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Data management and processing tools / Feed

Conservation tech work doesn't stop after data is collected in the field. Equally as important to success is navigating data management and processing tools. For the many community members who deal with enormous datasets, this group will be an invaluable resource to trade advice, discuss workflows and tools, and share what works for you.

discussion

Need for statisticians in conservation?

Lev Birman

6 July 2023 8:23pm

Hello, WildLabs community!I'm currently a Ph.D. student in statistical physics at Virginia Tech, but I am contemplating a shift to a pure and applied statistics Master's program...

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Carly Batist

12 July 2023 2:59pm

Hi Lev,

We always need more hands in conservation, from whichever field! Engineering, computer science, AI/ML, ecology, environmental science, communications, statisticians, etc. 

I would say that conservation tech is moving heavily towards deep learning for data processing/analysis just because of the sheer amount of data being generated now, so it's always helpful if you have experience in that. But we still need ecological modeling (species distribution models, occupancy models, accumulation curves, etc.) to translate processed data into actionable conservation insights! So experience here too is a plus. 

If you'd like to get a better idea of the diversity of programs, people, and orgs in conservation tech as you navigate your journey, the Conservation Tech Directory may also be a helpful resource for you.

All the best,

Carly   

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The role of low-code Earth observation tools in accelerating the sustainability transition

Cassie Anderson

30 June 2023 2:13pm

We've published a paper on the role of low-code Earth observation tools in the sustainability transition. It covers how different roles in a business like analysts and executives can benefit from this tech and how it can be applied to ESG, Nature Based Solutions and insurance...

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discussion

Camera Trap Data Normalization Help

Michelle Guins

31 May 2023 2:45pm

Hi all! I am working on a project studying pinniped habitat use in the Eastern US. We set up camera traps across the haul-out areas, set to take 4 images per hour. If a seal...

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Mathias Tobler

16 June 2023 5:36pm

Hi Michelle,

it would be good to get some more information on your project. What question are you trying to answer? How many cameras did you have deployed? How many different study sites/haul-out areas are there?

 

Michelle Guins

16 June 2023 6:35pm

Absolutely, I am happy to provide it. Our objectives are 1) to improve the understanding of local and seasonal haul-out patterns, and the numbers of seals hauled out during daylight hours; 2) to investigate any haul-out patterns in relation to environmental factors. 

We had 10 different cameras set up at two different survey areas (8 at one location and 2 at another). We are studying the two survey areas separately. At one of the locations there are 8 different survey sites within the area where seals haul-out, at the other location, there are 2 different survey sites within the area. 

So far we have completed 3 survey seasons as well. 

Let me know if there is anything else I can provide!

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Top five(ish) sources of ecological data | R (for ecology)

Stephanie O'Donnell

15 June 2023 12:45pm

A few places where you can download ecological data for coding practice and research. In this tutorial, Selina Cheng discusses the following datasets: 1) Data sets that come with R, 2) The Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity 3) The Environmental Data Initiative 4) The National...

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Link

Celebrating World Oceans Day: Revitalizing the marine ecosystem with technology-driven engineered reefs to accelerate CO2 capture

Esther Githinji

9 June 2023 10:14am

As we celebrate World Oceans Day this month, we are reminded that addressing climate change will take more than any one organization. It will require companies, governments, NGOs and communities, all working together, with the aid of technology, to improve the efficiencies of...

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discussion

Using Average speed trapping to mitigate Wildlife Vehicle Collisions

Gregory Rasmussen

28 October 2022 11:40am

Help needed to manage average speed trapping data with a view to  mitigating Wildlife Vehicle CollisionsWith a view to mitigating WildlifeVehicle collisions...

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Gregory Rasmussen

7 May 2023 11:50am

We are at a PROOF OF CONCEPT with raspberry pi and python and are hoping this can be taken forward.  See link below.

