FOSSILS: free, fast, and open-source biomechanical modelling

Post provided by Narimane Chatar (She/Her) Romain Boman (He/Him), Valentin Fallon Gaudichon (He/Him), Jamie A. MacLaren (He/Him), Valentin Fischer (He/Him).

Understanding the way that bones and other biological materials deal with the stresses and strains of everyday life is fundamental for interpreting the behaviour of modern and extinct organisms. Researchers frequently do this by using a digital simulation which can predict the behaviour of materials by breaking complex objects down into much smaller elements – this is known as finite element modelling. In this blog post, Narimane Chatar and her co-authors discuss their new protocol for performing finite element modelling aimed at life-sciences and biomechanics which is fast, open-source, and free for all to use.

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Stereo DOV: A Non-Invasive, Non-Destructive Way to Study Fish Populations

It’s more important than ever for us to have accurate information to help marine conservation efforts. Jordan Goetze and his colleagues have provided the first comprehensive guide for researchers using diver operated stereo-video methods (or stereo-DOVs) to survey fish assemblages and their associated habitat. But what is Stereo DOV? What makes it a better method than the traditional UVC (Underwater Visual Census) method? And when … Continue reading Stereo DOV: A Non-Invasive, Non-Destructive Way to Study Fish Populations

Quantifying Animal Movement from Videos

Quantifying animal movement is central to research spanning a variety of topics. It’s an important area of study for behavioural ecologists, evolutionary biologists, ecotoxicologists and many more. There are a lot of ways to track animals, but they’re often difficult, especially for people who don’t have a strong background in programming. Vivek Hari Sridhar, Dominique G. Roche and Simon Gingins have developed a new, simple software to … Continue reading Quantifying Animal Movement from Videos