the SICB 2023, The Society for Integrative & Comparative Biology Annual Conference. There we will be exhibiting our small, implantable physio-loggers.
The Star-Oddi team wishes you happy holidays and a prosperous new year! We thank you for your cooperation in 2022. During the holiday season, our offices will be closed on December 26th.
Stress due to handling is inevitable when exposing fish to invasive procedures during research, management, and aquaculture activities. This will induce a stress response which is important to reduce by using appropriate anesthesia and immobilization techniques. Welfare is a crucial factor when capturing, handling and releasing fish, lowering the risk of negative consequences from acute and perhaps chronic stress.
The largest commercially exploited stock of mesopelagic fish in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean is the blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou). The multi-national fishing fleet fishing the blue whiting consists mainly of large pelagic trawlers that use fishing trawls usually larger than 2000 m in stretched circumference and vertical and horizontal mouth openings exceeding 100 m.
We will be exhibiting our physiologgers, measuring heart rate, activity and temperature at SICB 2023! We are looking forward to meeting everybody! Come by our booth for a chat on how they may suit your study, or to take part in our Raffle!
One of the fundamental behaviours of mammalian species is sexual behaviour, which is crucial for the survival of the species. Sexual hormones are known to be implicated in behavioural changes during the reproductive cycle. What remains in the dark is the underlying cellular functions and connections linked to the reproductive cycle.
The Scandinavian brown bear (Ursus arctos) has adapted to harsh winter conditions in northern Scandinavia by going into hibernation. During hibernation, different biological rhythms in activity and temperature have been noticed which are naturally regulated by environmental factors such as daylight. Research of various rhythms in wild animals has contributed greatly to the field of ecology, but little focus has been on the physiology behind these rhythms.
Do you want to see more from SPS 22 conference? Download a poster written by our product expert, Ásgeir Bjarnason, in collaboration with Pfizer. It shows how you can use Star-Oddi's loggers for cardiovascular screening using minimally invasive and low-cost solutions.
Unriddling the mechanism behind torpor and hibernation is of interest and could be medically beneficial in treating many species including humans. Mice have been used as study animals of torpor and they only enter torpor when challenged with food deprivation or a combination of cold surroundings and food deprivation. The house musk shrew (Suncus murinus) has shown intermittent low body temperature without food restriction and short light period. The purpose of a recent study was to determine if the House musk shrew could be a novel animal for these kinds of studies.
Increased incidence of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in shift-workers may potentially indicate an imbalance in temporal energy supply and demand. In the current study, various methods were used to evaluate the difference between normal ad libitum (AL) feeding vs time restricted feeding using the light phase as a model for shift work.
The Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) is an important indicator for the health of freshwater and coastal ecosystems. Contrary to the Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus sp.) which dies after spawning, the Atlantic salmon spawns more than once in its lifetime. The success of this repeated spawning depends on the ability to migrate between fresh water and marine feeding grounds where the fish is exposed to variety of human made stressor.
Star-Oddi will be exhibiting at OCEANS Conference & Exposition 2022 in Hampton Road, Virginia, USA, on October 17-20, 2022.
Following the successful launch of our wide salinity range in the small size DST CTD and CT logger series last year, we now offer a wider range in our low conductivity range logger. It now covers a conductivity range from 0.1 to 6 mS/cm, allowing for fresh to slightly saline water applications.
In the times of climate change and other challenges in environmental temperature that impact the ecology and conservation of animals, amphibians and reptiles are extremely vulnerable to these changes. Being ectotherms, the ambient temperature affects their body temperature directly and impacts fundamental functions as metabolic rate, physiology, and behaviour. This shows in their performance and fitness.
There are two main antigens of influenza viruses, the hemagglutinin (HA) and the neuraminidase (NA) surface glycoprotein. In the past the NA has been disregarded or placed in the background of vaccine design. While lowering the severity of the disease, NA antibodies are infection tolerant, while HA antibodies directly neutralize the virus infection. For a number of years, when the HA component of vaccines did does not match the HA of circulation seasonal strains, the hypothesis was that an antigenically matched NA protein could make up for a lower vaccine efficacy.
Increased animal welfare is important for the aquaculture industry since the aim is to improve the health of the farmed fish and reduce stressful events that can lead to degraded product quality and, in worst case, mortality.
