Stoat Focus For 2023: Unit Evaluation Three Months On...

At the end of 2022 we started a long term deployment of units located at a area of trapping protecting a coastal area in South Taranaki.

The area has a considerable existing network and is having recorded captures in the past of stoats, hedgehogs, rats and feral cats.

In December 2022 we placed four units in an extension of this area.   The purpose of deploying the units was to again test the viability and reliability of the units during a long term deployment.   Once this deployment is completed we will spend time evaluating the effectiveness of the units and comparing this years data against the significant amount of historical data that is available.  

Of particular interest in this environment is the units being exposed to conditions that are coastal and the effect that it potentially would have on the effectiveness of the units.

As of March 2023 the units have now been deployed for just shy of three months.   The four units were placed inside three DOC 200s and a fourth was placed inside a rat box, as it was placed next to a larger cat trap where it could not be mounted.

All of the units are cycling through a two minutes delay have a regulation set up and battery save coded and are using the regulation batteries.        Three months into the trial the units are continuing to operate independently (that is they are still operating exactly as expected) and have done so without being altered or redeployed.   This is despite extremely wet weather with considerable rainfall.

We also have anecdotal evidence of increased feral cat presence at one of the trapping sites.   While we are not at a position to make comparisons of data at this point, this is obviously potentially encouraging and would fall in line with some of our earlier findings at different locations (where when cameras have been deployed we have clearly seen feral [and domestic] cats showing an interest in the units/sound.

Stoat Focus for 2023: Deployment in the Field at Sandy Bay

After several months break we have just started with a deployment at a location in South Taranaki.  We have deployed the first phase of a number of testing units at a location just outside of Opunake.

The location is part of an actively monitored trap line protecting an area of sand dune/beach that is an expansion of an existing monitored location.   It is the intention to use the DOC 200/DOC 250 at the locations to test the viability of the units.

To briefly explain the deployment - the units have been placed within existing DOC 200 units, with the sound lure mounted externally.  We have returned to using some of the original sounds that have been developed, although we have modified the sound level coming from them to ensure that the sound is not so loud (in particular we have significantly reduced the 'distressed rabbit' noise in both volume and frequency, although we intend to look at developing these further.   

The units have just gone in yesterday and we will start to look at how they are preforming over the next few weeks - although this is intended to be a long term project.   There are currently no 'motors' attached to any devices at this location, as it is close to a beach we want to protect the motors before they are deployed.

There will be further information and update about this site and deployment shortly. 

Evaluating the Main Unit - Three Years On

 

Three years ago for this project we created an initial group of five trial units.  These units were intended to test the concept but also served the purpose of seeing if we could remain water tight (assuming there would always be some moisture entering the units) and if the unit would continue to operate with the battery and the set up.

Of the initial five units we have deliberately kept one remaining in its original state including having the original solar panel and battery.

Three years later the unit is still operating and still activating every minute or so when fully charged.  Although the solar panel is battered it is still operating and able to charge the unit.   The cellphone battery that is charged via the panel is still operating and working as intended.   The original electronics are more or less intact.

We would remain confident that this unit as deployed in its updated state could be operating in external conditions and would do so correctly and without the need for maintenance or updating etc.

2022 Project: New Focus on Stoats

Please note: This project needs to be put in the context of the work that has already been completed from 2019-2022.  This was a project started with students who were Y5/6 at the time, using technology to develop a suitable sound lure to target invasive pest species in South Taranaki, predominantly Stoats.   During 2020 a pivot was made towards possums.  I would like to acknowledge the work of Andrew Hornblow from Opunake and the funding and support of Curious Minds, Taranaki, both of whom this project would not have started, nor would it have continued.   This is not a scientific project as such this is practical project targeted at using technology to assist the removal of pests species, on a budget.

2022 Season - Targeting Stoats once Again

Having experimented using sound during the last three years to target first stoats and then possums we finished last year having a reflective think about next steps that we might use.

Questions were raised about how effective the sound was, in particular if the sound was acting a deterrent to animals who might otherwise investigate the trap.   We were able to show evidence that possums in particular seemed to want to investigate, as various footage posted on this blog shows, while other testing indicated that this was not the case.

We were keen to experiment with a range of sounds and also using a motor attached to the sound unit to see if the noise and movement created by a small motor would be enough to encourage interaction.

The set up for this new variation is shown left.  Familiar viewers of this blog or project will recognise that the unit has remained the same, and it is the same hardware set up, the only addition has been two additional terminals on the outside of the unit which connect to two sets of wires which then subsequently power the motor.

