Wildlife Research

WildTracker puts citizen scientists to work in Tassie

5 October 2022 3 min read

Back in 2016, a group of Tasmanian conservationists had an idea.

Could they somehow harness the collective power of private landowners and citizen scientists to monitor their own properties, enabling ecologists to discover more about the island’s biodiversity in areas beyond those currently owned by the state?

The idea began as a simple pen and paper pilot program but has now grown into a newly launched web-based data collective that is user friendly, easy to navigate and provides a host of resources to help Tasmanians identify their local biodiversity.

Known as WildTracker, the citizen science program allows users to create new survey sites, upload images from a motion-sensing camera, such as a Swift Enduro, and tag animals they see in the images using a “Fauna Classifier”.

This camera trap data is then gathered and used to monitor wildlife trends, feral pests and track the spread of disease in native animals – all of which helps towards making more informed conservation decisions.

With already 100 users in the system, there has a been an incredible amount of interest.

“The response has been very positive. We’ve run four workshops now introducing the idea of WildTracker and people are very keen to contribute to the program,” Dr Glen Bain, conservation ecologist and WildTracker coordinator for the Tasmanian Land Conservancy said.

Identification guides on the Wildtracker website.

Thanks to the support of the Ian Potter foundation, WildTracker was able to be integrated with Land for Wildlife, allowing motion-sensing cameras such as the Enduro 4G to be lent out to its members.

Workshop participants practice identifying wildlife.

“At first, Land for Wildlife was simply a sign on the front gate but now people have an active way to help. It is as much a tool for landowners as it is a science program,” Glen said.

WilTtracker may also help rediscover new or extinct species.

“The New Holland Mouse was recently rediscovered on Flinders Island. Rodents are usually difficult to identify, but once we have these records in WildTracker, we hope to use computers to assist in picking up these rare species,” Glen said.

As well as monitoring biodiversity, the program builds connection between property owners and the native animals on their land.

“It’s another way we can help foster that nature connectedness and to drive more ground action amongst private property owners,” Glen said.

Glen was keen to stress that the program is not just for those with native bushland.

“We are in a unique situation in Tassie in that we have a whole bunch of threatened species living in our cities, including bandicoots and Tassie devils, all living in this urban environment,” he said.

The program will continue to grow and evolve, with developers now looking into the use of AI and the concept of gameification – making identification a game that helps to improve your learning and skills.

The data will eventually feed back into the Tasmanian Natural Values Atlas – a biodiversity database for the Tasmanian government – being used to inform conservation policy and decisions.

If you are interested in joining the program, you can register your interest on the WildTracker website: www.wildtracker.com.au

Dr Glen Bain, conservation ecologist and WildTracker coordinator for the Tasmanian Land Conservancy

Outdoor Cameras Australia is offering all WildTracker and Land for Wildlife members a $40 discount. Contact Outdoor Cameras or Tasmanian Land Conservancy to find out more.

WildTracker is supported by The Ian Potter Foundation, The Elsie Cameron Foundation and Purryburry Trust.