OK, Troop Bravo fans, get ready for some exciting stuff!
We're soon going to take a deeper look at the physical existence of the long-tailed macaques and their environment.
I've added a new tool to my observation kit: a FLIR Thermal Camera. A Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) camera can "see" the heat, or thermal, signatures of things within its field of view. The camera can show thermal signatures in varying shades of color, or a black and white contrast image. The camera has built-in tech to recognize high to low temperature, and displays the temperatures on screen, in real time.
Applications for field observations:
First, I hope to use the FLIR camera to take more exact population counts. See, monkeys don't stay still very long during the daytime, and counting a moving mass of 20 - 23 small primates is a nuanced artform. Currently, I take a visual count three times during the observation. I enter the population data into my notes and them average the three numbers to come up with an estimated count. I feel confident that my troop counts are fairly accurate, but I want to be sure. Using a thermal camera will allow me to examine an image after the observation, on a computer. The heat signatures of monkeys that might not have been visible to me out in the field may be clearly displayed in the FLIR image.
Next, I hope to gain insights on what and where the macaques are interacting with the most.
As you can see from the FLIR test images above, it's possible to see a residual heat signature even after I moved my hand away from the wall. There are a few things I can glean from the data, including how tightly the monkeys hold onto something and relatively speaking for how long. This can help indicate preferences in food sources, resting areas, toileting areas, and more.
Additionally, FLIR may give indications of health and reproductive issues. The use of thermal cameras to observe monkeys has been studied, and the findings suggest a low reliability for exact temperature measurements. However, in a more general sense, FLIR will likely be useful for comparison of extreme temperature variations. For example, if a female macaques is into estrus (also know as "heat"), her hind end becomes enlarged and pronounced. Through thermal imaging, her rear end will literally be glowing. Knowing who is receptive to mating can really help my insight into the troop's social order.
Extreme illness will also become traceable through the thermal camera picking up highly elevated temperatures of sick individuals.
My first observation day using the new FLIR thermal camera is coming up soon. Be on the lookout for initial findings and images in the next two weeks!
Comments