Two uploads in two days make this a bumper week for Methods in Ecology and Evolution‘s author videos!

In Studying deepwater animals with TrapCam lead author Brett Favaro walks us through the construction of TrapCam, an inexpensive, self-contained camera system designed to deliver high-definition video footage of deepwater animals at depths inaccessible for scuba divers, which does not require ongoing support from a vessel, or need special apparatus to deploy and retrieve.

 

Brett takes us through the construction of the TrapCam system, followed by footage of the retrival of a unit followingdeployment, and some eerie images obtained by TrapCam in action.

It is hoped that the use of equipment such as this to better understand interactions between deepwater animals, especially those at risk of over-exploitation, could have a significant impact on improving marine conservation. You can read more about the setup, including an evalutaion of its cost effectiveness and performance, in TrapCam: an inexpensive camera system for studying deep-water animals, published online today in Methods in Ecology and Evolution.