Astrophysics meets conservation biology

该项目的长期目标是在科技基金资助的天文学创新的基础上，帮助应对全球挑战主题领域“可持续资源”和“可持续增长”中确定的发展中国家面临的挑战。在过去的18个月里，我们已经证明，由天文学家开发的用于探测发射和识别热(中红外，~10微米)波长天文图像中的物体的软件非常适合于识别和描述航空热视频片段中的动物。我们现在寻求启动资金，以支持博士后研究助理(PDRA)，以适应我们为不同环境开发的自动化来源查找和识别软件管道。然后，PDRA将把这种无人机+软件管道系统带到发展中国家，并在“真实世界”的情况下对其进行测试。通过证明这是一种在大范围内监测和管理动物种群的具有成本效益和效率的方法，我们旨在表明这种方法在应对发展中国家面临的一些主要挑战方面的有效性，例如粮食安全、动物健康和生态系统监测、保护和养护。我们设想这一试点项目将为今后符合官方发展援助条件的申请(如全球挑战研究基金)开始系统地应对上述挑战铺平道路。

The long-term goal of this project is to build upon STFC-funded innovations in astronomy to help tackle challenges to developing countries identified in the Global Challenge Theme Areas: "Sustainable Resources" and "Sustainable Growth". Over the last 18 months, we have demonstrated that software developed by astronomers to detect emission and identify objects in thermal (mid-infrared, ~10 micron) wavelength astronomical images is extremely well suited to identifying and characterising animals in aerial thermal video footage. We now seek pump priming funds to support a Postdoctoral Research Assistant (PDRA) to adapt the automated source-finding and identification software pipeline we have developed for different environments. The PDRA will then take this drone + software pipeline system to developing countries and test it in "real world" situations. By demonstrating that this is a cost-effective and efficient way to monitor and manage animal populations over large areas, we aim to show the validity of this approach for tackling some of the major challenges facing developing countries, such as food security, animal health and ecosystem monitoring, protection and conservation. We envisage this pilot project paving the way for future Official Development Assistance-eligible applications (e.g. the Global Challenge Research Fund) to begin systematically tackling the above challenges.