scholarly journals Calibration-free 3D reconstruction of firefly trajectories from 360-degree cameras

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raphael Sarfati ◽  
Orit Peleg
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Camera Calibration ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Conservation Science ◽  
Large Dataset ◽  
User Input ◽  
Animal Tracking ◽  
The Past ◽  
Calibration Free ◽  
Behavioural Biology

Over the past few decades, progress in animal tracking techniques, from large migrating mammals to swarming insects, has facilitated significant advances in ecology, behavioural biology, and conservation science. Recently, we developed a technique to record and track flashing fireflies in their natural habitat using pairs of 360-degree cameras. The method, which has the potential to help identify and monitor firefly populations worldwide, was successfully implemented in various natural swarms. However, camera calibration remained tedious and time-consuming. Here, we propose and implement an algorithm that calibrates the cameras directly from the data, requiring minimal user input. We explain the principles of the calibration-free algorithm, and demonstrate the ease and efficiency of its implementation. This method is relatively inexpensive, versatile, and well-suited for automatic processing and the collection of a large dataset of firefly trajectories across species and populations. This calibration-free method paves the way to citizen science efforts for monitoring and conservation of firefly populations.

scholarly journals Adverse Selection in P2P Lending: Does Peer Screening Work Efficiently?—Empirical Evidence from a P2P Platform

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Yao Wang ◽  
Zdenek Drabek
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Selection ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Financial System ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Type Ii Error ◽  
Close Attention ◽  
Large Dataset ◽  
The Past ◽  
P2p Lending ◽  
Online Lending

The rapid development of online lending in the past decade, while providing convenience and efficiency, also generates large hidden credit risk for the financial system. Will removing financial intermediaries really provide more efficiency to the lending market? This paper used a large dataset with 251,887 loan listings from a pioneer P2P lending platform to investigate the efficiency of the credit-screening mechanism on the P2P lending platform. Our results showed the existence of a TYPE II error in the investors’ decision-making process, which indicated that the investors were predisposed to making inaccurate diagnoses of signals, and gravitated to borrowers with low creditworthiness while inadvertently screening out their counterparts with high creditworthiness. Due to the growing size of the fintech industry, this may pose a systematic risk to the financial system, necessitating regulators’ close attention. Since, investors can better diagnose soft signals, an effective and transparent enlargement of socially related soft information together with a comprehensive and independent credit bureau could mitigate adverse selection in a disintermediation environment.

scholarly journals The Value of Citizen Science in Increasing Our Knowledge of Under-Sampled Biodiversity: An Overview of Public Documentation of Auchenorrhyncha and the Hoppers of North Carolina

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle D. Kittelberger ◽  
Solomon V. Hendrix ◽  
Çağan Hakkı Şekercioğlu
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
The United States ◽  
Undescribed Species ◽  
The Past ◽  
Global Biodiversity ◽  
Temporal And Spatial

Due to the increasing popularity of websites specializing in nature documentation, there has been a surge in the number of people enthusiastic about observing and documenting nature over the past 2 decades. These citizen scientists are recording biodiversity on unprecedented temporal and spatial scales, rendering data of tremendous value to the scientific community. In this study, we investigate the role of citizen science in increasing knowledge of global biodiversity through the examination of notable contributions to the understanding of the insect suborder Auchenorrhyncha, also known as true hoppers, in North America. We have compiled a comprehensive summary of citizen science contributions—published and unpublished—to the understanding of hopper diversity, finding over fifty previously unpublished country and state records as well as dozens of undescribed and potentially undescribed species. We compare citizen science contributions to those published in the literature as well as specimen records in collections in the United States and Canada, illuminating the fact that the copious data afforded by citizen science contributions are underutilized. We also introduce the website Hoppers of North Carolina, a revolutionary new benchmark for tracking hopper diversity, disseminating knowledge from the literature, and incorporating citizen science. Finally, we provide a series of recommendations for both the entomological community and citizen science platforms on how best to approach, utilize, and increase the quality of sightings from the general public.

scholarly journals The Verification of Ecological Citizen Science Data: Current approaches and future possibilities

