Equipment loaner program

To support aquatic animal tracking worldwide and help leverage valuable research funding, the Ocean Tracking Network (OTN) offers equipment loans.

OTN maintains a pool of Innovasea Vemco acoustic receiver units available for loan by researchers within academia, government, non-profits, and industry. This equipment enables aquatic telemetry research studies around the world, and supports the expansion of OTN’s global community of users.

Equipment available for loan includes Innovasea Vemco VR2W, VR2AR, VR2Tx, VR2AR-X receivers and Ascent releases. OTN has a limited number of receivers that have been updated to Open Protocol. Loans are issued based on equipment availability and following a successful application and review.

Criteria for equipment loans

Applications will be evaluated based on:

The scientific and technical merit of the proposal
The relevance of the proposal to advancing OTN’s scientific and strategic goals and objectives
How the project is advancing, or could advance, principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility within the field of research
The potential for the deployment to foster connectivity with other telemetry researchers in the region, and to assist with growing the collaborative global network
If requesting Open Protocol receivers, a rationale for why they are needed

Application procedure

To determine the availability of equipment for loan and to discuss a potential application, interested researchers are requested to contact otn@dal.ca.

Further information on equipment loans  can be found on the OTN data portal.

Prior to applying, please ensure project timelines account for any permitting requirements within the area of study. Please also account for time for OTN to review the loan request (minimum of two months). Successful applications will be required to sign an equipment loan agreement prior to the shipment of gear.

Acknowledgement guidelines

Required acknowledgement for academic publications

OTN must be recognized in the acknowledgements section of all peer-reviewed publications, reports, theses, and other formal research outputs that make use of OTN infrastructure (e.g., equipment loaner program, data collaborations, and/or related support).

The following wording is recommended:

“The Ocean Tracking Network (OTN), headquartered at Dalhousie University, provided infrastructure, data services, and support that enabled this research. OTN is funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation and other partners.”

Acknowledgement in other communications

We welcome opportunities to collaboratively communicate research outcomes resulting from the use of OTN infrastructure. Where feasible and appropriate, please acknowledge OTN’s contributions in project communications and knowledge-sharing materials, including but not limited to:

Project or laboratory websites
Blog posts, online articles, or newsletters
Conference presentations and posters
Printed outreach or educational materials
Media releases or other public-facing communications
Social media posts

Acknowledgement may be provided through text and/or inclusion of the OTN logo, where design and format allow. To download official OTN logo files and learn more about other communications resources, click here.

General inquiries
+1 902 494 4101
otn@dal.ca

Data Centre
otndc@dal.ca

Media Contact
anja.samardzic@dal.ca

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