
Infrared image of rhinos in South Africa.
CREDIT
Credit: Endangered Wildlife Trust/LJMU
A collaboration between astrophysicists and ecologists at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) is helping to monitor rare and endangered species and stop poaching.
Astrophysical software and techniques are applied to thermal infrared imagery captured by drones to automatically detect and identify animals – even at night, when most poaching activity occurs. The drones can survey large areas of difficult terrain from above, allowing ecologists to access hard to reach areas and monitor wildlife without disturbing the animals. The project will be presented by Claire Burke at the European Week of Astronomy and Space Science (EWASS) in Liverpool on Tuesday, 3rd April.
Burke explains: “With thermal infrared cameras, we can easily see animals as a result of their body heat, day or night, and even when they are camouflaged in their natural environment. Since animals and humans in thermal footage ‘glow’ in the same way as stars and galaxies in space, we have been able to combine the technical expertise of astronomers with the conservation knowledge of ecologists to develop a system to find the animals or poachers automatically.”
The project is based around machine-learning algorithms and astronomical detection tools developed through the open source software, Astropy. Following an initial pilot project to test the concept with infrared footage of cows and humans filmed by drone at a farm in the Wirral, the team at LJMU has worked with Knowsley Safari and Chester Zoo to build up libraries of imagery to train the software to recognise different types of animals in different types of landscape and vegetation. Now, the team is embarking on field tests with endangered species.
“We held our first field trial in South Africa last September to detect Riverine rabbits, one of the most endangered species of mammal in the world. The rabbits are very small, so we flew the drone quite low to the ground at a height of 20 metres. Although this limited the area we could cover with the drone, we managed five sightings. Given that there have only been about 1000 sightings of Riverine rabbits by anyone in total, it was a real success,” says Burke.
The team has developed software that models the effects of vegetation blocking body heat, allowing the detection of animals concealed by trees or leaves. The system is now being refined and upgraded to compensate for atmospheric effects, weather and other environmental factors. The technical aspects of the project will be presented at EWASS by Maisie Rashman on Wednesday 4th April.
“Humidity can be an issue, but our biggest problems occur when the temperature of the ground is very similar to that of the animal we are trying to detect,” comments Rashman.
The astro-ecologists face their next field challenges in May, looking for orangutans in Malaysia and spider monkeys in Mexico, followed in June by a search for river dolphins in Brazil.
“Our aim is to make a system that is easy for conservationists and game wardens to use anywhere in the world, which will allow endangered animals to be tracked, found and monitored easily and poaching to be stopped before it happens,” says Burke.
Read more:Â Astro-ecology: Saving endangered animals with software for the stars
The Latest on: Endangered species
[google_news title=”” keyword=”endangered species” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Endangered species
- Using environmental DNA for to survey the populations of endangered specieson February 7, 2023 at 12:58 pm
Changes in river systems, overfishing and the appearance of new, invasive species can lead to a drastic decline in the number of native fish inhabiting aquatic ecosystems. In the Ashida river basin in ...
- Lawsuit Launched Over Delay of Endangered Species Act Protection for 15 Animals, Plantson February 7, 2023 at 9:07 am
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal notice today of its intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for delaying critically needed Endangered Species Act protection for ...
- St. Louis and Chicago trade gorillas to protect endangered specieson February 7, 2023 at 4:52 am
It’s not every day that St. Louis and Chicago agree to a mutually beneficial trade. This week, the Saint Louis Zoo and Brookfield Zoo in Chicago swapped Jontu and Zachary, two male western lowland ...
- Dave Mason Brings His Endangered Species Tour to Nashvilleon February 7, 2023 at 3:00 am
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is speaking with the Scene by phone before he brings his Endangered Species Tour to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s CMA Theater on Friday. “We just took ...
- Happy Valley was an endangered species, a beautiful blip, in the ragingly mediocre world of cop showson February 7, 2023 at 2:32 am
COMMENT: In just 18 episodes, Sally Wainwright’s brilliant creation rewrote the rules of the genre, says . It should be evidence enough for the BBC to take more chances on gutsy storytelling, on ...
- Dave Mason’s Continuing ‘Endangered Species’ Tour Includes CMA Theater Stopon February 7, 2023 at 2:03 am
Revered British songwriter-performer and longtime US resident Dave Mason, who is continuing his Endangered Species winter tour of America this week, will visit the Country Music Hall of Fame’s CMA ...
- Feds Will Consider Removing Grizzly Bears from Endangered Species List in Montana and Wyomingon February 6, 2023 at 12:01 pm
The federal government has accepted petitions from Wyoming and Montana that could pave the way for grizzly bear hunting in the West.
- Idaho grizzly bears near Yellowstone could lose endangered species protectionson February 6, 2023 at 10:17 am
One day after Idaho officials threatened to sue the federal government for failing to respond to petitions to remove grizzly bears from Endangered Species Act protections, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife ...
- Fred Allendorf: Science and Nature: The Endangered Species Act, whitebark pine and grizzly bearson February 5, 2023 at 4:30 am
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act which President Richard Nixon signed in 1973. In his signing statement, Nixon said that “Nothing is more priceless and ...
via Bing News