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Baker ◽  
Jonathan Drury ◽  
Johanna Judge ◽  
David Roy ◽  
Graham Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Quality ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Applied Research ◽  
Automated Verification ◽  
Ecological Data ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
The Past ◽  
Published Research ◽  
Critical Process

Citizen science schemes (projects) enable ecological data collection over very large spatial and temporal scales, producing datasets of high value for both pure and applied research. However, the accuracy of citizen science data is often questioned, owing to issues surrounding data quality and verification, the process by which records are checked after submission for correctness. Verification is a critical process for ensuring data quality and for increasing trust in such datasets, but verification approaches vary considerably among schemes. Here, we systematically review approaches to verification across ecological citizen science schemes, which feature in published research, aiming to identify the options available for verification, and to examine factors that influence the approaches used (Baker et al. 2021). We reviewed 259 schemes and were able to locate verification information for 142 of those. Expert verification was most widely used, especially among longer-running schemes. Community consensus was the second most common verification approach, used by schemes such as Snapshot Serengeti (Swanson et al. 2016) and MammalWeb (Hsing et al. 2018). It was more common among schemes with a larger number of participants and where photos or video had to be submitted with each record. Automated verification was not widely used among the schemes reviewed. Schemes that used automation, such as eBird (Kelling et al. 2011) and Project FeederWatch (Bonter and Cooper 2012) did so in conjunction with other methods such as expert verification. Expert verification has been the default approach for schemes in the past, but as the volume of data collected through citizen science schemes grows and the potential of automated approaches develops, many schemes might be able to implement approaches that verify data more efficiently. We present an idealised system for data verification, identifying schemes where this hierachical system could be applied and the requirements for implementation. We propose a hierarchical approach in which the bulk of records are verified by automation or community consensus, and any flagged records can then undergo additional levels of verification by experts.

scholarly journals Bees use anthropogenic habitats despite strong natural habitat preferences

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Á. Collado ◽  
Daniel Sol ◽  
Ignasi Bartomeus
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Comprehensive Analysis ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Large Dataset ◽  
Anthropogenic Habitats ◽  
Bee Diversity ◽  
Northeast Usa

ABSTRACTHabitat loss and alteration is widely considered one of the main drivers of the current loss of pollinator diversity. Unfortunately, we still lack a comprehensive analysis of habitat importance, use and preference for major groups of pollinators. Here, we address this gap analysing a large dataset of 15,762 bee specimens (more than 400 species) across northeast USA. We found that natural habitats sustain the highest bee diversity, with many species strongly depending on such habitats. By characterizing habitat use and preference for the 45 most abundant species, we also show that many bee species can use human-altered habitats despite exhibiting strong and clear preferences for forested habitats. However, only a few species appear to do well when the habitat has been drastically modified. We conclude that although altered environments may harbor a substantial number of species, preserving natural areas is still essential to guarantee the conservation of bee biodiversity.

scholarly journals A Neural Networks Approach to Detecting Lost Heritage in Historical Video

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 297
Author(s):  
Francesca Condorelli ◽  
Fulvio Rinaudo ◽  
Francesco Salvadore ◽  
Stefano Tagliaventi
Keyword(s):  
Architectural Heritage ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
Large Dataset ◽  
Time Saving ◽  
The Past ◽  
Historical Images ◽  
Virtual Reconstruction ◽  
Human Effort ◽  
Video Material

Documenting Cultural Heritage through the extraction of 3D measures with photogrammetry is fundamental for the conservation of the memory of the past. However, when the heritage has been lost the only way to recover this information is the use of historical images from archives. The aim of this study is to experiment with new ways to search for architectural heritage in video material and to save the effort of the operator in the archive in terms of efficiency and time. A workflow is proposed to automatically detect lost heritage in film footage using Deep Learning to find suitable images to process with photogrammetry for its 3D virtual reconstruction. The performance of the network was tested on two case studies considering different architectural scenarios, the Tour Saint Jacques which still exists for the tuning of the networks, and Les Halles to test the algorithms on a real case of an architecture which has been destroyed. Despite the poor quantity and low quality of the historical images available for the training of the network, it has been demonstrated that, with few frames, it was possible to reach the same results in terms of performance of a network trained on a large dataset. Moreover, with the introduction of new metrics based on time intervals the measure of the real time saving in terms of human effort was achieved. These findings represent an important innovation in the documentation of destroyed monuments and open new ways to recover information about the past.

