Workshop 3: The Design, Logistics and Data Use of Large Camera-Trapping Projects (2/2) — Promaco Conventions
1:10PM - 3:10PM
River View Room 5
Chair: William McShea

Part 2 of 2

Organisers:

William McShea, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

Roland Kays, North Carolina State University and North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences

Patrick Jansen, Wageningen University and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

 

 

Overview

The use of camera-traps to detect mammals has evolved into a major tool for mammal ecologists. This workshop would cover the logistics of designing and conducting a large scale project based around camera trap images. The organizers are leaders of a major wildlife image repository (> 5 million images) mostly collected by citizen scientists trained, managed, and retained through a web portal (emammal.org).  Besides the primary research aim of each project, there is a shared data standard that allows temporal and spatial comparisons across projects. The data are accessible to the general public and science curriculum is based around both camera trapping and data analysis. The organizers would review relevant topics to setting up and conducting a large-scale project, the data and volunteer management, and use and analysis of the data. Participants will be trained in the eMammal software and R scripts set up for analysis.

Topics include:  Utility of camera trapping; important considerations in camera selection and study design; recruitment and retention of volunteers; camera trapping as an education tool to teach science concepts and to connect students to nature; project organization; data management; data standards, rights and permissions; data analysis appropriate for occurrence data; use of eMammal desktop and expert review applications; future needs.

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