Sensors already equip a range of tools to enhance monitoring capacity for conservation. Some of the higher bandwidth technologies, like camera traps and acoustic monitoring systems, have been essential elements of the conservation toolkit for decades, and thus have enough users that we've created dedicated WILDLABS groups to address them. But a whole range of lower bandwidth sensors beyond these core technologies are being increasingly integrated into conservation monitoring systems, and offer rich new insights into the wildlife and ecosystems we're all working to protect. As with many technologies, cost and access have historically been challenges to the adoption of new sensors, but with low-cost and open-source solutions on the rise, we're excited to see what the future of this space holds.
Getting Started with Sensors:
- Watch Shah Selbe's Tech Tutors episode on scaling FieldKit, an open-source conservation sensor toolbox, from a project to a successful conservation tech product.
- Check out our Virtual Meetup about Low-Cost, Open-Source Solutions in conservation tech, including a talk by Alasdair Davies on the Arribada Initiative's work with thermal sensors in early warning systems.
- For a more in-depth introduction, watch the first video in our datalogger mini-series: Freaklabs: How do I get started with Arduino?
In this group, you'll meet others who are using and innovating diverse sensors in their work, discuss ways to make sensors more effective & accessible for conservationists, learn about what sensors are already helping us accomplish in the field, and have the opportunity to ask and answer questions. Join this group to get started!
Header image: Emma Vogel, University of Tromsø
FLIR have announced the Kifaru Rising Project, a multi-year effort in collaboration with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to deploy FLIR thermal imaging technology to help improve wildlife ranger safety and contribute to their...
18 January 2019
With the aim of advancing rewildling-related technology in the UK and introducing new talent and ideas into the field of rewildling, Ecosulis is thrilled to announce the launch of their first ever Rewilding Tech...
14 January 2019
Arribada just returned from their first thermal camera field trials in Greenland, where they tested the image quality and detection abilities of their chosen thermal sensors in an arctic climate, assessed their...
9 January 2019
As human impacts on the world accelerate, so does the need for tools to monitor the effects we have on species and ecosystems. In this article, Ella Browning and Rory Gibb share insights from their recent review paper...
4 December 2018
Although invaluable for conservation and ecological research, camera traps frequently take pictures of people as well as wildlife. This has important implications for privacy and human rights and may ultimately...
22 November 2018
A comprehensive aerial survey of whales and dolphins off the coast of South Africa supported by a range of organisations including Fauna & Flora International (FFI) has recorded an astounding 1,106 southern right...
22 November 2018
Ted Schmitt joined us for a lunchtime lecture in which he shared his experiences working across Africa the past five years with protected area managers, anti-trafficking organisations, and scientists to effectively...
22 November 2018
Rangerbot, an underwater drone that can accurately identify and fire an injection into crown-of-thorns starfish, is ready to be put to the test on the Great Barrier Reef. The concept for RangerBot won the 2016 Google...
18 September 2018
NASA and The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) have launched the Next Generation Animal Tracking Ideation Challenge, seeking your ideas for how to use emerging SmallSat/CubeSat technology along with other Space,...
14 September 2018
Technology now frequently used in wildlife conservation is evolving at a rapid pace, with improvements promised to make research applications and integration with other technology easier, faster, and smarter. In this...
23 August 2018
Article
In this case study, conservation ecologist Ayesha Tulloch takes us behind the scenes of her recent paper, which came out in Nature Ecology & Evolution earlier this month. In this paper, Ayesha and her team present a...
20 August 2018
The winners of our Human Wildlife Conflict Tech Challenge are offering regular updates throughout the year to chronicle their failures, successes and what they learn along the way as they develop their solutions. In...
27 July 2018
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66 Organisations
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Kids, Drones & Science At The Water’s Edge
4 October 2017 12:00am
Saliva-powered paper battery
26 September 2017 2:55pm
How to lose a BRUV in 10 days
26 September 2017 12:00am
DAS: A Scaleable Solution For Protected Area Management
26 September 2017 12:00am
Elephant's Banquet
19 September 2017 12:00am
IoT breakthrough - applications for wildlife conservation?
15 September 2017 3:10pm
Thermal cameras and wildlife
26 July 2017 6:51pm
21 August 2017 12:17pm
Abstract here from the IMC Congress in Perth, they found the higher-res versions are much better than the less expensive (e.g. iphone) versions when it comes to finding animals.
Now you see me: How thermal imaging increases detection of cryptic nocturnal mammals in tropical regions
Avril Underwood1 , Mia Dehre-Miller2 1. James Cook University, Smithfield, Queensland, Australia 2.
University of Lancaster, Lancaster, United Kingdom Accurate measures of species abundance and distribution underpin effective wildlife management and conservation strategies. Obtaining these data is very challenging when researching the cryptic nocturnal arboreal mammals of in the dense forest of the Wet Tropics. Our research shows that using a hand-held thermal imager significantly increases the detection rate of all mid-sized arboreal mammals when compared to the most commonly used method of spotlighting. We determine the optimal environmental and mechanical parameters for thermal imaging, and we investigate ‘cost-versus-result’ of hand-held imaging devices currently available on the market. We suggest that hand-held thermal imaging is a great emerging technology for cryptic arboreal mammal detection across tropical forested regions and beyond.