scholarly journals The past and future role of conservation science in saving biodiversity

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
David R Williams ◽  
Andrew Balmford ◽  
David S Wilcove
Keyword(s):  
Conservation Science ◽  
Future Role ◽  
The Past

Citizen science evidence from the past century shows that Scottish rivers are warming

2019 ◽  
Vol 659 ◽  
pp. 53-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ina Pohle ◽  
Rachel Helliwell ◽  
Caroline Aube ◽  
Sheila Gibbs ◽  
Michael Spencer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Past Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
Science Evidence

scholarly journals Giant panda conservation science: how far we have come

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald R. Swaisgood ◽  
Fuwen Wei ◽  
David E. Wildt ◽  
Andrew J. Kouba ◽  
Zejun Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Conservation Biology ◽  
Spatial Ecology ◽  
Giant Panda ◽  
Direct Application ◽  
Conservation Science ◽  
Giant Pandas ◽  
The Past ◽  
Habitat Recovery ◽  
Lost Time ◽  
Science To Management

The giant panda is a conservation icon, but science has been slow to take up its cause in earnest. In the past decade, researchers have been making up for lost time, as reflected in the flurry of activity reported at the symposium Conservation Science for Giant Pandas and Their Habitat at the 2009 International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB) in Beijing. In reports addressing topics ranging from spatial ecology to molecular censusing, from habitat recovery in newly established reserves to earthquake-induced habitat loss, from new insights into factors limiting carrying capacity to the uncertain effects of climate change, this symposium displayed the vibrant and blossoming application of science to giant panda conservation. Collectively, we find that we have come a long way, but we also reach an all-too-familiar conclusion: the more we know, the more challenges are revealed. While many earlier findings are supported, many of our assumptions are debatable. Here we discuss recent advancements in conservation science for giant pandas and suggest that the way forward is more direct application of emerging science to management and policy.

scholarly journals Exploring serendipitous dialogue

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (04) ◽  
pp. E ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Weitkamp
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Science And Society ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Research Areas

Over the past decades there has been an increasing recognition of the need to promote dialogue between science and society. Often this takes the form of formal processes, such as citizen’s juries, that are designed to allow the public to contribute their views on particular scientific research areas. But there are also many less formal mechanisms that promote a dialogue between science and society. This editorial considers science festivals and citizen science in this context and argues that we need a greater understanding of the potential impacts of these projects on the individuals involved, both scientists and the public.

scholarly journals Contours of citizen science: a vignette study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muki Haklay ◽  
Dilek Fraisl ◽  
Bastian Greshake Tzovaras ◽  
Susanne Hecker ◽  
Margaret Gold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Science Activity ◽  
Vignette Study ◽  
The Past ◽  
Clear Cases ◽  
Science Activities

Citizen science has expanded rapidly over the past decades. Yet, defining citizen science and its boundaries remained a challenge, and this is reflected in the literature - for example in the proliferation of typologies and definitions. There is a need for identifying areas of agreement and disagreement within the citizen science practitioners community on what should be considered as citizen science activity. This paper describes the development and results of a survey that examined this issue, through the use of vignettes - short case descriptions that describe an activity, while asking the respondents to rate the activity on a scale from ‘not citizen science’ (0%) to ‘citizen science’ (100%). The survey included 50 vignettes, of which 5 were developed as clear cases of not-citizen science activities, 5 as widely accepted citizen science activities, and the others addressing 10 factors and 61 sub-factors that can lead to controversy about an activity. The survey has attracted 333 respondents, who provided over 5,100 ratings. The analysis demonstrates the plurality of understanding of what citizen science is and calls for an open understanding of what activities are included in the field.

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