Tuesday, March 3, 2015

The Gadgets Just Keep Getting Smarter.

      I recently attended a session put on by the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute. This organization's objective is to inventory all the  various living organisms in the province. They have set up 1529 posts throughout the province where they identify all living organisms on the site. So areas such as grain fields, grasslands , forests, wetlands and mountains are studied. They first choose three by seven mile sites and then choose something in that area which is narrowed down to a few acres.

     So a small site of  few acres is studied very carefully to identify all organisms. The purpose of the whole operation is to set up a level which can be used when deciding on land uses.

     They've made some interesting discoveries. They've found several new species of soil mites. They've also found species that were not known to exist in Alberta. They also plan to go back to each site every five years and survey again.

     Now a lot of this work is just hard observation. Sit and observe. Take photos. Dig a bit here. Take samples.

   There are a few gadgets that can be used. The familiar one is the trail webcam. Some of you have trail cams and if you are patient in monitoring you will see some interesting critters travelling through your yard.

    The gadget I found most interesting was a sound recorder. The device is placed on the site and left for a year. For ten minutes of each hour the device turns on and listens. Each year the device is read for the sounds recorded. They can identify an amazing number of sounds. Bird and animal calls are a no brainer. They can also identify creatures that are moving in the area. So it will hear mice rustling through the grass, a bear ambling through the site, a deer munching on some browse, a coyote scratching his ear or a bird flying by. This device is extremely sensitive. I thought this was pretty neat.

    This organization has many tools in its toolkit but the one using sound for a whole year was most fascinating.

    Once this study is complete it will have a most detailed and complete inventory of the things around us.

33 comments:

  1. wow. the sound identifier is flat-out amazing (and almost scary!) :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. People still have to identify the sounds.

      Delete
  2. There are undoubtedly many creatures living in our midst that we're unaware of.

    ReplyDelete
  3. How cool, a sound machine! I love my trail cam. So interesting what you see when your not around.
    Cheri

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The sounds on this device have to be identified by people. It's just the machine can sit out there for a year and pick up lots of data.

      Delete
  4. That would be interesting to listen to all the sounds:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would hope that they can condense all the sound and you don't have to listen to all the quiet stuff.

      Delete
  5. I know one of the bloggers I follow has a trail cam set on her acreage, and has regularly caught deer passing by.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Using a trail cam takes lots of patience.

      Delete
  6. This sounds like a great study. While it will be slow going, the finding will be very interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're right. they've already found some surprising things. I just hope good use is made of the data.

      Delete
  7. Interesting they found new species. The sounds may even pick up Big Foot maybe, jist sayin. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Speculation could go a long way with this one.

      Delete
  8. Interesting study, that takes a long time to find out all the different sounds.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This whole project is going to be a lot of work.

      Delete
  9. Hopefully they will not see huge demise over the years!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you're right. I would not want to see some invasive species either.

      Delete
  10. I can remember as a child, laying on the grass and watching little creatures walk through the grass, up one blade and down the other side. Yes, we have many to look at.......when we look and listen. Very Nice, interesting post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You too eh? I spent hours at that activity or on my back looking into the sky or watching clouds.

      Delete
  11. What fun study to be part of.I like to do this kind of stuff myself. I thought of the first GPS that we used and they were huge, compared to the tiny ones we use now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Remember the first cell phones and how large they were.

      Delete
  12. Sounds very fascinating! Modern gadgets are quite handy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They allow us to go much further and faster

      Delete
  13. That must be a very sensitive sound machine, to get all that. And you're right: it will contain a detailed inventory of all life in that area. Very cool. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just remember that we don't hear well at our age and devices can hear much better than humans.

      Delete
  14. Hi Red, This is a neat thing that the Monitoring Institute is doing. Two comments: 1. This is the kind of work I like ... "Sit and observe. Take photos. Dig a bit here. Take samples." :-) and 2. Have you ever heard that old question about the tree falling in the forest when no one is there to hear it ... Does it make a sound or not? Well, I think that sound recorder might have the answer! :-) John

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John, you think of everything! Or if a woman isn't there is a man still stupid?

      Delete
    2. Ha ha ha!!!!! : - ) You are awesome, Red!

      Delete
  15. How interesting. I love my Trailcam, problem is, all I have been getting is Buster, hubby, me, Daisy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's why I've been saying that you have to be patient with trail cams. You've got to look at a lot of nothing

      Delete
  16. Wow - seems like they're inventing something new every single day :-)

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'm amazed at the people who discover and identify soil mites!! So many wonderful things on this planet.

    ReplyDelete