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WILDLABS logoWildlabs.net : The conservation technology network

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Geospatial / Feed

Geospatial data and analysis is critical for conservation, from planning to implementation and measuring success. The Geospatial group focuses on all aspects of this field, from field surveys to remote sensing and data development/analysis to GIS systems.

Group curators

Vance Russell
3point.xyz
Over 35 years of experience in biodiversity conservation worldwide, largely focused on forests, rewilding and conservation technology. I run my own business assisting nonprofits and agencies in the conservation community
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discussion

Conservation GIS Group Social

Thomas Starnes

21 March 2017 7:25pm

The second bi-monthly Conservation GIS social of 2017 will be at The Eagle on Benet Street from 18:00 on Thursday 23rd March. This informal social event is for people with an...

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Thomas Starnes

27 March 2017 7:35am

Last week's GIS social topics included:

  • IfSAR and InSAR Interferometric synthetic aperture radar, as used by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in their new TanDEM-X high resolution global digital elevation model. The new GDEM has a vertical accuracy of < 1 metre and an xy resolution of 6 metres. You can read more on the project web page https://tandemx-science.dlr.de/.
  • Using Maxim iButton termperature data logger arrays to monitor the diurnal temperature fluctuations of different habitats and microhabitats. We also touched on sampling design and interpolation methods.
  • Towards the end of the evening we discussed the difference between geodesic and Euclidian distances, the planar nature of the solar system (see Laplace's invariable plane) and whether the galaxy has a ‘right way up’.

Beverages of choice were Greene King’s Abbot Ale and IPA Special Reserve. Put the next GIS social date in your calendar now and don’t miss out –  it’s Thursday April 13th.

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discussion

CCI International GIS Day

Jonathan Knox

8 November 2016 1:14pm

Do you use GIS? Are you interested in meeting GIS professionals at CCI? Would you like to know more about how GIS can help you achieve your conservation goals? To celebrate...

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Thomas Starnes

8 December 2016 5:58pm

CCI International GIS Day recap

GIS Day at CCI was a great success! We kept it short to try and maximise engagement and so that everyone could meet each other. Attendees have been sent a follow-up email, but if you've not received this or you want to know more then please message me for details.

It would be a great mini-legacy and a testament to the event if attendees could post a brief introduction / recap on this thread; just stating your occupation and interests, or anything that you took away from the event. Thanks to the organising committee @jonathanknox.ffi (FFI), @Tomswinfield (RSPB) and Andy Arnell (UNEP-WCMC). And thanks for the photos, @StephODonnell !

Thomas Starnes

8 December 2016 6:08pm

I'm a GIS Analyst at the RSPB. I'm part of a great team providing GIS technical support within the society. I get to work on everything from producing detailed reserve maps to analysing the effectiveness of protected areas and mapping habitats using remote sensing data. I also get to empower my colleagues to create their own maps by supporting our ArcGIS users and working on our in-house broweser-based GIS Merlin. Right now I'm working on developing our use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to produce orthomosaic habitat maps and vegetation height models on our reserves. I'm always interested to hear about other people's projects!

Steve Pritchard

5 January 2017 9:35am

I'm a software developer with the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), working on online map-based applications for bird surveys (e.g. BirdTrack). My main focus is the databases (Oracle & Postgres, including spatial features) and preparing the GIS data using ArcGIS or QGIS. Our online applications are key to receiving survey data from a large number of volunteers and displaying the survey results back to the volunteers.

I also act as central contact point within the BTO for queries about GIS.

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discussion

Measuring distances between GPS points from a satellite collar

Maria Gatta

12 July 2016 6:55pm

Hello all,   I need to measure distances between sequential points of GPS collar data which are in decimal degrees (lat/lon). I have successfully created a distance...

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Maria Gatta

14 July 2016 11:53am

Figured it out.

