Ecology Technology
When I started out on my career in ecology – as an assistant warden on the Farne Islands – new boys were sent on a computer training course. I remember the darkened room with green monitor screens, the general confusion caused by the clunky and counter intuitive spreadsheet and word processing packages, and the general amusement caused by the whole charade, as in reality there was only one computer to be shared between nine of us. One generally felt that the technology was more trouble than it was worth, and anyway none of us were that good at it.
Life on the islands was simple, with two way radios our only regular form of communication. All our ornithological note-taking was done by gaslight, mainly in notebooks with paper and pencil. No-one had the money to buy decent photographic equipment. Communicating with friends and family was possible by letter or occasional phone call. The toilet flushing water had to be hand pumped from the North Sea. Need I say more?
When I visited the Islands last year, Dave Steele the head warden explained how the wardens’ lives had been revolutionised by mobile phones, blogging, solar panels, motorised winches and the bird recording by the use of digiscoping. The wardens looked like healthy, balanced individuals as opposed to the crazed bunch of half-starved zombies that emerged from the islands in December 1991. There was no doubt that in the intervening 18 years what is at times a very challenging job had become significantly easier, more effective and more fun for those lucky enough to work there. If you visit their excellent blog http://farnephoto.blogspot.com you can readily see the results of the tech advances. I didn’t ask about the toilets.
In more mundane localities, ecologists have also taken full advantage of the available technology to make their work more effective, accurate and accessible. Our reports are now full of accurate site plans, using GPS, lavishly illustrated, superbly designed, and take far less time to produce than even ten years ago. Surveys are supported by superb pieces of kit like bat detectors coupled to recordable mp3 devices, crystal clear optics, mobile phone cameras, sophisticated weather recording devices, endoscopes, night vision equipment – the list goes on. Use of digital aerial imagery has also greatly assisted in accuracy of site mapping. Ecologists are, as a result, able to achieve a great deal in much less time, and to a much higher standard.
Technology has driven up the standards of ecological work as new kit has become readily available. I have frequently seen tenders and work specifications which request data or survey techniques which require a technological solution – be it recordings of bat calls, sophisticated mapping imagery or use of complex databases. Digital photos allow evidence to be scrutinised thoroughly, and accurate mapping has changed vegetation survey from an art to a science.
So, looking forwards, how can technology improve yet further the quality of ecological work, and what would be on my own wish list for ace gadgets? Well, this is not an exhaustive list, but here goes:
- More practical and sophisticated equipment for static bat detection and recording, perhaps with predictive software for bat identification.
- The further integration of high quality optics with digital camera technology at an affordable price.
- An all-in-one field device for ecologists – a weatherproof gadget that takes photos with GPS location, and allows mapping directly in the field, as well as the collection of audio and visual evidence.
- Satellite imagery that’s completely up to date (like – yesterday).
- Teleport (no more Travelodge!).
- X ray vision (this would also be fun for a number of reasons).
- Bionics.
The last three are optional, but just think…
Rob
Robert Yaxley
