BEHAVIOR RECORDER: software to record and analyze behavioral data using SAS and SYSTAT statistical software

This paper describes BEHAVIOR RECORDER, a BASIC computer program that records behavioral data when an observer presses keys on the keyboard of a portable or desktop PC computer. This program can record: (i) the sequence of habitat locations and positions visited by the subject; (ii) the time the subject remained within each location and position; and (iii) the occurrence time, duration, frequency, and sequence of its behaviors within each location and position. Data files created with BEHAVIOR RECORDER can be imported into either SAS or SYSTAT commercial statistical packages. The data can then be analyzed to obtain behavioral data summaries for each habitat location and position recorded in the data file. Behavioral summaries include the number of occurrences per animal of all behaviors, their time of first and last occurrence, and the mean, variance, range, standard error, and coefficient of variation of behavioral occurrence times and durations. BEHAVIOR RECORDER files can also be analyzed to obtain visitation statistics for visits to each habitat location and position. We first describe the recording features of BEHAVIOR RECORDER, and then provide examples of how to collect and analyze BEHAVIOR RECORDER files.