We are happy to announce an anti-biofouling device, copper grid, for our popular DST CTD and DST CT salinity loggers. It helps decrease biofouling on the conductivity sensor to a large degree.
We are soon heading to France to attend two conferences where we will exhibiting our small, implantable, data loggers that can measure variables such as heart rate, activity, temperature and depth. If you are going, we hope to see you there.
The majority primate births occur during the inactive period of the day. Birthing influences the mother’s body temperature in a distinct way, marked by a drop in maternal body temperature during labor followed by a distinct increase in body temperature in the hours right after the birth.
Due to the many challenges scientists face when it comes to studying mesocarnivores living in extreme cold environment, like the Canadian lynx (Lynx canadensis), little is known on their energy expenditure, behaviour, and metabolic responses to the environment. In this study the scientist investigated patterns of energy expenditure especially in relation to their body size, environmental conditions, and activity.
Aquaculture farming of Atlantic Salmon has seen a steady growth globally supplying ocean-based protein with continuously increasing scale of the operation. Bigger production systems and more exposed locations put pressure on the industry to maintain fish welfare and improve farming operations such as fish handling which is believed to be a major cause for mortality in sea cages.
Little is known about the effect of angling-induced hook damage to the gills in fish. In a recent study, researchers looked at parental care behavior and reproductive fitness, as well as heart rate performance in male smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) with compromised branchial and coronary blood flow. Negative effects were expected on all three parameters, which turned out was not the case.
Kisspeptin is known to influence fertility and metabolism. In a study made by scientists at the School of Human Sciences in the University of Western Australia and Department of OBGYN and Reproductive Sciences at UC San Diego. They compared transgenic mice that totally lacked kisspeptin (Kiss1r-KO), with wild type (WT) mice and for the first time mice that have about 95% reduction in Kiss1 transcript levels (Kiss1-Cre).
In a study conducted by scientists in Chile at Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas, Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Millenium Institute for Integrative Biology, and Instituto de Biología, core body temperature was used to determine torpor and hibernation periods in Monito del Monte marsupials (Dromiciops gliroides) during winter. Torpor bouts were detected both in lab settings and in the field.
The memory size in the Starmon tilt logger has now been doubled and is 6.7 million measurements per sensor; acceleration-tilt (3-D), depth and temperature. This durable titanium logger is ideal for analysing movements of subsea gear, whether for profiling or long-term monitoring.
We will be exhibiting at the Oceanology International in London, UK, on March 15-17, 2022. Our experts in booth #C300 will be demonstrating CTDs and multi sensors and will be happy to finally meet you in person!
Star-Oddi will be exhibiting at the AQUACULTURE 2022 in San Diego, USA, on February 28 - March 4. Visit our booth #517 and check out our world-leading heart rate, activity, depth and temperature loggers!
The cardiovascular system plays a key role in the ability of fish to survive and thrive in their environment. In a recent study, researchers expected to demonstrate that swimming activity measured with accelerometers was a determinant of cardiac activity measured through heart rate.
Heart rate is commonly used as an indicator for animal welfare in relation to circadian rhythm. In a study conducted by scientists at Universidad de Salamanca and Universidad de Zaragoza, it is used as an indicator for changes of the circadian rhythm of cows that were subjected to rotational grazing between low density grazing and high density grazing for a short period of time.
Many researchers have been investigating if ferrets are a suitable model for COVID-19 research as it is for influenza. A study carried out by researchers at Centre for Infectious Disease Control, Animal Research Centre, and Microscope Consultancy in the Netherlands investigates if there is a connection between age and inoculation route.
Gregarious animals can be temporarily affected by fever and other physical responses to infection. This can offer other members of the group a competitive advantage. To study the effects of illness in a group of vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus), social behavior and body temperature of 43 animals was monitored over an extended period of time.
Our loggers are used to measure a wide variety of animal species but scientists getting data from two animals in one deployment is a first for us. A Baltic cod (Gadus morhua) was tagged as part of the international tagging project TABACOD in 2018. The tag was one of Star-Oddi’s DST micro-TD loggers that measure temperature and depth.
It has been showed that juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) held in pairs form dominance hierarchies in which subordinate individuals experience chronic social stress accompanied by lower thermal tolerance.
