Environment
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A Video Surveillance System to Monitor Breeding Colonies of Common Terns (Sterna Hirundo)
Chapters
Summary July 22nd, 2018
This paper describes a protocol that uses a remote video monitoring surveillance system to continuously monitor breeding colonies of ground-nesting waterbirds. The system includes five cameras monitoring individual nests and one camera monitoring the colony as a whole, and is powered by car batteries that are recharged via solar panels.
Transcript
This surveillance system enables ornithologists to answer key questions related to nesting behavior such as nest attentiveness and the impacts of predation. The main advantage of this technique is that it allows for intensive monitoring of colonies while reducing disturbance levels that may otherwise have negatively impacted them. To begin, label four solar panels C1, DVR1, DVR2, and DVR3.
For panels C1 and DVR2, use winged wire connectors to attach one set of four foot positive and negative wires to the respective positive and negative ends of the panels. Then cap the open ends of the wires with additional winged wire connectors. For panel DVR1, use winged wire connectors to attach two sets of four foot positive and negative wires to the respective positive and negative ends of the panel.
Then cap the open ends of the wires with additional winged wire connectors. Tape all of the loose wires to the backs of the panels for ease to transport. Next, attach a charge controller to two 18 gallon plastic bins as specified in the text protocol.
Label one of the bins camera system and the other DVR system. Next, loosen the battery positive and battery negative screws on the charge controller in the camera system bin and slide the soldered end of each wire into the left side of its corresponding slot. Tighten the screws and ensure that both wires are secure.
Then repeat this process for the charge controller in the DVR system bin. In the DVR system bin, attach a 12-volt male DC adapter to the charge controller by loosening the load positive and load negative screws and sliding the corresponding positive and negative wires into the left sides of each slot. Then tape the loose wires to the plastic box for transport.
Repeat this process with the two male DC power plugs in the camera system bin. Then connect two four-port DC power splitters to the male DC power plugs in the camera system bin. Repeat this process with the male DC power plugs in the DVR system bin.
First, place solar panel C1 on a sawhorse at the designated camera system location. Then place panels DVR1, two, and three in order on three sawhorses at the designated DVR system location. To prevent sliding, drive two six-inch nails into the ground in front of each solar panel.
Then drive two six-inch tent stakes into the ground at a 45 degree angle from the back of the solar panels. Secure the loose ends of rope from the backs of the solar panels to the stakes. Next, position four 12-volt dry cell AGM car batteries in a two by two fashion.
Attach one 3/8 inch ring terminal from the positive two foot wire to the positive battery terminal on the bottom right battery. Then attach the other 3/8 inch ring terminal to the positive battery terminal on the top right battery. Repeat these steps with the 5/16 inch ring terminal from the negative battery terminals on both right batteries.
Next, attach one 3/8 inch ring terminal from the positive two foot wires to the positive battery terminals on the top left and bottom left batteries. Then repeat this step with the 5/16 inch ring terminal from the negative wire to the negative battery terminals on both left batteries. Attach the one side soldered/one side ring terminal wire from the charge controller to a positive battery terminal.
Then attach the negative to the negative battery terminal of a different battery. To connect the solar panel wires to the charge controller, attach one positive and one negative wire from DVR2 to the respective positive and negative wires on DVR3. Then attach one positive and one negative wire from DVR1 to DVR2 and attach the remaining wires from DVR1 to the charge controller in the DVR system bin.
Next, place the plywood attached to the DVR over the car batteries in the DVR system bin and tape each receiver to the DVR system bin as specified in the text protocol. Connect the female DC power plug on each receiver to each of the male DC power plugs on the two four-port DC power splitters. Then connect one of the male DC power plugs to the port labeled DC 12 volts on the DVR.
Secure the remaining male DC power plug with weather-proof electrical tape. Next, connect the yellow B and C on each receiver to six of the eight ports labeled video in on the DVR. Then connect the 12-volt male DC adapter from the charge controller to the yellow AV port on the display monitor.
Connect the HDMI cable from the display monitor to the HDMI port on the DVR. Then press the power buttons on the DVR and the display monitor and program the settings. To attach the cameras to the surveillance system, connect a B and C extension cable from each camera to the four-port DC power splitters in the camera system bin.
Finally, check the display monitor to view the live footage. Ensure the video is clear and make adjustments to the camera placement if necessary. The implementation of this camera monitoring system resulted in the collection of 3, 120 hours of footage from eight nests and 504 hours of footage from one colony camera.
Out of these combined 3, 624 hours of data, 83%of the footage contained usable high-quality data. This technique helps pave the way for ornithologists and management communities to improve data collection and monitoring of target species in a minimally invasive manner, reducing the impacts monitoring efforts have on the species we aim to research and protect.
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