WILDLABS logoWildlabs.net : The conservation technology network

WILDLABS logoWildlabs.net : The conservation technology network

Group

Latin America Community / Feed

This group aims to establish a regional hub in Latin America that provides a space for knowledge sharing and network-building among the growing number of people working in conservation technology in the region.  Este grupo tiene como objetivo establecer un centro regional en América Latina que proporcione un espacio para el intercambio de conocimientos y la creación de redes entre el creciente número de personas que trabajan en tecnología para la conservación en la región.

Group curators

discussion

Update 2: Cheap Automated Mothbox

Andrew Quitmeyer

23 October 2023 8:32pm

Here's an update of the work we are doing building the cheap open source mothbox for @Hubertszcz External design In a lot of wilderness tool development...

3 1
Maximilian Sittinger

24 October 2023 9:05am

Hi Andrew,

thanks for sharing your development process so openly, that's really cool and boosts creative thinking also for the readers! :)

Regarding a solution for Raspberry Pi power management: we are using the PiJuice Zero pHAT in combination with a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W in our insect camera trap. There are also other versions available, e.g. for RPi 4 (more info: PiJuice GitHub). From my experience the PiJuice works mostly great and is super easy to install and set up. Downsides are the price and the lack of further software updates/development. It would be really interesting if you could compare one of their HATs to the products from Waveshare. Another possible solution would be a product from UUGear. I have the Witty Pi 4 L3V7 lying around, but couldn't really test and compare it to the PiJuice HAT yet.

Is there a reason why you are using the Raspberry Pi 4? From what I understand about your use case, the RPi Zero 2 W or even RPi Zero should give enough computing power and require a lot less power. Also they are smaller and would be easier to integrate in your box (and generate less heat).

I'm excited for the next updates to see in which direction you will be moving forward with your Mothbox!

Best,

Max

Lars Holst Hansen

27 October 2023 6:44am

Thanks a lot for this detailed update on your project! It looks great!

See full post
discussion

Cheap Automated Mothbox

Andrew Quitmeyer

31 August 2023 10:19pm

Hi everyone! @Hubertszcz has a biodiversity monitoring project in Panama, and we have been working on quick and dirty, ultra low cost high quality insect monitoring. We built a...

9 1
Ryan Ruttan

25 October 2023 5:04pm

I'm looking into writing a sketch for the esp32-cam that can detect pixel changes and take a photo, wish me luck.

Ryan Ruttan

25 October 2023 5:11pm

One question, does it even need motion detection? What about taking a photo every 5 seconds and sorting the photos afterwards?

Andrew Quitmeyer

25 October 2023 6:23pm

It depends on which scientists you talk to. I am an favor of just doing a timelapse and doing a post-processing sort afterwards. There's not much reason i can see for such motion fidelity. For the box i am making we are doing exactly that, though maybe a photo every minute or so

See full post
discussion

Indigenous groups working with camera traps in Latin America

Talia Speaker

19 April 2023 10:53pm

Does anybody work with or know of Indigenous groups in Latin America who are proficient with camera trapping and using cam trap data for conservation/management action? A...

3 1
Amanda L Gonzales

21 April 2023 1:27pm

Hello,

Happy to put you in contact with some of my grantees working in Mexico who have extensive experience in capacity building for indigenous communities focused in species monitoring, including: Eco-Creando Soluciones, AC, Bosque Antiguo, AC, Bioconciencia, AC. Let me know.

Best,

Amanda

Eric Greenlee

21 April 2023 2:23pm

I've heard that Alianza Ceibo and Amazon Frontlines use camera traps in the Amazonian regions of Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru to monitor poaching and land encroachment. You can reach out to them directly or I can put you in touch with one of their program managers if you'd like (I only have her # and don't want to post her personal info directly on here though).

Talia Speaker

21 April 2023 8:22pm

Great, thank you both! I'll follow up for introductions/ contact info

See full post
discussion

Mangrove soundscape

Camilo Sierra F.

27 August 2022 4:57pm

Hello everyone, I am currently working on the restoration of mangroves in an area of Colombia. I want to do an acoustic monitoring inside the mangrove. I want to record...

4 0
Carly Batist

29 August 2022 2:47pm

You might check out the devices listed in the Conservation Tech Directory - you can search for 'acoustic recorder' or 'ARU' or something like that.

The most common off-the-shelf models (other than Frontier Labs' BARLTs mentioned above😊) are Open Acoustic Devices Audiomoths & Hydromoths (which may be particularly useful for you since they come in completely watertight cases that can be stuck underwater for deployments), Wildlife Acoustics' SongMeter series, and Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Swift units.  

 

David Savage

30 August 2022 10:10pm

Camilo--

Are you interested only in airborne sounds or do you want to deploy hydrophones? That decision would inform a lot of other decisions about your purchase of equipment, as would having a clearer picture of your budget.