We are proud to announce enhanced wide salinity range in our popular DST CTD and CT logger series. The enhanced range covers conductivity ranges from 3 to 68 mS/cm, allowing a wide variety of monitoring applications. This can, for example, be beneficial in situations where salinity fluctuates from low to high salinity.
Infection with SARS-CoV-2 can lead to a variety of clinical manifestations, from asymptomatic to fatal. While scientists are still working on understanding this variation fully, viral control is currently considered to be affected by acquired immune effectors, antibodies and CD8+ T cells.
In early summer, large ungulates typically show a single seasonal peak for heart rate. A recent study performed at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria, demonstrates that this does not hold true for female wild boars (Sus scrofa), using heart rate as a proxy for energy expenditure.
Water temperature is increasing and oxygen levels decreasing at sea-cage sites due to climate change. These conditions may become a challenge for the aquaculture industry as they negatively affect growth and welfare of marine sea-caged fish.
Anadromous fishes like salmon hatch and spend their juvenile period in freshwater. This is followed by migration to, and maturation in the sea. Adult fish then migrate back up rivers to reproduce in freshwater habitats. A researcher at Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency has looked closer into the reverse migration and probing behaviour of pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) after its return to fresh water.
Recent studies have suggested that an accumulation of sequence variations in the SARS-CoV-2 virus’ spike genome could cause current vaccines to lose efficacy.
We are pleased to announce that we have released a new activity logger in our popular micro size.
Finfish aquaculture has seen a great increase in recent decades with an estimated 369 species farmed worldwide, but physiological data is lacking on many of them. In a recent study, researchers at the Swedish University of Agricultural Science and University of Gothenburg highlight the importance of performing a long-term evaluation of free swimming fish in aquaculture.
Treatment with adjuvant tamoxifen has proven to increase breast cancer patient’s survival rate. However, it is not without considerable side effects. Patients on tamoxifen can, for example, experience hot flashes, changes in bone density and fatigue.
Researchers from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) have, along with nine other institutes, discovered a novel deep-sea fish species in the Suruga Bay, Japan. In a recent paper, the scientists describe the discovery of a colossal slickhead (Narcetes shonanmaruae) which was detected unintentionally during research trips investigating the faunal diversity and environment in waters below 2,000 meters.
While most eyes are currently focused on the Covid-19 pandemic, scientists continue to try to learn more about other zoonotic diseases that have the potential to threaten public health. One of these diseases is Ebola, caused by the Ebola virus.
We are always striving to improve our product range to meet our customer's needs. Our most recent product updates involve improvements for our smallest and largest heart rate and activity loggers.
Upwelling is an oceanographic phenomenon that involves wind-driven motion of dense, cooler, and usually nutrient-rich water from deep water towards the ocean surface, replacing the warmer, usually nutrient-depleted surface water. Upwelling along the Tanzanian coast has long been suggested, and it is of importance as around 60 million people live within 100 km of the coastline. Many inhabitants are dependent on the ocean for employment and resource for food.
Biologgers are becoming increasingly popular to measure free-swimming fish. However, attaching or implanting these devices inevitably requires handling of the animals. Any handling of the study animal can lead to a stress response. To be able to interpret data correctly it is important to know how long it takes the fish to recover from handling, anaesthesia and surgery so that data from the recovery period can be excluded from the data analysis.
A large part of gaining a better understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19 is finding the most suitable animal models to study the effects of the disease. As primates are our closest relatives in the animal kingdom they have been one of the animal groups used to study the pathogenesis of the disease.
Research has been carried out investigating how artificial light at night impacts the ecosystem and its inhabitants, but the effects on aquatic invertebrates specifically are poorly understood. Light pollution is a fast-increasing threat to terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity and has, for example, been proven to disrupt diel cycle.
Measuring body temperature in animals is one method of measuring their response to changing environments. One of the methods used in the field is infrared thermography which measures the temperature on the body’s surface noninvasively, but it remains unclear whether these measurements reflect core body temperature accurately.
In 2016, two adult barracudina (Arctozenus risso) were caught off the Flemish Cap, Newfoundland, Canada. These specimens were special since they showed unusual attributes including loss of gill rakers and teeth and fragile jaw bones. Moreover, both fish also had ripening ovaries and testes, which confirms simultaneous hermaphroditism.
