Tracking and studying high-elevation species such as wolverines and lynx during the onset of winter at the North Cascades in Washington state can be challenging.
The aforementioned species are easily irked by humans. As a result, researchers are forced to set up what's known in nature as camera traps — a method of releasing a pleasing scent to attract the animals and then snapping pictures of them remotely as they follow their nose to the smell.
Well, a Microsoft researcher has figured out a better mouse trap technology to follow such animals through the winter.
According to a Microsoft blog, researcher Mike Sinclair developed an ultra-low processor — powered by lithium batteries and only dispensing three milliliters of luring liquid scent per day — allowing researchers to track and study high-elevation species throughout the winter and beyond without any maintenance.
The way Sinclair accomplished this was by working with a group of STEM high school students, who built about 70 processor boards, which have since been installed in metal bear-proof casings. The dispensers were then distributed throughout the North Cascades and beyond, in places like the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle and Idaho Fish and Game.
"We were struggling to find something we could leave out to attract wolverines and other animals. How do we take stinky liquid lure and make it last all winter?" Dr. Robert Long, a senior conservation fellow in the Field Conservation Department at Woodland Park Zoo, said in Microsoft's blog. "We needed someone who could build some kind of electronic device that could dispense liquid. When I described this idea for a device, within a day we knew the fit was right with Mike."
The main problem with camera traps before Sinclair's upgrade was they relinquished their scent too quickly and had to be replenished every one to three weeks. That was a hard task to pull off during the bitter winter cold.
Now, with Sinclair's advanced technique, the way North Cascades will monitor high-elevation species can be relatively autonomous throughout the winter and beyond, with Microsoft saying the slight-dispensing scent will last six to nine months without maintenance.
