BoomBox: An Automated Behavioural Response (ABR) camera trap module for wildlife playback experiments
BoomBox: An Automated Behavioural Response (ABR) camera trap module for wildlife playback experiments
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DOI：
10.1111/2041-210x.13789
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发表时间：
2022-01-07
影响因子：
6.6
通讯作者：
Pringle, Robert M.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Palmer, Meredith S.;Wang, Chris;Pringle, Robert M.
1.相机陷阱（CT）是生态学研究中的一种有价值的工具，收集了大量关于不同野生动物群落行为的信息。CT主要用作被动数据记录器，以收集观测数据进行相关性分析。然而，将CT整合到实验研究中，可以对动物行为和保护生物学中的关键假设进行严格的测试，否则这些假设很难或不可能进行评估。我们开发了“BoomBox”，这是一种开源的Arduino兼容板，可以连接到商用CT上，形成自动行为响应（ABR）系统。模块化装置直接连接到CT的被动红外（PIR）运动传感器，当传感器被触发时，通过外部扬声器播放音频文件。这创建了一个远程回放系统，该系统捕获动物对特定线索的反应，将相机捕获的好处（例如，在远程位置连续监测，缺乏人类观察者，大数据量）与实验操作的力量（例如，用于强机械推理的受控扰动）相结合。我们的系统建立在以前的ABR设计，以提供一个便宜的（类似于100美元）和可定制的现场工具。我们提供了一个实用的指南，详细介绍了如何建立和操作BoomBox ABR系统的建议，为潜在的实验设计，解决野生动物生态学中的各种问题。作为概念验证，我们成功地在两个不同的野外环境中对BoomBox进行了实地测试，以研究物种相互作用（捕食者-猎物和捕食者-捕食者）和野生动物对保护干预的反应。这种新工具使研究人员能够在复杂环境中对自由生活的物种进行一套独特的操纵实验，提高识别自然系统中物种行为和相互作用的机械驱动因素的能力。
1. Camera traps (CTs) are a valuable tool in ecological research, amassing large quantities of information on the behaviour of diverse wildlife communities. CTs are predominantly used as passive data loggers to gather observational data for correlational analyses. Integrating CTs into experimental studies, however, can enable rigorous testing of key hypotheses in animal behaviour and conservation biology that are otherwise difficult or impossible to evaluate.2. We developed the 'BoomBox', an open-source Arduino-compatible board that attaches to commercially available CTs to form an Automated Behavioural Response (ABR) system. The modular unit connects directly to the CT's passive infrared (PIR) motion sensor, playing audio files over external speakers when the sensor is triggered. This creates a remote playback system that captures animal responses to specific cues, combining the benefits of camera trapping (e.g. continuous monitoring in remote locations, lack of human observers, large data volume) with the power of experimental manipulations (e.g. controlled perturbations for strong mechanistic inference).3. Our system builds on previous ABR designs to provide a cheap (similar to 100USD) and customizable field tool. We provide a practical guide detailing how to build and operate the BoomBox ABR system with suggestions for potential experimental designs that address a variety of questions in wildlife ecology. As proof-of-concept, we successfully field tested the BoomBox in two distinct field settings to study species interactions (predator-prey and predator-predator) and wildlife responses to conservation interventions.4. This new tool allows researchers to conduct a unique suite of manipulative experiments on free-living species in complex environments, enhancing the ability to identify mechanistic drivers of species' behaviours and interactions in natural systems.