Extensive research has been carried out on exercise physiology of fish, especially on swimming abilities, metabolic rate, heart function and acid-base balance of salmonids. It is widely known that increased oxygen uptake rates and cardiac output support the aerobic metabolic need of exercising muscles until the maximum capacity of the cardiorespiratory system is reached.
Aquaculture farming of Atlantic Salmon has seen a steady growth globally. Bigger production systems and more exposed locations put pressure on the industry to maintain fish welfare and improve farming operations. This includes methods used for fish handling, which is believed to be a major cause of mortality in sea pens.
The marine oil and gas industry has been present in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) since 1938. By 2018, it covered over 5.3 million hectares in U.S. waters alone, with more than 10,000 platforms and active rigs and 27,000 abandoned wells. In the southern GoM there are more than 2,000 offshore wells and thousands of miles of pipelines.
How animals handle changes in the environment differs from species to species. Different species sharing the same habitat can even show different responses to environmental changes.
Since early in the Covid-19 pandemic Star-Oddi has been supplying researchers with loggers for use in research on this novel virus. We are proud to be able to provide research tools for research on Covid-19 and place the highest priority on delivering them as quickly as possible.
The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is a set of rules for managing European fishing fleets and for conserving fish stocks. The landing obligation, meaning that you must bring all caught fish to land, of the new CFP has a “high survival”-exemption. This implies that it is permitted to discard fish with scientifically high chances of surviving both capture, handling and release.
Dominance is a strategy commonly used to improve an individual’s chances of reproductive success. It has been suggested that dominance may be related to physiological performance. However, so far there has been little research to back this up.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many research projects have been interrupted because scientists cannot access their equipment or workspace. However, a study published in Science shows that lockdown in India provides a unique opportunity to collect data that would otherwise be impossible to obtain.
Modern societies rely increasingly on shift work. Meanwhile, studies have shown that this sort of work can potentially negatively affect our health. It has, therefore, become increasingly important to understand whether shift work has a long-last effect on human health.
Understanding how animals living at high latitudes respond to changes in their environment has long interested researchers. In a recent study, scientists at the Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences looked at seasonal differences in temperature and heart rate in female moose in Scandinavia.
Iceland is now in a unique position compared to other countries with regards to the spread of COVID-19. The country has had extremely few deaths and nearly COVID-19 free, as no new cases of the virus have been reported for several days.
Our webinar Heart Rate Measurements in Fish: Methods, Surgery, and Experimental Design on May 7th was a great success. Nearly 90 participants listened to and interacted with the presenters during the webinar.
Bio-logging has proven to be a unique way to gather information on free ranging animals over short and long periods of time. However, many bio-logging devices required surgical interventions often followed by post-surgical prophylactic treatments. One of the treatments commonly used after surgical procedures in fish is the antibiotic enrofloxacin.
Climate change affects global biodiversity in many ways. Biodiversity is both declining and distributed differently across the globe, and the last untouched region may be the Antarctic. Researchers from Chile, Canada and USA recently reported findings of the first settlement of the Chilean blue mussel (Mytilus cf. platensis) in a shallow subtidal habitat of the South Shetland Islands in the Antarctic. This indicates a potential for coming invasions of the Antarctic ecosystem.
On May 7, 2020, Star-Oddi will host a webinar on heart rate measurements in fish. The webinar will focus on methods, surgery, and experimental design when working with heart rate loggers in fish. The workshop will take place through Zoom at 20:00-21:30 CEST/13:00-14:30 ET and is open to current users as well as anyone interested in heart rate measurements in fish.
Star-Oddi is proud to announce Starmon compass, a new compass heading data logger with high accuracy and a large memory. This robust logger is ideal for analysing heading direction and tilt movements on subsea gear and robotics.
As global warming increases it is becoming more and more important to understand how higher temperatures will affect both aquatic and terrestrial animals. A recent study, published by a research group from Rhodes University and the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity.
Since Star-Oddi launched the first data loggers in 1993 our loggers have been used in a wide variety of research. After the release of our first implantable temperature sensor in 2003, one of the most prominent fields of research has been in the field of virology, including vaccine development.
While the Covid-19 pandemic has created uncertainty for people around the world we want to assure our customers that services at Star-Oddi remain the same.
