Camera traps have been a key part of the conservation toolkit for decades. Remotely triggered video or still cameras allow researchers and managers to monitor cryptic species, survey populations, and support enforcement responses by documenting illegal activities. Increasingly, machine learning is being implemented to automate the processing of data generated by camera traps.
A recent study published showed that, despite being well-established and widely used tools in conservation, progress in the development of camera traps has plateaued since the emergence of the modern model in the mid-2000s, leaving users struggling with many of the same issues they faced a decade ago. That manufacturer ratings have not improved over time, despite technological advancements, demonstrates the need for a new generation of innovative conservation camera traps. Join this group and explore existing efforts, established needs, and what next-generation camera traps might look like - including the integration of AI for data processing through initiatives like Wildlife Insights and Wild Me.
Group Highlights:
Our past Tech Tutors seasons featured multiple episodes for experienced and new camera trappers. How Do I Repair My Camera Traps? featured WILDLABS members Laure Joanny, Alistair Stewart, and Rob Appleby and featured many troubleshooting and DIY resources for common issues.
For camera trap users looking to incorporate machine learning into the data analysis process, Sara Beery's How do I get started using machine learning for my camera traps? is an incredible resource discussing the user-friendly tool MegaDetector.
And for those who are new to camera trapping, Marcella Kelly's How do I choose the right camera trap(s) based on interests, goals, and species? will help you make important decisions based on factors like species, environment, power, durability, and more.
Finally, for an in-depth conversation on camera trap hardware and software, check out the Camera Traps Virtual Meetup featuring Sara Beery, Roland Kays, and Sam Seccombe.
And while you're here, be sure to stop by the camera trap community's collaborative troubleshooting data bank, where we're compiling common problems with the goal of creating a consistent place to exchange tips and tricks!
Header photo: Stephanie O'Donnell
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National Geographic Society
Experience utilizing technology to inspire, educate, and create solutions to some of our biggest challenges. Currently, head of the National Geographic Society Exploration Technology Lab, overseeing the development and deployment of research and storytelling technologies.
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Link
Authors examine occurrence patterns of 7 primate species in agroforests in Guinea-Bissau. Arboreal camera traps detected all 7 species, terrestrial cameras detected 5. Heterogeneous spatial responses amongst primates...
30 September 2022
Link
'The low-power camera uses power from harvested acoustic energy and communicates colour images wirelessly via acoustic backscatter.' - https://twitter.com/NaturePortfolio/status/1574863768714100738?s=20&t=...
29 September 2022
Article
The device could help scientists explore unknown regions of the ocean, track pollution, or monitor the effects of climate change.
26 September 2022
Careers
The Senior Conservation Technology Specialist will be responsible for providing technical advice and capacity development to GWP project teams on conservation technology, distilling challenges and lessons from project...
22 September 2022
Link
From Max Farrell on Twitter: "New paper comparing eDNA and camera traps for tracking waterhole visitation. We took pictures, analyzed DNA in drinking water, built a reference library for vertebrates in the Kruger, and...
19 September 2022
Funding
The European Biodiversity Partnership Biodiversa+, co-funded by the European Union, has launched a call for research proposals on “Improved transnational monitoring of biodiversity and ecosystem change for science and...
14 September 2022
Careers
At the Inria Sophia Antipolis - Méditerranée center. The project will pursue two different methodological goals: (1) explore the use of natural language bottlenecks describing visible traits or other visual...
1 September 2022
Careers
Conservation Technology Research Internship
Meredith Palmer
Boost cons tech capacity at an international NGO! Fauna & Flora International is offering a paid three-month internship to consolidate and share best practices for the application of emerging hardware and software...
26 August 2022
Careers
Postdoc in the application of AI for wildlife conservation & management
Tim R. Hofmeester
The Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies (WFE), SLU, Umeå, is looking for a postdoc with strong interests in wildlife conservation technology.
26 August 2022
Careers
Lead Software Engineer for ARISE
Chantal Huijbers
Job opening at ARISE, an innovative program in the Netherlands to build a digital infrastructure for biodiversity data and services
19 August 2022
Careers
Lead Software Engineer, Wildlife Insights
Nicole Flores
Are you creative, love new challenges and have experience developing software? The Wildlife Insights team is hiring! Join a diverse team of ecologists, data scientists, engineers and machine learning experts to protect...
10 August 2022
Link
Hi folks! I built out a human-in-the-loop annotation platform for Felidae Conservation Fund, a SF-Bay Area nonprofit last Fall using MegaDetector. I'm looking for feedback from this amazing community around areas of...
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| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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| @cmwainaina please take a look |
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Animal Movement, AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Connectivity, Data management and processing tools, East Africa Community, Emerging Tech, Ethics of Conservation Tech, Human-Wildlife Coexistence, Marine Conservation, Protected Area Management Tools, Geospatial, Sensors, Software Development | 1 year ago | |
| I'm being quite daring by making statements on a forum that is frequented by Dan Morris (obviously in deference to his extensive knowledge on the subject :-) ), but here goes.... |
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Camera Traps | 1 year ago | |
| We evaluated background subtraction as part of our pipeline for Zamba Cloud a few years ago. It's going to depend a lot on your backgrounds, but we found that for jungle/forest... |
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Camera Traps | 1 year 1 month ago | |
| I was going to suggest the Garde Pro too. The model available in Australia is good. I have found that the download from the SD card to the linked phone can take a while, so be... |
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Camera Traps | 1 year 1 month ago | |
| Hello everyone,I've been thinking about FLIR thermal cameras and I'm curious about their capabilities. Given their powerful capabilities,... |
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Camera Traps | 1 year 1 month ago | |
| In that case, you might want to keep an eye on the project from @Lars_Holst_Hansen |
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Camera Traps, AI for Conservation, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Early Career, Human-Wildlife Coexistence, Protected Area Management Tools | 1 year 2 months ago | |
| Hi AlexThank you so much for the imput 🙏 |
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Camera Traps | 1 year 2 months ago | |
| Depending on how much drift there is it may be a fixed offset caused by the timer not restarting until you have finished puttin gin al the settings. You set the time, then do all... |
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Camera Traps | 1 year 2 months ago | |
| Thank you for elaborating, @evebohnett ! And for the heads ups! |
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Camera Traps, Drones | 1 year 3 months ago | |
| [oops, the same reply got submitted twice and there doesn't seem to be a "delete" button] |
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AI for Conservation, Camera Traps | 1 year 3 months ago | |
| Hi @zhongqimiao ,Might you have faced such an issue while using mega detectorThe conflict is caused by:pytorchwildlife 1.0.2.13 depends on torch==1.10.1pytorchwildlife 1.0.2.12... |
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AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Open Source Solutions | 1 year 3 months ago | |
| Thanks, and that's a match! All these pictures are from a lab experiment and formated with AmphIdent. We took weekly belly pictures of several larvae. The aim of this google... |
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Camera Traps, Data management and processing tools, Software Development | 1 year 3 months ago |