Liz Ferguson

23 September 2022 5:39pm

Hi there Camilo, 

What an interesting project! If you are looking for a lower cost, but effective tools for acoustic monitoring you might want to look into two options: 

SoundTraps - are very commonly used and perform quite well: 

SonarPoints - these are also a great instrument option: 

See full post
discussion

Recommendations needed for recycling batteries in Mexico

Lydia Katsis

31 March 2021 4:12pm

Hi everyone, I am using a lot (~1500)  lithium AA batteries for my research based in Belize, but I haven't found any way to recycle these batteries either in Belize or...

2 0
Anton Zhang

10 May 2021 11:42am

Maybe the alkaline battery will be an option in the future, which is more environmental friendly.
pamelanarvaez

21 May 2021 6:08pm

I just did a quick search and it doesn't look like there's a place where you can ship them in Mexico. However, at least in Mexico City, there are a bunch of collection sites for old electronics and batteries (see below- sorry the link it's in Spanish).

https://www.dineroenimagen.com/hacker/estos-son-los-centros-autorizados-para-tirar-tus-pilas-usadas-en-cdmx/108084

I know you have a lot of batteries, but have you consider taking some back with you? That's what I've been doing with our empty batteries, bring them back from Madagascar to Canada. 

See full post
discussion

Small scale fishing vessel tracker tech trials

Daniel Steadman

8 February 2019 4:15pm

Hey all, FFI's partners in Costa Rica recently started trialling tracking devices on small-scale artisanal fishers vessels in a newly designated MPA in order to demonstrate...

1 0
Harold Tay

9 February 2019 9:55am

Hi Don,

I agree, it's very intriguing.

I think they're using the Remora.  It looks like a solar powered GPS tracker.  I couldn't find much more information.

Thanks,

-harold

See full post
article

How to lose a BRUV in 10 days

Dr. Ivy Baremore

26 September 2017 12:00am

As pressure on marine resources increases, fishers have to explore deeper and deeper waters to make a living. What does this mean for Belize’s deep-sea sharks? In an effort to understand the threats to these animals,...

0
See full post
discussion

Are you heading to Colombia for the SCB International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB 2017)?

Stephanie O'Donnell

18 July 2017 10:06am

We're only a few days out from the SCB International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB 2017), which will be held in Cartagena, Colombia this year from 23rd-27th July....

8 0
Stephanie O'Donnell

22 July 2017 8:57pm

Hello to everyone following along with this thread! We having a #tech4wildlife happy hour this evening from 4:30pm:

 EL BARÓN - Café & Liquor Bar
Cra. 4 #31-7, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
+57 5 6643105
https://goo.gl/maps/tzD14zWRaFF2

Participants from the two tech workshops - the tech think tank and the camera trap workshop - are coming along, and anyone else is welcome! 

steph

 

Felix

23 July 2017 2:18pm

Hi guys,

I'll be staffing the Miradi Software booth that Nick mentioned. So in case you don't make to any of the sessions, you can swing by our booth and ask questions, learn more about Miradi.org and MiradiShare.org and/or take part in our raffle to win  free subscription for Miradi.

 

Looking forward to seeing you all real soon,

Felix

Stephanie O'Donnell

24 July 2017 2:41pm

hey Felix, great to hear from you! I'll definitely be popping by to find out more, thanks for sharing your booth details. 

As there are two tech focused symposiums today, plus your event nick, we're going to have another happy hour this evening for tech folk. Our one on Saturday had ~40 people, and, from the feedback I've had, people really appreciated the chance to sit for a while and have proper ind conversations. So it seems valuable to host another one.

Tech Happy Hour

5pm Tonight

Plaza de la Santísima Trinidad

Map below

We also have a growing tech whatsapp group which is how we're coordinating a lot of impromptu meetups, so if you'd like to join just add me at +44 7702255269, and let me know who you are. It'd also be helpful if you told me a sentence about what you're working on so I have a bit of context to connect you into the group. 

Looking forward to seeing old faces and meeting new ones. See you all soon 

Steph

 

 

See full post
discussion

GPS carrying vultures are being used to detect illegal dumps in Peru

John Probert

22 February 2016 4:28pm

Fascinating story here about using GPS equipped vultures to find illegal dumping grounds in Peru. It's great to see how this project is changing previous perceptions of these...

1 0
Adam Bloch

2 March 2016 7:27am

The police have tried to use New World Vultures to find dead bodies in Europe. The success was some what limited but not the fault of the birds.

This does open up a whole area of questions about the use of birds and some of the Unforeseen consequences. The latest amazingly stupid idea of using Eagles to bring down drones that was/is being considered by the British police after the Dutch police showed a video of a Juvenile Bald Eagle doing the same. The vultures that are now being deliberately killed in Africa because naturally they are giving away the location of a poached elephant or Rhino. The poor Griffon Vultures that keep being arrested as spies in the middle east as they have rings that have come from Israel on there legs.

There are quite often side effects to these uses of birds that are unforeseen at the out set but usually end up cost the animal involved. 

 

See full post