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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
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

ICCB 2025 – Let’s Connect!

Stephanie M.

9 March 2025 5:06am

Hi Everyone,I’m excited to be attending my first ICCB 2025 as a student presenter and early-career researcher! My work sits at the intersection of computational epidemiology and...

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Nguyen Thi-Tam Anh

12 March 2025 1:55pm

Hi everyone, I’m excited to become a member of Wild Lab! I’m currently working on my master’s thesis, focusing on dormouse conservation. My research explores the behavioral responses of dormice to temperature and habitat patterns using camera trap data.

Additionally, I’d like to incorporate agent-based modeling to simulate species behavior. However, I’m a bit unsure about how to effectively apply modeling for predictions. If anyone here has experience with modeling, I’d love to connect and discuss!

Looking forward to learning from you all.

Best regards,

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Link

Hansen Global Forest Change Dataset

Vance Russell

11 March 2025 11:12am

The deadtrees.earth dataset that Elsa shared earlier this week is an excellent, albeit grimly named dataset! Here's another for global forest forest change derived from Landsat imagery. Click the link at the bottom to open in the Google Earth Engine Code Editor.

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Read "Hansen Global Forest Change v1.11 (2000-2023)  |  Earth Engine Data Catalog  |  Google for Developers" on Google for Developers

Hansen Global Forest Change v1.11 (2000-2023)  |  Earth Engine Data Catalog  |  Google for Developers

Results from time-series analysis of Landsat images in characterizing global forest extent and change. The 'first' and 'last' bands are reference multispectral imagery from the first and last available years for Landsat spectral bands corresponding to red, NIR, SWIR1, and SWIR2. Reference composite imagery represents median observations from a set …

Google for Developers
discussion

GPS collars for domestic dogs

Stephanie M.

20 January 2025 3:26am

Hi Everyone - I'm quantifying home ranges and contact rates between wildlife, pastoralists, and domestic animals (livestock guardian dogs and livestock) living on shared...

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Constance Woodman

20 February 2025 8:46pm

What are your parameters? Do you need yes no movement, which could be collected with an accelerometer and no lat-long data?

Movement on an XY grid once an hour within a tightly bounded area?

High resolution once per second data? Large geographic area?

Different technologies deliver ddifferent datasets. Sometimes, significantly!

Fadhilla Golda

10 March 2025 11:37am

Hi Stephanie, at https://Savannahtracking.com we develop and manufacture a variety of collars with sizes ranging from about 95 grams for Raptors, 200grams - 1200g for mammals, and collars for large mammals such as Elephants. We currently have collars deployed on Dingoes which are about the same size as domestic dogs, and I believe that a similar solution will be perfect for your needs.
Our GPS collars can be programmed to collect high resolution data (15-minute gps positions) with hourly uploads via iridium satellite to our server where you can view and download the data from our dedicated windows or MAC SDM platforms. We also have a view only android/ios app. All our collars have two-way satellite communication, Internet based downloading via the free accompanying Savannah Tracking data manager software, automated Google Earth links for visualization, fully user definable geo fencing allowing for point, line and polygon fences and automated app and mail alarms in case of zone violation.

Kindly reach out to us and we can discuss a bespoke solution for your tracking needs at info@savannahtracking.com

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discussion

Definitions for open source software & hardware and why they're important

Pen-Yuan Hsing

27 February 2025 10:58am

Recent conversations (including this previous thread) have reminded me that while I've been involved in various open source tech communities for years, I sometimes implicitly –...

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Vance Russell

28 February 2025 5:26pm

Thanks for this excellent and thought-provoking post, Pen. I agree this is a binary yes/no issue, but there is a spectrum. There could also be philosophical nuances. For example, does excluding honey from a vegan diet meet the ethical criteria of veganism? It's an animal product, so yes, but beekeeping generally doesn't have the same exploitative potential as cow, sheep, or pig husbandry, right? However, looking strictly at the definition, honey is out if you want to be vegan. 

Back to software! Isn’t the main issue that companies falsely claim to offer open source hardware/software? To avoid this, do you then have to create an accreditation system? Who polices it? Is it fair? Would users care that their software has the accredited open source stamp of approval? Ultimately, we need definitions to define boundaries and speak a common language.

