• Contact Us
    • Send Feedback
    • Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • Journal and Journal Articles
    • Journal and Journal Articles
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • Journal and Journal Articles
    • Journal and Journal Articles
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    Whole Repository
    CollectionsIssue DateRegionCountryHubAffiliationAuthorsTitlesSubject
    This Sub-collection
    Issue DateRegionCountryHubAffiliationAuthorsTitlesSubject

    My Account

    Login

    Welcome to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture Research Repository

    What would you like to view today?

    PICT: A low-cost, modular, open-source camera trap system to study plant–insect interactions

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    Journal Article (1.222Mb)
    Date
    2021
    Author
    Droissart, V.
    Azandi, L.
    Onguene, E.R.
    Savignac, M.
    Smith, T.B.
    Deblauwe, V.
    Type
    Journal Article
    Review Status
    Peer Review
    Target Audience
    Scientists
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract/Description
    Commercial camera traps (CTs) commonly used in wildlife studies have several technical limitations that restrict their scope of application. They are not easily customizable, unit prices sharply increase with image quality and importantly, they are not designed to record the activity of ectotherms such as insects. Those developed for the study of plant–insect interactions are yet to be widely adopted as they rely on expensive and heavy equipment. We developed PICT (plant–insect interactions camera trap), an inexpensive (<100 USD) do-it-yourself CT system based on a Raspberry Pi Zero computer designed to continuously film animal activity. The system is particularly well suited for the study of pollination, insect behaviour and predator–prey interactions. The focus distance can be manually adjusted to under 5 cm. In low light conditions, a near-infrared light automatically illuminates the subject. Frame rate, resolution and video compression levels can be set by the user. The system can be remotely controlled using either a smartphone, tablet or laptop via the onboard Wi-Fi. PICT can record up to 72-hr day and night videos at >720p resolution with a 110-Wh power bank (30,000 mAh). Its ultra-portable (<1 kg) waterproof design and modular architecture is practical in diverse field settings. We provide an illustrated technical guide detailing the steps involved in building and operating a PICT and for video post-processing. We successfully field-tested PICT in a Central African rainforest in two contrasting research settings: an insect pollinator survey in the canopy of the African ebony Diospyros crassiflora and the observation of rare pollination events of an epiphytic orchid Cyrtorchis letouzeyi. PICT overcomes many of the limitations commonly associated with CT systems designed to monitor ectotherms. Increased portability and image quality at lower costs allow for large-scale deployment and the acquisition of novel insights into the reproductive biology of plants and their interactions with difficult to observe animals.
    Acknowledgements
    This study is part of the Congo Basin Institute's Ebony Project generously funded by UCLA and Bob Taylor, owner of Taylor Guitars and co-owner of Crelicam ebony mill in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Field investigations and materials were partly funded by the Fondation pour Favoriser la Recherche sur la Biodiversité en Afrique (João Farminhão and Laura Azandi as PI), the Leonardo Dicaprio Foundation and the Aspire Grant Program (Laura Azandi as PI). We express our gratitude to the American Orchid Society ...
    https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13618
    Multi standard citation
    Permanent link to this item
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12478/7800
    IITA Authors ORCID
    Vincent Deblauwehttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9881-1052
    Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
    https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13618
    Research Themes
    Natural Resource Management
    IITA Subjects
    Food Security; Pests of Plants
    Agrovoc Terms
    Ecology; Video Recorders; Cameras; Technology; Pollination
    Hubs
    Central Africa Hub
    Journals
    Methods in Ecology and Evolution
    Collections
    • Journal and Journal Articles4835
    copyright © 2019  IITASpace. All rights reserved.
    IITA | Open Access Repository