Category: Practical Tools

Conservation and management, General, Methods papers, Practical Tools

Noisy SCUBA bubbles scare fish(shh!)

A new Methods paper comparing SCUBA diving to bubble-free diving suggests that fish are deterred by the sound of SCUBA bubbles, particularly in heavily fished areas, which can result in potentially biased fish counts and research conclusions. Steven Lindfield and colleagues from the University of Western Australia studied coral reef fish populations in Guam using two diving systems: the commonly used SCUBA equipment that produces … Continue reading Noisy SCUBA bubbles scare fish(shh!)

Unknown's avatarSamantha PontonLeave a comment
General, Journal updates, Methods papers, Online extras, Practical Tools

Kinect connects for mangroves research

Here is a video and press release about the recent Methods paper, ‘Investigating three-dimensional meso-scale habitat complexity and its ecological implications using low-cost RGB-D sensor technology‘, taken from Griffith University:


Motion sensing technology, best known in computer games, is vastly improving Queensland scientists’ ability to quantify habitat complexity in mangroves.

The Kinect line of devices developed by Microsoft for Xbox consoles and Windows PCs is marrying gaming technology with ecological research to deliver precise three-dimensional data in greater efficiency and at a fraction of the cost of current imaging techniques.

At Griffith University’s Australian Rivers Institute (ARI) on the Gold Coast, Professor Joe Lee, Dr Jan Warnken and Higher Degree Research student Ms Shafagh Kamal have been Continue reading “Kinect connects for mangroves research”

Unknown's avatarSamantha PontonLeave a comment
General, Practical Tools

Is fieldwork essential?

By Pat Backwell Associate Editor, Methods in Ecology and Evolution Is it necessary to study animals in their natural environment? It is often hot, uncomfortable, tiring, and rainy. You come home with mosquito bites, sore feet and sunburn. Can’t you just collect the animals and study them in the laboratory? Those of us who spend long periods in the field, watching real animals doing real … Continue reading Is fieldwork essential?

Unknown's avatarSamantha Ponton5 Comments
General, Online extras, Phylogenetic analysis, Practical Tools, Statistical methods, Theoretical methods

What method has transformed your field the most, during your career?

In the 4th and final installment of Barb Anderson’s INTECOL 2013 podcasts, she asks a number of delegates: What method has transformed your field the most, during your career?

The answers in this podcast are given by the following people:

  1. Steve Hubbell, University of California, Los Angeles, USA (00.21)
  2. Georgina Mace, University College London, UK (00.44)
  3. Carsten Dormann, University of Freiburg, Germany (01.07)
  4. Continue reading “What method has transformed your field the most, during your career?”
Unknown's avatarSamantha Ponton4 Comments
General, Journal updates, Online extras, Practical Tools, Statistical methods, Theoretical methods

What are the newest methods being used?

At INTECOL 2013, Methods’ Associate Editor, Barb Anderson, interviewed a number of delegates and asked them: What is the newest method that you currently use?

The answers in this podcast are given by the following people:

  1. Bill Sutherland, University of Cambridge, UK (00.18)
  2. Georgina Mace, University College London, UK (01.04)
  3. Simon Leather, Harper Adams University, UK (01.12) Continue reading “What are the newest methods being used?”
Unknown's avatarSamantha Ponton3 Comments
General, Methods papers, Online extras, Practical Tools

An interview with the Tea Bag Index team

The Tea Bag Index is an innovative, cost-effective, well-standardised method recently covered in MEE, used to gather data on decomposition rate and litter stabilisation using commercially available tea bags as standardised test kits. In this video, David Warton interviews 2 of the authors, Joost Keuskamp and Mariet Hefting from Utrecht University, who explain how it works and what they plan to do with it in … Continue reading An interview with the Tea Bag Index team

Unknown's avatarSamantha PontonLeave a comment
Conservation and management, General, Methods papers, Online extras, Practical Tools

Tagging aquatic animals can disrupt natural behavior

In this video Todd Jones gives a summary of his recent study, which aims to increase our understanding of the impact that carrying electronic tags can have on aquatic animals. Does the increased drag have power implications? Do the tags themselves affect the behavior of the animals? To answer these questions Todd and his colleagues made cast models of sea turtles and put them in … Continue reading Tagging aquatic animals can disrupt natural behavior

Unknown's avatarSamantha PontonLeave a comment
General, Journal updates, Online extras, Practical Tools, Statistical methods, Theoretical methods

What are the oldest methods still being used?

At INTECOL 2013, Methods’ Associate Editor, Barb Anderson, asked a number of delegates: “What is the oldest method that you still use today?” This podcast includes the answers given by the list of people below.

Barb also produced podcasts about the newest methods currently being used, potentially useful methods that have not yet been invented, and the most transformational methods in various fields of research.

  1. Chris Thomas, University of York, UK (00.40)
  2. Sue Hartley, University of York, UK (00.46)
  3. Ken Wilson, Lancaster University, UK (00.53) Continue reading “What are the oldest methods still being used?”
Unknown's avatarSamantha Ponton3 Comments
Conservation and management, Phylogenetic analysis, Practical Tools, Statistical methods, Theoretical methods

Methods Digest, October 2009

Here is a round-up of some interesting methods papers published in the past few weeks. If you see any more papers that you would like to see flagged up, leave a comment below or email me. In PLoS Biology Wayne Getz presents a thoughtful review of the models and modelling approaches that might be useful in predicting the consequences of multiple threats to ecosystems from … Continue reading Methods Digest, October 2009

Unknown's avatarrobfreckLeave a comment