Pen-Yuan Hsing

4 March 2025 3:21pm

Thanks @VAR1 great insights! Funny you mentioned the honey thing, @hikinghack said the same in response on the GOSH forum. 

I think the point I'm trying to make with the vegan comparison is that while it might not be 100%, it is close enough for us to have productive conversations about it without running in circles because we can't even agree on what we are talking about. 

As for open source tech, there actually is accreditation for open source hardware (at least of a sort). The Open Source Hardware Association has a fairly mature certificate program: 

I am genuinely undecided whether such a formal accreditation system is required for open source software. My undecided-ness comes back to the food/agriculture analogy, where a similar issue exists for organic certification. Being certified organic could possibly, in some cases, be beneficial. However, certification can also be very onerous for small organic farmers who can't afford to get it. 

But before we even think about accreditation, I echo your last sentence that we need definitions to define boundaries. These definitions, as I argue in my original post above, is not only about principles and philosophy, they are also a practical necessity for enabling effective communication! 

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careers

Wildlife Monitoring Internship 2025

Alex Rood

3 March 2025 3:02pm

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (SNZCBI) is seeking an intern to assist with multiple projects related to conservation technology for wildlife monitoring. SNZCBI scientists collect data...

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discussion

The 100KB Challenge!

Dan

7 February 2025 11:47am

If you could send/receive 100KB of data from anywhere on the planet via satellite; what would you send?I work for a company called Ground Control, we design, build and manufacture...

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Dan

20 February 2025 9:13am

Nice one - what kind of thing would you use this for? 

~500mA peak current, it has a similar power profile as the current RockBLOCK product, in that it needs lots of juice for a for a small period of time (to undertake the transmission) we include onboard circuitry to help smooth this over. I'll be able to share more details on this once the product is officially launched!

 

Dan

20 February 2025 9:13am

~500mA peak current, it has a similar power profile as the current RockBLOCK product, in that it needs lots of juice for a for a small period of time (to undertake the transmission) we include onboard circuitry to help smooth this over. I'll be able to share more details on this once the product is officially launched!

 

Nuno Cesar de Sa

20 February 2025 9:31am

Hi Dan, 

Not right now but I can envision many uses. A key problem in RS is data streams for validation and training of ML models, its really not yet a solved problem. Any kind of system that is about deploying and "forgetting" as it collects data and streams it is a good opportunity. 

 

If you want we can have a talk so you tell me about what you developed and I'll see if it fits future projects.

 

All the best

 

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Link

APCalign: an R package workflow and app for aligning and updating flora names to the Australian Plant Census

Ahmed Junaid

25 February 2025 9:04am

APCalign (R package).

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Read "CSIRO PUBLISHING | Australian Journal of Botany" on CSIRO PUBLISHING

CSIRO PUBLISHING | Australian Journal of Botany

The Australian Journal of Botany is an international journal publishing original research encompassing all plant groups including fossil plants. Plant science areas covered by the scope are as follows: ecology and ecophysiology, conservation biology and biodiversity, forest biology and management, cell and molecular biology, palaeobotany, reproductrive biology and genetics, mycology and pathology, structure and development.

CSIRO PUBLISHING
Link

FLORITY

Elsa Carla De Grandi

21 February 2025 9:24am

A precise GPS Field App allowing capture of GPS-Photos and GPS-Polygons, powered by Wells for Zoë. The main goal of the App is to enable low-skilled users to capture highly accurate GPS-Data, via an easy sharing process.

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Link

Saving Peatlands, Securing Our Climate Future

Elsa Carla De Grandi

21 February 2025 8:32am

Excellent StoryMap by WCS illustrating results from a recent paper https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/conl.13080. Main findings: analysis revealed that 17% of peatlands are protected globally—substantially less than many other high-value ecosystems.

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discussion

Global Forest Watch 

Elsa Carla De Grandi

6 February 2025 7:50pm

Hey everyone!I am curious to understand if and how you have used Global Forest Watch in your work or research.If you have used it, it would be amazing if you could leave a review...

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Vance Russell

7 February 2025 1:26pm

Hi Elsa,

I've used it in both and found it easy and useful to use. Just left a review. Thank you for the prompt!

Best,

Vance

Elsa Carla De Grandi

20 February 2025 9:21pm

And if you are new to GFW...this new glossary that was added recently is very helpful to understand some key terms.

Check it out here!

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