
CREDIT: JENNIFER HEWITT, UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA COLLEGE OF OPTICS AND PHOTONICS
New method makes it easier to spot pythons without relying on thermal contrast
For more than 25 years, Burmese pythons have been living and breeding in the Florida Everglades where they prey on native wildlife and disrupt the region’s delicate ecosystems. A new study shows that infrared cameras could make it easier to spot these invasive snakes in the Florida foliage, providing a new tool in the effort to remove them.
In the Optical Society (OSA) journal Applied Optics, researchers led by Dr. Kyle Renshaw from the University of Central Florida College of Optics and Photonics report that a near infrared camera helped people detect Burmese pythons at distances up to 1.3 times farther away than was possible using a traditional visible-wavelength camera. Because infrared sensors are small and low cost, they could easily be incorporated into handheld or vehicle-mounted systems designed for seeking out pythons.
“The removal of Burmese Pythons is vital to preventing further damage to the Floridian ecosystem and preventing their spread to other regions,” said Hewitt, a PhD student and lead author on the study. “Our study — one of the first to examine the efficacy of near infrared sensing in locating these pythons — can help inform methods used to remove them from the environment.”
Making snakes stand out
Burmese pythons can be up to 20 feet long and weigh as much as 200 pounds. They arrived in the U.S. as exotic pets in the 1980s and the snakes proliferated in the Everglades after a breeding facility was destroyed during Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Their natural camouflage makes them blend in with grass and foliage, making them hard to see with the human eye or a traditional visible-light camera. In a previous study, the authors measured the reflectivity spectra of Burmese pythons in the visible and infrared wavelengths, finding that pythons are more visible against the background at infrared wavelengths longer than 750 nm.
“Based on these earlier findings, we hypothesized that using near infrared wavelengths for imaging could make the pythons easier to see because they would appear dark against bright foliage,” said Hewitt. “Although we haven’t acquired reflectivity measurements from other species of snakes, the pythons should be easy to distinguish since they are larger than any other native species of snake.”
To test their hypothesis, the researchers took images of Burmese pythons in grass using visible and infrared cameras with similar fields of view and resolution. They then asked volunteers to examine these images and indicate whether they saw a python. Based on the responses of the volunteers, the researchers calculated the advantage of using near infrared images compared to visible.
“The method we used to evaluate each of the sensors was originally established for military sensing applications,” Hewitt explained. “It accounts for the attributes of human vision and perception in addition to the characteristics of the system components to determine how effective a system is at allowing the observer to accomplish a task.”
Spotting pythons day or night
Although other studies have explored using thermal infrared sensors to find Burmese pythons, the snakes had to have been basking in the sun during the day for them to be detected at night. The thermal contrast against their environment also diminished over time.
“In this work, we don’t rely on thermal contrast,” said Hewitt. “We found that near infrared imaging can be used both during the day as well as at night with illumination to improve detection, even if the pythons have not been basking.”
The researchers have contracted with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to work on a project that expands on these results. “We are evaluating whether or not this technology will be effective in the field, and, if so, how to make it field-ready in the challenging Florida everglades ecosystem,” said McKayla Spencer, the FWC interagency python management coordinator. “We are just in the beginning stages of our project with the researchers.”
Original Article: Infrared imaging leaves invasive pythons nowhere to hide
More from: University of Central Florida
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Using near infrared imaging to spot invasive species
- County to add central decontamination site to combat aquatic invasive species
using equipment leased from the county. The service is free to boat owners. Costs are covered through Kandiyohi County’s share of aquatic invasive species prevention aid from the state of Minnesota.
- How to fight back against Indiana invasive species
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — As invasive species continue to damage the natural flora and fauna of the region, the state is working to help residents combat the many invasive species that can ...
- Using IR LEDs To Hide In Plain Sight
Getting by without falling under the gaze of surveillance cameras doesn’t seem possible nowadays – from malls to street corners, it’s getting more common for organizations to use ...
- More boaters ticketed for invasive species violations
The agency concentrates inspectors and decontamination efforts at high-use bodies of water that currently are infested with invasive species.
- Near Infrared Imaging Market Size and Overview Analysis 2022 by Research Scope, Technological Factors, Industry Risk Assessment and Forecast to 2030
NIR imaging technique involves the use of near infrared light to obtain images of tissues. These systems rely on fluorescent dye, which is administered to obtain fluorophore emission. These ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Using near infrared imaging to spot invasive species
[google_news title=”” keyword=”using near infrared imaging to spot invasive species” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Near infrared imaging
- Space Force shelves ‘weather data as a service’ model, for now
Space Systems Command believes that "WxDaaS" may become a viable option sometime after fiscal year 2030, said Lt. Col. Joseph Maguadog, but dedicated sats will have to do in the meantime.
- Near Infrared Medical Fluorescence Imaging Market Size 2023: Big Expansion Strategies, Revenue Generations, and Top Key Players Forecast to 2028
The “Near Infrared Medical Fluorescence Imaging Market” [117 Pages] Report 2023-2028 provides a value chain analysis ...
- Air Guard’s RC-26 reconnaissance planes head into retirement
The Air National Guard is saying goodbye to its fleet of 11 niche reconnaissance planes after years of sparring with Congress over their future. RC-26 Condors are small propeller planes that can find ...
- High-performance visible-light lasers that fit on a fingertip
As technologies keep advancing at exponential rates and demand for new devices rises accordingly, miniaturizing systems into chips has become increasingly important. Microelectronics has changed the ...
- Near Infrared Imaging Market Size and Overview Analysis 2022 by Research Scope, Technological Factors, Industry Risk Assessment and Forecast to 2030
Jan 04, 2023 (Alliance News via COMTEX) -- The recent research report published by Report Ocean gives an insight into the Near Infrared Imaging Market . According to this published competitive ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Near infrared imaging
[google_news title=”” keyword=”near infrared imaging” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]