Star-Oddi will be showcasing at the OI Oceanology International exhibition in London, December 1-3, 2020. If you are planning on going, then please be sure to visit us at stand C750.
Coliform mastitis is a common issue in dairy cows that can affect both the wellbeing of the animal as well as the amount of milk it produces. A research group including scientists from Virginia Tech and DairyNZ Ltd. recently compared the effect of two commercially available J5 bacterin vaccines.
Star-Oddi recently became a member of the Ocean Protection Project run by the Big Blue Ocean Cleanup.
We recently released a smaller version of our popular activity loggers. Our activity loggers now come in two different sizes, milli and centi, and are suitable for a wide range of animal sizes.
When trying to understand the effects of physiological stress on organisms living within the sediment, it is of great importance to recognize the relationship between the behaviour of these organisms and the fluctuating stressors, such as salinity in the surrounding waters. This is difficult to study and quantify, especially as these organisms, i.e. clams, are living deep in the sediments.
To better meet the needs of a durable and robust device in demanding ocean environments, we now offer the Starmon TD (temp-depth) and Starmon tilt (acceleration-tilt-temp-depth) in titanium housing.
Cardiac function has been found to be a limiting factor when it comes to animals’ ability to cope with physiological challenges. Parental care is one such challenge which has not been widely assessed in wild animals.
Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) is widely distributed from the United States to Norway but is considered a “Species of Concern” in US waters. Not much is known about their movements and population, and in some years the abundance has been close to being below the detectability levels, according to NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center.
Star-Oddi will be showcasing at the OCEANS Conference in Seattle, October 28-30 2019. If you are going, then please be sure to visit us at booth #715.
Sleep is an essential part of our life and the longer we stay awake, the greater the urge to sleep becomes. Research has shown that following sleep deprivation we experience sleep that is longer and deeper than normal.
The Star-Oddi loggers are used in a variety of studies, including MSc projects. In one such project, Vanessa Hensley, a MSc student at The University of Maine, studied changes in body temperature of North American southern flying squirrels (Glaucomys volans).
Data loggers can provide valuable information to many types of animal studies. As with anything else, though, the quality of the results is dependant on the correct use of the devices.
Recreational fishing has long been a popular pastime in industrial countries. In recent years more focus has been put on reducing the impacts of recreational fishing on fish populations.
A study, carried out in Argentina, shows correlation between seawater temperature variations and changes in the plasma levels of three sex steroid hormones, related to reproduction of the narrownose smooth-hound shark (Mustelus schmitti).
On August 26-30, we will be exhibiting our loggers at the 12th European Ornithologists' Union Congress in Cluj-Napoca, Romania...
Heart rate loggers offer a novel way to record physiological changes in various animal species. To date, Star-Oddi's leadless heart rate loggers have been used successfully in at least 20 fish species...
Wolverines (Gulo gulo) are well adapted to the extreme conditions of their northern habitat. To learn more about the species’ ecophysiology researchers at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Stockholm University...
Welfare of fish in aquaculture is an important concern, as it is estimated to impact between 37 and 120 billion individuals every year, and is a growing concern for consumers, producers, interest groups and authorities...
Star-Oddi will be exhibiting at the Society for Experimental Biology’s annual meeting 2019 in Sevilla, Spain on July 2-5...
Oil and gas industries using airguns for offshore seismic exploration add to globally increasing anthropogenic noise levels in the marine environment...
Wild animal activities and their internal processes are energetically costly. The amount of energy they can obtain and use is inevitably limited, which means they need to make compromises...
Star-Oddi's leadless heart rate and temperature loggers are being used to record valuable physiological data in lumpfish...
We at Star-Oddi got the honor of having Bjarni Tryggvason, the only Icelander who has traveled to outer space, come visit us a few weeks ago...
We have released an updated version of our DST milli-HRT and DST centi-HRT, leadless heart rate, and temperature loggers...
Unlike conventional influenza vaccines, DNA vaccines can be produced rapidly for global coverage. This is a clear benefit should we be faced with an emerging influenza pandemic in the future...
Hibernating bears go through hyperphagia each year to gain fat reserves before hibernation. In a recent study, heart rate measurements were used to compare the metabolic rate between two bear species...
Our experts are on hand to discuss how Star-Oddi's loggers can benefit your research.
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