The Great Big Data Nerdfest with Dr. Charles van Rees (Pt. 2)

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Dr. Charles Van Rees about data. They discuss the ins and outs of working with data and how to turn data into information scientists can use.Episode suggestion: Take the time to see, smell, and notice things outside!

Call to action: Check out ebird, inaturalist or seek!

What is/are data?

Information that we can use for inference and for learning things
Data doesn’t necessarily “teach you things” but it helps you learn an answer to something you’re looking for

Examples of data for conservation science

Occurrence data: evidence of the occurrence of a species in a specific area
Abundance data: identifying and counting every individual of every species in a given sector
Time series data: a series of data points indexed in time order
Monitoring: the process of watching the changes and patterns in the species

Challenges in data collection

Biases in both humans vs dogs
Dogs have less of a visual bias than humans as they rely on olfactory vs sight to find data
Important to consider if the questions you are asking from the data are going to be worth it to have dogs involved.
Sample size: you have to have enough data in order to be able to work with the data
Trying to collect data in a cost effective way
You can’t control the data you collect

What happens to the life-cycle of data?

Analysis
Publishing
FAIR principles
Meta-analyses and reviews
Policy!
Or if not, advocacy! Action! Management!

What are ways to collect data?

Conservation detection dogs
Radio collars
Camera traps
eDNA
Drones
Audio surveys
Netting

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Links Mentioned in the Episode:

Mirror test (Kayla got this slightly wrong – dolphins spent extra time head circling, which may indicate recognition)
Dogs self-recognition with scent
Wolverine Way book
What the Dog Knows
Inside of a Dog
Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
Chicken Wire Gauge preference study
Nathan Hall

Where to find Charles: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Nature Guys