Environmental Conservation, 47, 1-6
Sep 25, 2019
Wildlife Insights: A Platform to Maximize the Potential of Camera Trap and Other Passive Sensor Wildlife Data for the Planet
Jorge A Ahumada, Eric Fegraus, Tanya Birch, Nicole Flores, Roland Kays, Timothy G O’Brien, Jonathan Palmer, Stephanie Schuttler, Jennifer Y Zhao, Walter Jetz, Margaret Kinnaird, Sayali Kulkarni, Arnaud Lyet, David Thau, Michelle Duong, Ruth Oliver, Anthony Dancer
Wildlife is an essential component of all ecosystems. Most places in the globe do not have local, timely information on which species are present or how their populations are changing. With the arrival of new technologies, camera traps have become a popular way to collect wildlife data. However, data collection has increased at a much faster rate than the development of tools to manage, process and analyse these data. Without these tools, wildlife managers and other stakeholders have little information to effectively manage, understand and monitor wildlife populations. We identify four barriers that are hindering the widespread use of camera trap data for conservation. We propose specific solutions to remove these barriers integrated in a modern technology platform called Wildlife Insights. We present an architecture for this platform and describe its main components. We recognize and discuss the potential risks of publishing shared biodiversity data and a framework to mitigate those risks. Finally, we discuss a strategy to ensure platforms like Wildlife Insights are sustainable and have an enduring impact on the conservation of wildlife.