For testing purposes the motor will be powered to go off at random intervals.  It will rotate during this time, spinning both of the plastic gears that are visible.  Once the unit has played once it will rest and then operate again.   With optimal batter charge from the solar powered unit we would expect the unit to operate once every minute.   The lures are being placed adjacent and into a DOC 200 stoat trap.   This will allow the sound to echo from inside the unit and for the unit to vibrate slightly.   We are going to remove the speakers to the unit for the initial trial so the only sound generated by the units operation will come from the grinding of the gears and the unit operating.   We intend combining this with appropriate sounds at some point however at this time we are disabling the speakers so that the length of the motors moving is related to the length of the (silent) audio track.  This has introduced some variability to the units operations (as the audio tracks are all different lengths).

Having run basic trials in and around our school of this set up the movement based aspect of the units can be further enhanced to adding length to the motor gear (in this instance is involving a green pipe cleaner as a basic test).

Our initial goal in the next two weeks is to run several of these units in existing stoat trapping projects.  We want to determine how the unit will operate during deployment conditions, how this will compare to the traditional units (mechanical) that are part of the projects or run.

While the unit as shown on the left may look complicated we have in the past put together the unit with a group of students who are at Year 5/Year 6 level (under supervision) these units are operating as intended correctly.    

We are also for this purpose converting units that have been used with just audio so we have not had to create a group of units from scratch which would be both time consuming and relatively expensive (again we have managed to ensure that the price of the units has remained in the region of $50.00 total.

We are very much interested in having people test and experiment with any variation of this unit.  If you would like to do so, you are more than welcome to get in touch with the project by contacting the teacher who is in charge.  He can be emailed at: myles.webb@gmail.com.

We are limited with our time and money in this regard so please be aware of this - this is not a fully scientific project it is a project run as a 'passion project' by a pair of individuals and has students for the most part being responsible for its testing and its deployment.  We are more than willing to partner with others please take the time to get in contact with us.

We will again starting documenting the units development and adjustments on a semi-regular basis.

Curious Minds: Final Project Video.

Last week our 2019-2022 Curious Minds Sound Lure Project wrapped up with a final presentation that took place at Puke Ariki Museum in New Plymouth.  We presented our final project overview and the project in its current form ended.   This video was produced to explain the project and to have some of the students talk about it.

We would like once again to thank everyone who has been involved in the project during the past three years, everyone who has contributed to our project, helped out with an aspect of it or helped in any way.  You have given the students and the project an invaluable experience.   As always if you need to contact the people responsible for this project you can do via email at myles.webb@gmail.com

End of Project: Sound Lure [Focus on Stoats]

We are officially ending the sound lure project which began in 2019, later this month.   

The two main phases or focusses of the project involved using sound lures to target mustelids in South Taranaki creating a working, solar powered sound lure to do so.   

The 2019 project began with a focus from a group of school children working with adults hence the association with Auroa Primary School.   You can view the media/reports associated with this project by clicking on the link to this subpage linked on this blog.

This blog was used as a means of recording the project and using it as a base to share finding and information.   It became more of a working document and as the author the blog I felt that it was important to make some decisions about the project and resolve its future.

I have stressed from the outset and made clear that this project is very much a passion project that I am not nor have ever been a full time researcher or scientist.  I have been working with some amazing people (Andrew Hornblow from Opunake) for a number of years to give a group of students a powerful and authentic experience in learning.   Some of the information and research that I have created and produced needs to be put into this context and it is for others to assist with testing to ensure that it is authentic.  I have had my own experiences and evidence but I would rather put this to others to validate.

There have been some external organisations that I cannot say enough positive things about working with and helping develop the project and the technology develop further and it would not have been possible without the likes of Project Mounga, Feral Control, DOC and the Taranaki Regional Council.

April 2022: 

The material shown in the box is two lures, which have been used as part of the stoat network on Mt Taranaki which have been in place for a calendar year, which were returned in March 2022.   

There have also been deployments locally by a professional pest removal company in a trial funded by Fonterra and year long deployments at other significant locations including New Plymouth Airport which started in June 2020.

We had units deployed in McKenzie Country in the South Island which showed the unit could operate and continue to work in temperatures below freezing.

We have decided to wind this trial up as well and call in all units.    The project in 2020 very much spent time focussing on brush tailed possums as a result of the focus needed for the Curious Minds Project and the 123 Tech Challenge.  Ultimately this was the right decision because this project would have not continued for as long as it has without the support from the Curious Minds/Venture Taranaki funding and the students ultimately ended up being the New Zealand digital technology innovation champions.

I would like to acknowledge the support of DOC and Barry (who is responsible for monitoring the line) to allowing us the opportunity to test at this location.

