Wildlife biology can be tricky
business. In order to study different animals in their natural
habitat you must get close to them. Getting close to them can cause
them to act in an unnatural way- potentially defeating the purpose of
the research. More and more often biologists are finding ways to use
technology to aid them in obtaining the data they need in less
intrusive ways. Scientists studying Emperor penguin populations found
that they could use robotic rovers to get up-close without causing
stress amongst the penguins. In order to read the tags used in
wildlife monitoring studies, scientists need to get within 60
centimeters (2 feet) of the animals. When scientists try to get this
close to the penguins, it elevates their heart rate. They found if
they sent in a rover, in this case a rover disguised as a penguin
chick, (or robochick) the penguins reacted the same way they do when
another penguin walks by. The penguins even tried to vocalize with
the robochick.
Robotics can also help scientists to
understand wildlife physiology. Researchers at Georgia Tech were studying the locomotion of sea turtle
hatchlings over different substrates. During the research the
students observed that the hatchlings used a particular motion of the
wrist of their fin to move effectively over the loose sand and
gravel. Back at the lab they engineered a robotic turtle or
"flipperbot" to examine how this motion might help the
turtle move over different types of terrain. The idea is to use what
they have found in the lab to predict what they might see in nature,
and then make further observations to see if these predictions come
true. Additionally, there are applications in robotics and
engineering that can be derived from learning about effective motion
in wildlife.
Robotics is certainly only one of the
ways technology is used in wildlife biology. GPS tracking, motion
cameras and other devices have made observing animals in less
invasive, and in turn, more accurate ways possible. The possibilities
are endless when we are willing to reach across disciplines and use
all the tools available to us.
Read More:
Wildlife Biology and Robotics
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