Robot Helps Scientists Study Wild Penguins

If we want to understand why wild animals behave the way they do, then studying them is critical. However one problem this raises is what if the passive act of observation ends up changing the way animals behave? Behavioural ecologists have worried about this problem for decades but according to a recently published paper in Nature Methods, there is a clever new technique for collecting data from wild animals without causing them unnecessary stress.

Lots of ways to study animals in the wild

There are plenty of ways to study how animals behave in the wild. You could for example attempt to gain their trust in the belief that they get so comfortable with your presence that they act as if you aren’t there at all. Alternatively you might want to attach your study group with some kind of device that has the ability to collect and perhaps transmit data in your absence. Even this is not full proof because such devices can end up increasing drag and alter behaviour in the process.

New technique causes less stress

Microchips implanted subcutaneously is a much better method for monitoring animals without disturbing them as they go about their business. The problem with this technique is that in order to be able scan the chip so that the individual animal can be identified, you need to get pretty close. There is however a new alternative that researchers have come up with that involves sending in a remote controlled robot that is equipped with a scanning device that can collect all kinds of data on the animal in question and then transmit it. The technique has been tested out on king penguins and it was found that the whole process caused much less stress for the animals.

Penguins not bothered by robot

For example, when the penguins were approached by a human, their heart rate increased by an average of 35 beats per minute. However when the rover approached, the heart rate also rose, but only by around 24 beats per minute, suggesting less stress. Another benefit is that humans tend to cause the target penguins to move much further than the rover and once the robot left the penguins, they were much quicker to return to their original psychological state.

Dressing the robot up

The researchers also tested the robot on a group of emperor penguins to see if they had a similar relaxed reaction. Initially many were wary, but then the researchers dressed the robot up as a baby penguin and everybody was happy. The scientists said they even heard the adults and chicks vocalising at the disguised rover which was able to infiltrate the group without causing a disturbance. This technique is obviously not going to work in every environment, but it does open the door to some exciting possibilities for people who are studying the behaviour of animals in the wild. Not to mention there are going to be some wonderful opportunities for photographs using this method in the future.