The sound units in question have generally survived in conditions that include a full winter.   One of two units survived on the mountain and the third unit shown in the box is the sole surviving unit from the original five that were constructed in 2019.   It is still operating as intended, that is continuing to charge via solar power and continuing to operate with a clear audio call.   While we have had to change the external features several times (the speakers, the bolts connecting the units) the internal features of the unit have maintained its integrity - that is including the computer, the battery and the external wiring.  This has included having the unit deliberately exposed to the elements for three continuous years including two full winters.   The unit spent some of the first year inside a DOC 200 however it has also spent extended time wired to the back of a Timms trap and was at one point dragged into a river as part of a capture (by a possum).

There has been limited evidence of stoat captures when the unit has been in use.   This has occurred at two seperate locations within short time frames followed by extended periods of non capture.  We have come to the conclusion that the units are too loud with their output and this has potentially been a deterrent to target species in the area.   Ideally we would like to have had clear evidence of successful strikes at multiple locations but this has not been the case.

Moving forward the project is not ending as such - although the funding has ceased and it is going to take place at a much slower, unofficial pace, unless there is a significant change.

Crucially while we are not being funded externally we have made progress and connections with professional organisations and we are attempting to arrange for professionals to determine an optimum sound range for the target species (stoats).   

Much of the material that was purchased for the project still remains and is working two years later.

We are going to redeploy a range of units locally using this new reduced noise range and also introduce a motor to each of the units.   The motor is going to introduce movement, with which we hope to draw attention to a mechanical trap that the unit will be placed in conjunction with.   We have already prototyped this idea and created units to run in conjunction with the motor and the sound, but again we consider the sound level at present too loud for the traps.

This deployment will begin in 2022 with a mind to targeting the stoat population in the spring of 2022.   We know that there is a clear stoat population locally however this population has been the target of extensive trapping and is cunning and avoiding many of the traps that are in place for them.    

To put this in context I know that there are stoats operating in my area where I live (I am living rurally in South Taranaki) I have personally seen a stoat prowling in the area within the last twelve months, as has my immediate neighbour (in an identical location months apart).   I also know there are Ferrets that are operating locally.   Consequently there has been a DOC 200 set with salted rabbit for over two years - and while there have been a number of strikes on this unit by large rats I have yet to catch a stoat.

It goes without saying that the frequency of these posts will lessen now the project has officially ended however I can always be contacted via this blog as required.  I also have the contact information for Andrew who has been an inspirational part of the project and responsible for the electronics.

It would be remiss of me if I did not end this post by thanking everyone that has contributed to this project in the past three years.  I would be mortified if I missed anyone out, however I would like to make sure that Andrew Hornblow, Tim Sojoberg in particular are thanks as without them the project would not have started.  I would like to also acknowledge anyone else who has helped, in the many different ways.  

While this may well be the end of the project I feel that something positive has been created as a result.  A working sound lure that is capable of being deployed long term has been made, tested and is viable.  That technology and resource is available to anyone who would like to use it.   

It has been a considerable amount of work at times, times when I have made the work in conjunction with my other full time responsibilities and there have been times when I feel I haven't been able to do the project justice - I also have been challenged at times by some of the full time professionals that I have been working with to approach it more from a scientific perspective but as I have mentioned I am not a scientist or someone who is able to devote themselves to the project on a full time basis.

Thank you to everyone who has visited this blog and whether we have been in contact or not I have appreciated the input direct or not.    Goodbye.

February Summary: LED Lights/Sound

The continuation of our monitoring at deployment site one has moved in February.    For the first part of the month, following our success in January, we decided to make some adjustments.   For the first half of the month we placed the trap in place, with the camera in position for the first week and removed the LED light and the sound lure.     This was partly due to weather conditions and partly to see what affect this would have on the activations.    

Initially the activations during February were down when compared to January.   The trap was activated on the 15th however there was not a possum when the trap was checked - it had been pulled out of the ground via the pins and the bait had been taken.   There was very little camera activations - we saw the 'dark male possum' frequently during the two weeks, continuing the behaviour that we have witnessed from it over the past few months it would appear on the site and act extremely cautiously - as it has been since last year when it was first sighted.   

The last time that a possum had been captured was January 16th and following that there was a noticeable decrease in the number of activations as detailed on this page.

On the 15th February the activation of the trap indicated that there were possums in the area and they were interacting with the trap.   This led to redeploying the sound lure with the LED light at the location (on the 19th), minus the camera as the weather was still dominated by rain and we are limiting our deployment (having a huge amount of footage of the possums/sound lure interaction the highlights of this are on this page).   

Two days after the redeployment of the sound lure/LED lights the night of 21st the trap was activated and a female possum was trapped, as shown in the photo.   This is the first capture at this location since mid January - interestingly this possum would be described as dark, very similar in colour to the male that is known to be in the area, however this possum was a small female.  Evidence at the site is that there at least one other possum as the bait that was in the trap had been significantly eaten following the capture.