Animal Tracking Data Analysis

Organism tracking is performed through the MCAM GUI resulting in .CSV output files containing tracking data. This section explores concepts relating to loading data from the CSVs, plotting data, and filtering data.

Output Files

Output files are saved in a folder with the same name as the input file and this folder is created in the parent directory of the input file.

Raw Tracking Data - tracking_data.csv - CSV file containing 8 key-points per fish, x, y coordinate and confidence for each keypoint. Note: This file is likely too large to be opened in Excel or other spreadsheet software due to the large number of columns in the data array. This file can be opened and manipulated using Python.

  • Plotted Tracks - plotted_tracks.png - Visualization of movement over time from blue (earliest, cold) to red (most recent, hot).

  • Distance Traveled Data - distance_traveled_metrics.csv - Distance traveled and speed calculated for each frame.

  • Aggregate Metrics - distance_traveled_key_metrics.csv - Distance traveled and speed calculated for each frame.

  • Video Composite - composite_tracked_video.mp4 - MP4 video containing key-point and skeleton labeled fish for all wells of a well plate.

Units

Unless otherwise specified, exported units implicitly:

  • Distance or length: meters

  • Time: seconds

  • Velocity or speed: meters/second

  • Orientation/Angle: degrees

Further reading

Worked Python examples
Zebrafish Tracking Examples
Pulse power calibration
Pulse Power Calibration