Courtesy of Stefan Swanepoel, via Wikimedia Commons
Zooniverse: Snapshot Serengeti
University of Minnesota researchers set up hundreds of cameras to cover more than 2,500 square kilometers throughout Africa’s Serengeti ecosystem initially to study lions. Now the researchers are looking to expand their knowledge via the Snapshot Serengeti citizen science project to better understand how competing species coexist in a shared environment.
Researchers Ali Swanson and Margaret Kosmala, working with Craig Packer, professor of ecology, evolution and behavior, have developed a site to enlist volunteers to identify millions of “camera trap” photos taken to study animal behavior in the Serengeti.
Citizen scientists view sequences of two or three photos and identify all the different animals that appear in the photos.
Project Details
- PRINCIPAL SCIENTIST: Craig Packer, Professor
- SCIENTIST AFFILIATION: University of Minnesota Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
- DATES: Ongoing
- PROJECT TYPE: Data Processing
- COST: Free
- GRADE LEVEL: All Ages
- TIME COMMITMENT: Variable
- HOW TO JOIN:
First create an account with Zooniverse, a citizen science Web portal promoting the Snapshot Serengeti project.
See more projects in Free, Data Processing, All Ages.
See what we're tweeting about
1 Comments
Add CommentI've been doing this one for a couple of months, it is very cool. There have been some surprisingly beautiful shots taken with these cameras; one is currently my wallpaper on my phone.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe whole group of projects from Zooniverse are really interesting, it's worth taking some time to check them out (and then waste a lot of time doing your favorites).