Read "Tech development help is needed for a speed monitoring tool to aid mitigate Wildlife Vehicle Collisions. | Gregory Rasmussen" on

Tech development help is needed for a speed monitoring tool to aid mitigate Wildlife Vehicle Collisions. | Gregory Rasmussen

Tech development help is needed for a speed monitoring tool to aid mitigate Wildlife Vehicle Collisions. With high-speed roads ensuring that Painted dog packs do not survive long enough to have pups that live to dispersal age, and thousands of other vertebrates are killed annually in my study area in NW Zimbabwe , CONSERVATION NEED YOU! It is intended that this system can be used at roadblocks that are within cellular network range. Proof of concept work has started with raspberry pi

Wade

19 May 2023 1:36pm

Can you elaborate as to the ethical concerns with using license plate information?  License plate information doesn't need to be stored for long durations with Gregory's proposed system - only for as long as it takes the vehicle to reach the second camera.

Akiba

20 May 2023 11:20am

I think it's best to look at it as analogous to the GDPR. One of the main reasons for the existence of GDPR is to protect individuals' fundamental rights and freedoms, particularly their right to protection of their personal data. Capturing personal, identifying information online without consent would be a violation of GDPR. I think the right to protect personal data extends to the physical world as well, which is where capturing identifying information like license plates without consent would fall. 

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careers

Field Surveyor

Cameron Frayling

16 May 2023 4:06pm

We are a team of ecologists and technologists who believe good business must be good for nature. We’re building an economy that puts nature and business in balance by incentivising the restoration of nature at scale.  

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discussion

Camera Trap Data Management Survey

Dan Morris

3 May 2023 10:28pm

The Wildlife Insights team is running a survey to learn more about camera trap data management practices, and in particular to understand potential barriers to data sharing, as...

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Anti-poaching tech vulnerable to cyber attacks, study finds | ITWeb

Stephanie O'Donnell

26 April 2023 2:48pm

While tech deployment has often been hailed for playing a critical role in the fight against poaching, these technologies bring with them the risk of cyber attacks. This is based on a study conducted by Orange Cyberdefense Academy’s Christelle Steyn, as part of her thesis titled...

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discussion

Accessible acoustic analysis tech for blind scientist - ideas?

Kate Stafford

31 March 2023 10:52pm

Hi all - I'm mentoring a student who is blind on a bioacoustics project to classify killer whale calls. Anyone out there have any experience with or ideas about making...

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Liz Ferguson

6 April 2023 10:49pm

Hey Kate I don't have any explicit ideas at the moment but will think on it - such a cool concept! I wonder if there's some form of tactile spectrogram that you could develop, or a way that you could have them try to draw a representation (so assign some shape) of what they are hearing as a means of classification a call and then clustering those shapes? There's a way of creating an image using foam and paper I believe so they could have a tactile record of those shapes. Guess it depends what you want to the quantitative results to be. Super cool that you are looking for greater accessibility in acoustics!!!

Anne Simonis

7 April 2023 1:40am

Hi Kate, 

We've developed a screen-reader workflow for a classification problem on our "Ocean Voices" Zooniverse project, which simply asks folks to label sounds based on what they hear and omits the spectrogram altogether. There are lots of screen-reader users who are active in the Zooniverse Talk forums, so they may have valuable input for you as well. 

Once a person has labeled data, I wonder if they could run automated detectors over the data in Pamguard, calculate features (using something like the R package PAMpal), and then use the BrailleR package to explore the statistics in R. This article has a pretty interesting summary about statistical software for visually impaired folks - might not be news to your student, but I thought it was pretty cool. 

I'm very curious what our friends who are visually impaired might notice in the acoustic data. Best of luck to you and your student! 

Cheers, 

Anne 

 

Megan McKenna

7 April 2023 5:11pm

Hi Kate- ARISTA Lab (Advanced Research in Inclusion & STEAM Accessibility) is actively working on this through their eclispse soundscape project. I recommend reaching out to MaryKay to get the latest on their project.  

Megan

 

 

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