Camera trap hummingbird visitation monitoring (Aves)

Knowledge graph centered on Camera trap hummingbird visitation monitoring (Aves) with 73 nodes and 211 connections. Top connected: Hummingbird, Bombus, Ipomopsis, Delphinium, I. aggregata.

Method synopsis

Time-lapse photography of individual flowers using motion-activated cameras to capture and quantify hummingbird feeding visits. Combined with machine learning image processing to automate detection.

Synthesized from method descriptions across 6 papers using this protocol.

Procedure from a recent peer-reviewed implementation

Steps below were extracted from the most recent peer-reviewed implementation of this protocol in the corpus — Atypical flowers can be as profitable as typical hummingbird flowers (2018), The American Naturalist. Implementations in other papers (listed below) may differ.

1. Extract nectar from flowers in field
   Nectar was extracted directly from flowers in their natural locations using calibrated glass microcapillary tubes. Volume was measured directly from the tubes.
   Quantities: Individual flowers sampled, volumes measured in microlitersDuration: Field sampling conducted over four decades from 1974-2012Conditions: Natural field conditions at various sites across southwestern North America
   Equipment: calibrated glass microcapillary tubes from Drummond Scientific, Broomall, PA
2. Measure sugar concentration
   Sugar concentration of nectar samples was measured using handheld refractometers. Readings were converted to mass of solute per mass of solution to mass of solute per volume of solution using published conversion factors.
   Quantities: Concentration measured as percentage sugar by mass, then converted to mass sugar per volumeDuration: Measurements taken immediately after nectar extractionConditions: Field conditions during sampling periods
   Equipment: handheld refractometers
3. Calculate energy content of nectar
   Mass of sugar per flower was calculated by multiplying nectar volume by sugar concentration. Energy content was determined using equivalent energy content of 16.5 J mg⁻¹ sugar, accounting for sucrose being dominant sugar with some monosaccharides present.

Typical Equipment

• Brinno TLC200 cameras
• waterproof cases
• small tripods
• 32GB SD cards
• rechargeable batteries
• Garmin GPSMAP tagger
• hard drive
• DeepMeerkat software

Output Measurements

• visitation rates (visits/day)
• feeding behavior observations
• temporal activity patterns

Papers Using This Protocol (6)

Species Studied With This Protocol