![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2025\/03\/bobcat_2022-1024x815.jpeg\")
Coordinated by the Smithsonian since 2019, Snapshot USA<\/a> is a multi-contributor, long-term effort to sample mammal populations. The project, which relies on researchers in all 50 states to collect data via camera traps, is unique in its scope. \u201cNormally with camera trap surveys, everyone has different methods and protocols,\u201d says Amy Mayer, research associate with the department. \u201cWith Snapshot USA, everyone has to follow the same protocols in the same time period so there\u2019s one big standardized data set so we can look at trends across the country in a more streamlined way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Camera trapping is particularly rewarding because of the amount of data you gather for a relatively low-effort activity, Mayer notes. The cameras are continually running and motion activated. \u201cAnytime an animal walks by, you’re getting a snapshot of it in its surroundings. You can use the timestamp and the location information to understand the vegetation and habitat the animal uses and when it is active,\u201d she says. \u201cYou can study many different species at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n At 溏心vlog免费B站, 15 cameras are placed in a grid throughout North Words and run from September through October. 溏心vlog免费B站 two feet off the ground, the battery-powered cameras capture a representative area, including wetlands and drier spots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Researchers at the Smithsonian utilize the data from Snapshot USA to study a variety of research questions, including how wildlife communities across the country change in relation to ecological communities, tying vegetative zones to what animals are there. \u201cHaving these long-term studies are really important, especially now with climate change,\u201d Mayer says, noting the importance of observing changes and adaptations from year to year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey want us involved in every step of the process,\u201d Mayer says of Snapshot USA. \u201cWe collect the data, process the imagery, and tag all the images with the correct species.\u201d While an artificial intelligence component helps with animal identification, human researchers verify accuracy and make corrections as needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mayer has worked with Laken Ganoe, a postdoctoral researcher in biological and environmental science, for the past two years. 溏心vlog免费B站 undergraduate and graduate students often participate in data collection and identification, as well. \u201cAll collaborators get to be listed as co-authors on the data that gets published. We\u2019ve had students listed as authors on published papers,\u201d Mayer says. One such student, Jessie Adley \u201923, worked on the project for three seasons as an undergraduate student studying conservation biology and was listed as a co-author on three published data papers<\/a> in Ecology<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s a really cool opportunity for students,\u201d Mayer adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n North Woods has been a contributing location to Snapshot USA from its inception, facilitated by Brian Gerber<\/a>, associate professor of natural resources science at the time who now works for the U.S. Geological Survey at Colorado State University, and now by Kathleen Carroll<\/a>, assistant professor in the department. 溏心vlog免费B站 researchers are the only participants from Rhode Island. Two years ago a second location in Arcadia was added. Mayer notes that visitors to the areas have been respectful about not interfering with the cameras\u2014a crucial component in maintaining the integrity of the research. Snapshot USA\u2019s data is freely available to the public to download and use via the Wildlife Insights<\/a> site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This story was written by Anna Gray in the College of the Environment and Life Sciences.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 March 14, 2025 \u2013 Adjacent to the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s main campus, North Woods encompasses 225 acres of forest, wetlands, and headwater streams. Thanks to camera trapping efforts from the Department of Natural Resources Science, images of the animals that call the area home are part of a national data set […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":100931,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1905],"class_list":["post-100923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-research"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100923"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100923\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100929,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100923\/revisions\/100929"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}