Robust, real-time and autonomous monitoring of ecosystems with an open, low-cost, networked device
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Sethi, Sarab
Ewers, Robert
Jones, Nick
Orme, David
Picinali, Lorenzo
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
1. Automated methods of monitoring ecosystems provide a cost-effective way to track changes in natural system's dynamics across temporal and spatial scales. However, methods of recording and storing data captured from the field still require significant manual effort. 2. Here we introduce an open source, inexpensive, fully autonomous ecosystem monitoring unit for capturing and remotely transmitting continuous data streams from field sites over long time-periods. We provide a modular software framework for deploying various sensors, together with implementations to demonstrate proof of concept for continuous audio monitoring and time-lapse photography. 3. We show how our system can outperform comparable technologies for fractions of the cost, provided a local mobile network link is available. The system is robust to unreliable network signals and has been shown to function in extreme environmental conditions, such as in the tropical rainforests of Sabah, Borneo. 4. We provide full details on how to assemble the hardware, and the open-source software. Paired with appropriate automated analysis techniques, this system could provide spatially dense, near real-time, continuous insights into ecosystem and biodiversity dynamics at a low cost.
Date Issued
2018-12-01
Date Acceptance
2018-09-01
Citation
Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 2018, 9 (12), pp.2383-2387
ISSN
2041-210X
Publisher
Wiley
Start Page
2383
End Page
2387
Journal / Book Title
Methods in Ecology and Evolution
Volume
9
Issue
12
Copyright Statement
© 2018 Crown Copyright. Methods in Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Sponsor
Rainforest Research Sdn Bhd
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
Grant Number
LBEE_P34395
NE/L012456/1
UCL Ref: 542177
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Ecology
Environmental Sciences & Ecology
acoustic monitoring
autonomous monitoring
biodiversity monitoring
ecosystem monitoring
open-source software
real-time monitoring
BIRDS
0602 Ecology
0603 Evolutionary Biology
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2018-09-07