Even though I was in the right projection (ie: UTM), I was not aware that I had to calculate the coordinates myself. All you need to do is create two new columns for X and Y coordinates, and right click in each column: choose calculate geometry, and then select X and Y according to the column you're at. It calculates the coordinates in your chosen unit (mine is meters). The "new" coordinates can be used then in adehabitatLT to obtain distance measurements in a trajectory.

Sam Rycken

4 December 2016 5:21am

Hey MGatta, I'm working with adehabitatLt as well, i have a good paper on spatial referencing your data and changing your coordinates  to UTM, if you want it (by C.J.Brown).

I assume that the process you did to change to meters was in Excell, before using the coordinates in R?

Kind regards,

Sam

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discussion

Earth Observation from Space: the Optical View

Thomas Starnes

22 September 2016 9:56am

There's an online course created by the European Space Agency (ESA) currently running on Futurelearn. The course started on 12th September but there's still time to join!...

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Stephanie O'Donnell

22 September 2016 4:37pm

Really interesting project! When are you expecting to have some results? Do you think the use of drones was beneficial for the project? Will you be using them again?

Thomas Starnes

19 October 2016 8:19am

We're expecting to have some results by the end of the year. We can already see that the use of a drone was beneficial for media and communication for the expedition, but I expect it to come into its own when we make full use of the orthomosaic aerial photography and digital surface model from photogrammetry which we are hoping to use in order to elucidate metrics of vegetation structure in relation to the forest edge. If we discover something really cool, I will post it here!

Thomas Starnes

19 October 2016 8:23am

Now the course is officially over, I wonder how people found it? Too difficult, too easy or just right?

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discussion

Drone Training in the U.S.

Sean Anderson

5 May 2016 9:46am

Things just got a whole lot easier for those of us at universities who train students to use drones as tools for conservation.  Many of the restrictions we had to suffer...

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discussion

Conservation apps with a GPS focus

John Probert

5 April 2016 3:27pm

I've found two conservation apps that might be of interest to the community. 1. Solocator - A photo taking app that immediately records elevation, latitutde/...

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Chavoux Luyt

26 April 2016 2:34pm

My goto application is CyberTracker. It can be adapted on your desktop exactly to record the data that you want (including pictures and GPS reading, but not compass direction). 

Juan Reppucci

26 April 2016 4:53pm

Another option is OruxMaps, free for android, not very intuitive but very powerful. But it's important to bear in mind that phone GPS accuracy can be lower than "traditional" GPS, specially when part of the sky is blocked.

 Here is a test https://blogs.esri.com/esri/arcgis/2013/07/15/smartphones-tablets-and-gps-accuracy/

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discussion

Geographic Information System Equipment

felixabayomi

9 March 2016 4:30pm

I am been sent by my government to study in the prestigious master's in management and conservation of species in trade at the international university of Andalusia, Spain...

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Stephanie O'Donnell

10 March 2016 11:46am

Hi Felix,

Thanks for sharing your question! I would have thought your course adviser might be the best person to advise about what equipment you would be required to take the course. However, GIS applications usually require access to a computer, a GIS program like ArcGIS or MapInfo, and access to information like satellite imagery or other data layers that are used by your GIS program. These should be provided by your university course - most universities have GIS labs where they teach you how to use the programs without the requirement to invest in equipment while learning.

Cheers, 

Stephanie 

felixabayomi

10 March 2016 12:36pm

Thank you. I am doing pre reading and Information gathering, so I'll know what to expect and be prepared.

Thank you for your kind answer Stephanie.

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article

Mapping Reduced-Impact Logging with Lidar

WILDLABS Team

8 March 2016 12:00am

What can light beams tell us about the state of tropical forests? New research from Nature Conservancy scientists demonstrates that lidar — a way of remotely mapping forests with lasers — is an effective and accurate...

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article

Cheap Space, DIY Imaging and Big Data

WILDLABS Admin

21 December 2015 12:00am

John Amos, President of SkyTruth, explores how remote sensing is being used in conservation today and the importance of sky-truthing. He examines the role that citizen scientists can play in increasing transparency in...

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