DATASET TITLE: Comparing the Accuracy and Precision of Smartphone and Specialist Handheld GNSS Receivers for Use in Ecological Fieldwork [Dataset] PUBLICATIONS: Comparing the Accuracy and Precision of Smartphone and Specialist Handheld GNSS Receivers for Use in Ecological Fieldwork. In Ecological Solutions and Evidence AUTHORS: Andrew Osborne: PhD Student, Manchester Metropolitan University Hannah Mossman: Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University Simon Caporn: Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University Emma Coulthard: Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University SUMMARY: 1. Smartphones are handheld computers and multichannel communication devices that carry an array of sensors and can link with specialist external devices. These powerful tools have an established role in biological recording and ecological surveying. The ability to geolocate accurately is frequently essential to ecological fieldwork. This field study aimed to test the performance of a compact/handheld surveyor-grade GNSS receiver, functioning as an external sensor, compared to smartphones inbuilt GNSS receivers and a standard-grade external GNSS receiver. 2. We devised a series of survey protocols to test the horizontal accuracy of GNSS receivers in static and dynamic scenarios typical of ecology fieldwork, estimating the horizontal distance of GNSS measurements under open sky conditions from a base station geolocated with centimeter accuracy. Protocols were designed to test the capabilities of GNSS receivers; the absolute horizontal accuracy and precision in static surveys and performance in dynamic surveys, walking a transect with frequent changes of direction, or roaming across the survey area, requiring the GNSS to rapidly reestablish a position fix. 3. In all survey protocols, the surveyor-grade GNSS performed significantly better with lower horizontal distance estimates at the 50th centile and more consistent performance at the 95th centile than the other GNSS receivers, giving median distance estimates of 0.5 - 1.1 m. The median horizontal accuracy of inbuilt GNSS receivers in this trial was 0.9 - 3.4 m under open sky conditions. 4. The smartphone GNSS receivers that we tested were accurate to within a few meters. Linking the smartphone with a moderately priced compact/handheld external GNSS receiver significantly improved performance. LICENSE: ODC_BY Open Data Commons Attribution THE FOLLOWING FILES HAVE BEEN ARCHIVED: Fixed_BaseStation_Survey.csv Coordinates of GNSS measurements and calculated distance estimates from the fixed base station during the static survey ---- Roaming_Point_Survey.csv Coordinates of GNSS measurements and calculated distance estimates from the fixed base station during the roaming point survey ---- Walked_Transect_Survey.csv Coordinates of GNSS measurements and calculated distance estimates from the transects during the walked transect survey ---- GPS_Data_Processing folder Raw .gpx data and R code necessary for extracting position measurements from the raw data and calculating distance estimates ---- PERMANOVA_Output folder Text files of PERMANOVA analysis results ---- PERMANOVA.R Code for processing of PERMANOVA analysis ---- Plots.R Code for generating plots from coordinate data in .csv files ---- Skewness_Bias.R Code for estimating directional bias in position measurements ---- StatsAnalysis.R Code for calculating weighted means and weighted variances and generating boxplots (Figure 2)