It is now a reality of getting penguins in the ocean from the ocean. An international team of researchers has developed Pengucams, a new camera system for animals that can help keep track of how much prey they need to eat, where they find fish and how much energy they spend on their meals. The unique findings – and foraging – are described in a Study published on January 28 in the magazine Pear.
Animal cameras such as the new Pengucams and National Geographic’s Critter cam Can researchers give a view of behavior that they normally could not see. One of those important behaviors is how they deal with their prey. This is usually done by tasting their stools or what is in the stomach of dead birds, but this new method will help scientists understand how much work it is for these penguins to get food. Insight into how an animal hunt and how much prey they need can help understand why they can forage in certain places for certain prey.
In the studyAn international team of researchers has applied small, lightweight cameras on Humboldt, Tawaki and King Penguins in Nieuw -Zeeland. They then used the well -known distance between the penguin beak and the camera Determine a correction factor– A number that adjusts an observed value. The correction factor that the team made is a way to Convert the pixels -based measurements in the images in actual dimensions. It enables scientists to take a stationary picture just before prey is consumed and measuring how long or long it is in pixels. Subsequently, that pixel measurement can be converted into a real-world measurement in millimeters. This allows scientists to estimate how much energy the penguin gets from each foraging trip.
The team tested video images with the help of a reference object – a grid with well -known dimensions – under several distances, water salinities and corners. They then used these findings to make linear models that predict correction factors for distances that were outside the range tested. This New correction factor Take into account the distance traveled, refraction and distortion to offer a practical tool to estimate the size of the water.
The study showed that the Correction factors were significantly different in air and water environments Due to the differences in a slight infection. However, these factors remain consistent in salt and fresh water, so that they can be applied to various marine habitats in the future.
“We have created a new way to study marine predators through camera images carried by animals,” Owen Dabkowski, co-author and student at the University of Otago in New Zealand, said in a statement. “With the correction factor, measurements can be taken directly from video images using a simple method. With this innovative technology, energy of the prey can be calculated that can help explain the decisions that predators have made during foraging. “
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The new method also has distortion effects in the water and the air to guarantee more precise measurements. The team also created one Fast reference table And have example images that demonstrate how the method works in Real-World scenarios that other scientists can use.
The use of the correction factors that have been developed with pengucams can make more accurate studies of ecological interactions possible. Having this data can better inform conservation measures for endangered or endangered species.
Pengucams was developed by scientists from the University of Otago, the Tawaki Trust, the Global Penguin Society, the Antarctic Research Trust and Conicet in Argentina.
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