Using Near Infrared for Studying Lemming Subnival Behavior in the High Arctic

Abstract

Despite the crucial role of lemming in the Arctic ecosystem, many aspects of its ecology are still unknown. The main challenge of studying lemming is that this rodent does not hibernate in winter and remains active under snow. To tackle this challenge, this paper presents a monitoring system based on near infrared. Design and implementation of a system that should work autonomously in the harsh arctic environment is really challenging. After developing the first version of the equipment, we installed three units at Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada. Retrieved videos were promising and showed the great potential of this system in assisting ecologists to study the subnivean ecology of the Arctic. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first ever videos of lemming that have been recorded under snow in winter in the Arctic.

Using subnivean camera traps to study Arctic small mammal community dynamics during winter

“…We experienced only minor problems with frost or dew on the camera lenses contrary to what has been reported from a high-Arctic study site with very cold permafrost and profound vertical temperature gradients in the snow packs (Kalhor et al 2019). The Varanger Peninsula has only sporadic warm permafrost (Farbrot et al 2013) and we recorded subnivean temperatures that were only slightly below zero (Fig.…”

Raspberry Pi nest cameras: An affordable tool for remote behavioral and conservation monitoring of bird nests

“…and Dicrostonyx spp.) subnival behaviors (Kalhor et al, 2019); behavior, surface body temperature, and respiration rate of hibernating meadow jumping mice (Zapus hudsonius) (Kallmyer et al, 2019); behaviors of captive song birds (Alarcón-Nieto et al, 2018); behaviors of birds at baited traps (Nazir, Newey, et al, 2017); behavioral dynamics and interindividual/ interspecific interactions at bird feeders (McBride & Courter, 2019;Youngblood, 2020); and breeding behaviors of cavity-nesting birds (Prinz et al, 2016). Some of these papers specifically describe the building methods of the camera setup, where the costs ranged from ~$85 USD (Youngblood, 2020) to ~1,000€ (Zárybnická et al, 2016).…”

“…There are a few published papers that detail the build of cameras to monitor cavity-nesting species, using Raspberry Pi (Kalhor et al, 2019;Kallmyer et al, 2019;Prinz et al, 2016) or using a Linux FTP server control board (Zárybnická et al, 2016), including specifically for birds (Prinz et al, 2016;Zárybnická et al, 2016). All of these are designed so that the camera(s) (and additional modules) are embedded within-and become a part of-the nest box design.…”

“…However, several of the published camera systems have implemented waterproofing of the equipment. These deployments have included cold locations and therefore frosty conditions (Kalhor et al, 2019), as well as underwater (including marine) locations where not only does the case need to be watertight but also needs to cope with salt water and high water pressure (Greene et al, 2020;Mouy et al, 2020;Phillips et al, 2019).…”

“…uk) (Youngblood, 2020) or similar casing (e.g., Camacho et al, 2017;McBride & Courter, 2019), or a double box with drainage holes in the outer box . However, other systems have been partially enclosed (e.g., a waterproof junction box; Prinz et al, 2016) due to being within a cavity/box and so less mitigation was deemed necessary, or not encased due to being fully enclosed within the nest box (e.g., Kalhor et al, 2019;Zárybnická et al, 2016). Nevertheless, despite the weather proofing of these terrestrial systems, humidity leading to condensation or frost on the camera lens still occurred with little additional mitigation suggested, other than removing or replacing the equipment (Camacho et al, 2017;Kalhor et al, 2019;Kallmyer et al, 2019), and including silica gel packets within the weatherproof casing during deployment (Youngblood, 2020).…”