The global loss of biodiversity is occurring at an unprecedented pace. Despite the considerable effort devoted to conservation science and management, we still lack even the most basic data on the distribution and density of the majority of plant and animal species, which in turn hampers our efforts to study changes over time. In addition, we often lack behavioural data from the very animals most influenced by environmental changes; this is largely due to the financial and logistical limitations associated with gathering scientific data on species that are cryptic, widely distributed, range over large areas, or negatively influenced by human presence.
To overcome these limitations, conservationists are increasingly employing technology to facilitate such data collection. Innovative solutions have been driven by dramatic advances in the conservation-technology interface. The use of camera traps, acoustic sensors, satellite data, drones, and computer algorithms to analyse the large datasets collected are all becoming increasingly widespread. Although specialist books are available on some of these individual technologies, this is the first comprehensive text to describe the breadth of available technology for conservation and to evaluate its varied applications, bringing together a team of international experts using a diverse range of approaches.
Conservation Technology is suitable for graduate level students, professional researchers, practitioners and field managers in the fields of ecology and conservation biology.
Preface
1. Conservation and Technology: An Introduction / Alex K. Piel and Serge A. Wich
2. From the Cloud to the Ground: Converting Satellite Data into Conservation Decisions / Lilian Pintea
3. Drones for Conservation / Serge A. Wich, Mike Hudson, Herizo Andrianandrasana, and Steven N. Longmore
4. Acoustic Sensors / Anne-Sophie Crunchant, Chanakya Dev Nakka, Jason T. Isaacs, and Alex K. Piel
5. Camera Trapping for Conservation / Francesco Rovero and Roland Kays
6. Animal-borne Technologies in Wildlife Research and Conservation / Kasim Rafiq, Pitcher, Ben J. Pitcher, Kate Cornelsen, K. Whitney Hansen, Andrew J. King, Rob. G. Appleby, Briana Abrahms and Neil R. Jordan
7. Field and Laboratory Analysis for Non-Invasive Wildlife and Habitat Health Assessment and Conservation / Cheryl D. Knott, Amy M. Scott, Caitlin A. O'Connell, Tri Wahyu Susanto and Erin E. Kane
8. Environmental DNA for Conservation / Antoinette J. Piaggio
9. Mobile Data Collection Apps / Edward McLester and Alex K. Piel
10. Application of SMART Software for Conservation Area Management / Drew T. Cronin, Anthony Dancer, Barney Long, Antony J. Lynam, Jeff Muntifering, Jonathan Palmer and Richard A. Bergl
11. Challenges for the Computer Vision Community / Dan Morris and Lucas Joppa
12. Digital Surveillance Technologies in Conservation and their Social Implications / Trishant Simlai and Chris Sandbrook
13. The Future of Technology in Conservation / Margarita Mulero-Pázmány
Serge A. Wich is a Professor in Primate Biology at Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK and an honorary professor for the conservation of the great apes at the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Serge is also a co-Founding Director of the non-profit, ConservationDrones.org. Updates on his work can also be found on www.sergewich.com His research focuses on primate behavioural ecology, tropical rain forest ecology and conservation of primates and their habitats. Research is strongly focused on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and Borneo and uses a mixture of observational and experimental fieldwork. He also uses emerging technologies such as drones for his work.
Alex K. Piel is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at University College London, UK and Director of the Greater Mahale Ecosystem Research and Conservation Project in Tanzania. More on his work can be found at www.gmerc.org. Alex's research foci are twofold: (1) primate adaption to dry habitats and the implications for human evolution and (2) chimpanzee conservation in East Africa, Tanzania especially. He is primarily interested in how primate behaviour reflects the various environmental challenges posed to populations that live in open, mosaic landscapes.
Contributors:
- Briana Abrahms, Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, Department of Biology, University of Washington, USA
- Herizo Andrianandrasana, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust Madagascar Programme and Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Antananarivo, Madagascar
- Rob. G. Appleby, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University and Wild Spy Pty Ltd, Brisbane, Australia
- Richard A. Bergl, Conservation, Education, and Science Department, North Carolina Zoo, USA
- Kate Cornelsen, Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- Drew T. Cronin, Conservation, Education, and Science Department, North Carolina Zoo, USA
- Anne-Sophie Crunchant, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, UK and Greater Mahale Ecosystem Research and Conservation Project (GMERC), Tanzania
- Anthony Dancer, Zoological Society of London, UK
- K. Whitney Hansen, Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA
- Mike Hudson, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Jersey, Channel Islands and Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, UK
- Samual M. Jantz, Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, USA
- Lucas Joppa, Microsoft AI for Earth, USA
- Neil R. Jordan, Taronga Conservation Society Australia, Sydney, Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Australia and Botswana Predator Conservation, Maun, Botswana
- Roland Kays, Department of Forestry and Environmental Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA and North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, USA
- Erin Kane, Department of Anthropology, Boston University, USA
- Andrew J. King, Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
- Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa
- Cheryl Knott, Department of Anthropology and Department of Biology, Boston University, USA
- Barney Long, Global Wildlife Conservation, Austin, Texas, USA
- Steven N. Longmore, Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
- Antony J. Lynam, Center for Global Conservation, Wildlife Conservation Society, USA
- Edward McLester, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, UK
- Dan Morris, Microsoft AI for Earth, USA
- Margarita Mulero-Pázmány, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, UK
- Caitlin O'Connell, Department of Biological Sciences, Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, University of Southern California, USA
- Jonathan Palmer, Center for Global Conservation, Wildlife Conservation Society, USA
- Antoinette J Piaggio, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
- Alex K. Piel, Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK and Greater Mahale Ecosystem Research and Conservation Project (GMERC), Tanzania
- Lilian Pintea, Jane Goodall Institute, USA
- Ben J. Pitcher, Taronga Conservation Society Australia and Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
- Kasim Rafiq, Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA and Botswana Predator Conservation, Maun, Botswana
- Francesco Rovero, Department of Biology, University of Florence, Italy and MUSE - Museo delle Scienze, Trento, Italy
- Chris Sandbrook, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Amy Scott, Department of Anthropology, Boston University, USA
- Trishant Simlai, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Tri Wahyu Susanto, Department of Biology, National University, Indonesia
- Serge A. Wich, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, UK and Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands