Intro
This project is all about automatically monitoring wildlife without the need for someone to be there. I think we will limit this to vertebrates. A number of different methods are commonly used.
- Tracking tunnels, usually a physical box designed to attract a particular species (eg entrance hole sizes or lures), and the target steps on an ink (or other marker) then on to paper, recording their footprints.
- Chew cards, or wax-tags: impregnated with a lure attractive to the target species. Bite marks confirm the target being present in the area.
- Deadly traps, obviously only suitable for vermin.
- Live capture traps.
- Time-lapse cameras, taking photos at regular intervals, maybe only during set hours. Hoping something passes by.
- Movement detection cameras. Usually they compare successive photographic frames or are triggered by heat pattern changes. Could use external movement detectors or trip-wires to trigger camera.
- Insect or reptile shelters, eg 'Weta hotels', attractive structures in which target animals seek shelter.
- Sound/audio recorders, eg bat detectors.
Anything I've missed?
(click on the journal's title (above) to see the discussion/comments section for this project)