Welsh Mountain Ewe Urination Data from Accelerometers on Upland Pastures

Environmental Information Data Centre provides a dataset on urination behavior of free-grazing Welsh Mountain ewes. Data were collected using tri-axial accelerometers glued to the hind of ewes across two contrasting upland field sites and two seasons. The study aimed to detect urination events via a squatting position algorithm and correlate squatting time with urine volume.

Use Cases

• Validate a Boolean algorithm's performance in detecting the characteristic squatting position from tri-axial accelerometer data.
• Analyze correlations between time spent in the squatting position and the volume of urine produced per event.
• Compare urination frequency and volume data across two contrasting upland field sites (semi-improved and unimproved pasture).
• Assess seasonal variation in urination behavior by examining data collected in spring and autumn seasons.

Strengths

• Data collected from free-grazing sheep in real-world upland pasture conditions across two distinct field sites.
• Includes measurements for both urination event timing and urine volume, enabling behavioral and quantitative analysis.
• Dataset originates from the NERC-funded Uplands-N2O project (grant NE/M015351/1), providing institutional credibility.

Limitations

• Sample size (number of ewes or rows) is unknown, limiting assessment of statistical power.
• Methodology relies on an initial validation in urine collection pens; field performance of the accelerometer algorithm may vary.
• Geographic scope is limited to two upland pastures in North Wales, reducing generalizability.

Provenance

Source

Environmental Information Data Centre

Collection Method

Data collected using tri-axial accelerometers glued to ewes, with urination events identified via a Boolean algorithm for squatting position; urine volume and time were recorded.

Time Range

Data collected across two seasons (spring and autumn); specific years unknown.

Freshness

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Geography

Two contrasting upland field sites (semi-improved and unimproved pasture) in North Wales.