Abstract
Abstract 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.
Highlights
Interactions between plants, their pollinators and herbivores have been key in the evolution of flowering plants (Barrett, 2013; Kergoat et al, 2017; Moreau et al, 2006; Schoen et al, 2019)
We developed plant–insect interactions camera trap (PICT), an inexpensive (
Our results demonstrate that PICT resolves many of the limitations commonly associated with both CTs designed to monitor ectotherms and conventional CT systems (Meek & Pittet, 2012; Rovero et al, 2013): (a) Low powered CT system
Summary
Interactions between plants, their pollinators and herbivores have been key in the evolution of flowering plants (Barrett, 2013; Kergoat et al, 2017; Moreau et al, 2006; Schoen et al, 2019). Camera trap (CT) technology can greatly advance the study of plant–insect interactions by providing a convenient replacement to classic human observations. This technique have gained popularity because it allows for non-intrusive observations at large spatiotemporal scales and constant sampling effort (Rovero & Zimmermann, 2016; Wearn & Glover-Kapfer, 2019). The initial trigger delay has been deemed excessive in many cases, especially in hot environments (Glover-Kapfer et al, 2019; Meek & Pittet, 2012) To circumvent these problems, researchers have developed CT systems relying on active motion detection based on pattern recognition or changes in the successive frames captured by a camera (Barlow & O’Neill, 2020). The unit price of motion- triggered CT systems designed for insect monitoring range from 400 EUR (Pegoraro et al, 2020) to several thousands of euros (Danaher et al, 2020; Houlihan et al, 2019)
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