Research overview: store-on-board versus Iridium and GSM remote-download collars

This overview compares the main architectures of modern GPS collars and their consequences for felid fieldwork. Store-on-board units log positions to internal memory and require recapture or a timed drop-off to retrieve data, offering dense sampling but no real-time view and a risk of total loss if the collar is never recovered. Remote-download collars relay fixes over the Iridium satellite network or cellular GSM, delivering near-real-time data crucial for kill-site visits, mortality response, and conflict mitigation, at the cost of battery drain and reduced fix density. Choosing between them shapes study design for cats living in remote mountains versus human-dominated landscapes, and the overview surveys how researchers balance data return, cost, and recovery risk.