21 August 2017 12:20pm
My own experience is with the FLIR iphone attachment, just informal testing, but hasn't been that great at finding animals. I also think it would work better in the early AM. In the evening there can still be a lot of rocks and trees still warm from the sun.
Funding Opportunity: Leverage space technology for wildlife protection
6 July 2017 12:56pm
Leverage Space Technology for Wildlife Protection with the European Space Agency Kick-start Grant
5 July 2017 12:00am
Trialing Audiomoth to detect the hidden threats under the canopies of Belize
27 June 2017 12:00am
Biomaker Challenge - up to £1000 support for prototyping sensors and instrumentation related to biology
19 June 2017 3:46pm
19 June 2017 3:51pm
Hey Jenny,
Thanks for sharing this, looks really interesting! In addition to WILDLABS members potentially getting involved, it'd be great to hear about some of the projects that get developed through the challenge. It looks like they're all going to be shared openly on github! Perhaps you could highlight or direct folks here to any as they emerge that you think might be particularly relevant?
Steph
19 June 2017 4:03pm
Hi Steph
Sure - we'll have the projects confirmed by 30 June and I can highlight ones that might be of interest!
Jenny
From the Field: Eric Becker and designing sensors for wildlife
22 May 2017 12:00am
acoustics for Human-Wildlife Conflict Prevention, Anti-poaching, and more
27 April 2017 6:43pm
From the Field: Dr Raman Sukumar and Technology Developments Needed to Conserve Elephants
5 April 2017 12:00am
Lasers in the Jungle Somewhere: How Airborne LiDAR Reveals the Structure of Forests
4 April 2017 12:00am
Heat Maps
2 March 2016 3:18pm
31 March 2017 10:45am
Hi @AdamBloch
I'd like to know more about your setup. I'm monitoring temperatures on a nature reserve using an array of 100 iButton Thermocron temperature sensors. I'm interested in what the benefits of using Arduino and Raspberry Pi might be. I need to collect my sensors in and read through a USB device. Then there's the interpolation and plotting of the data, and I'm particularly interested in how you are filtering and querying your data i.e. 'selectable [time?] range'.
Thanks
31 March 2017 9:49pm
Hi Thomas
We are mapping a very small area in real time. The data rate is controlled by the time it take to read all the DS18B20s. The logger I use in the Octogons is using about 90 sensors and refreshes about every 5 to 15 seconds. The data is store as a CSV in series of files.
Best thing to do is drop me a PM and your number.
Many thanks
Adam
15 Risks and Opportunities for Global Conservation
31 March 2017 12:00am
From the Field: Paul Millhouser and tracking migrating kestrels with low cost, light based geolocators
29 March 2017 12:00am
The Noise Egg: Testing the Effects of Underwater Noise on Aquatic Animals
27 March 2017 12:00am
From the Field: María José Bolgeri and tech to alleviate Puma-Human conflict
22 March 2017 12:00am
Photogrammetry: mapping caves and other environments
19 January 2017 11:46am
8 March 2017 1:49pm
Hi Ollie,
You can do the photogrammetry without a drone. You just need a tripod and a camera. The drone is useful because it can move to locations automatically ensuring that you have correct overlap but in caves you obviously will not have the GPS signal you need for most off the shelf units to navigate.
Thom mentioned to me a device called a Zebedee, which should do what you are hoping for. I don't know anyone who has one though and I'm afraid I don't have a LiDAR unit to lend.
Tom
8 March 2017 1:54pm
A colleague showed me this last week - laser scanning in Nottingham's 'caves' - scroll down and check out the video.
http://tparchaeology.co.uk/caves/caveswebsite/index.htm
8 March 2017 2:03pm
For good measure, here's some cave survey porn of Hang Son Doong cave in China.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOH4gbW18Ts
#Tech4Wildlife Photo Challenge: Our favourites from 2016
1 March 2017 12:00am
A hive of activity – CAD designers are crafting an open future for bees
20 December 2016 12:00am
Conservation Leadership Programme 2017 Award
21 November 2016 12:00am
5 Smart Technologies That Will Crack Down On Wildlife Trafficking
14 November 2016 12:00am
Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act grants via USFWS
8 November 2016 12:00am
How do Wildlife Crime Experts view Remote Sensing Technologies used to Combat Illegal Wildlife Crime?
7 November 2016 12:00am
Using GoPro cameras? Why not get sponsored by them?
29 December 2015 9:40pm
31 October 2016 2:47pm
Sport, Music, Event, Film/Photo are the only options I see on that link - nothing for conservation research.
1 November 2016 1:09pm
All of it can be applied to conservation though!
1 November 2016 1:45pm
I am not suggesting that GoPro cameras do not have applications in conservation, but if you follow the link you posted you will find questions being asked that a conservation project will be unable to answer.
Zoohackathon: 'END LOOP - Coding to end wildlife trafficking'
22 September 2016 12:00am
Perspectives from the World Ranger Congress
10 August 2016 12:00am
26 July 2017 8:33pm
Oh, cool! It'd be interesting seeing if it could be used for tracking as well. I've used some handheld cameras and looked at footprints, but those disappeared pretty quickly.