Founded by colleagues at the University in 2013, MammalWeb is a citizen science platform for collecting and analysing camera trap images to monitor the distribution and ecology of the UK’s mammals.
The project aims to gather data on elusive mammal populations, engage our community in wildlife research and inform our conservation efforts.
Anyone can participate by identifying animals in images or contributing their own camera trap data.
This year the University and our MammalWeb project joined a three-year pilot to monitor the UK’s hedgehogs. UK hedgehog numbers have declined since 2000 and the aim is to reverse the fall in their numbers.
Dialogue spoke to Professor Russell Hill from our Department of Anthropology, who is a director at MammalWeb, to find out more about the project and its future.
A hedgehog spotted as part of the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme. Credit: The National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme.
MammalWeb is a citizen science project, can you tell us more about how it works?
MammalWeb is a citizen science project to monitor the UK’s mammals. Camera traps are deployed by members of the public to capture images of wildlife (acting as ‘Trappers') and the resultant images are uploaded to the MammalWeb platform where they are then classified online, either by the person themselves or other members of the public (as ‘Spotters’), as well as by AI.
Mammals are poorly monitored in the UK and our long-term aim is to deliver robust data on biodiversity to the regional and national records centres. In doing so we want to demonstrate the wider potential of a citizen-based model for mammal monitoring and engage members of the public in the wildlife around them.
The University and MammalWeb project joined the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme this year. What is MammalWeb’s role in this three-year pilot and what do you hope to achieve?
Hedgehogs are threatened and have undergone considerable population declines in recent decades. Effective and practical conservation measures require robust hedgehog population estimates from large-scale surveys. The National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme - led by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) and funded by Natural England - will establish a survey methodology using camera traps to determine the abundance of hedgehogs and other mammal populations to properly understand their status and the threats they face.
MammalWeb is central to the project’s data pipeline, providing a platform for participants to upload the millions of camera trap images, as well as allowing the thousands of BHPS/PTES Hedgehog Champions, and other members of the public, to identify what is in the footage. In collaboration with Conservation AI, we also provide AI classifications for all image data submitted to the platform, allowing us to confirm the species recorded for later analysis. Consistent with our Platinum Hedgehog Friendly campus, we also run one of the camera trap surveys on our University estate.
Training day for the Durham survey with the Student Hedgehog Friendly Society
You’ve helped more than 5,000 schoolchildren connect with nature. What was the reason behind this and why is it important?
We know that being connected to nature brings many benefits to human wellbeing as well as promoting pro-environmental behaviours. But studies have shown that four out of five UK children are ‘disconnected’ from nature, a concern for their own health as well as the future state of the environment. Working with MammalWeb and camera traps offers a unique window to the UK’s elusive mammals. By giving school pupils a chance to learn about and connect with species to which they might otherwise have little exposure, can have clear positive impacts.
What does the future look like for MammalWeb and how can more people get involved?
We are hoping that MammalWeb continues to expand and bring on new project partners and users to move towards a truly national monitoring programme. We also want to understand how to make the best use of AI to support our efforts.
Anyone can register for MammalWeb (www.MammalWeb.org) and take part as a spotter. If you have your own trail camera you can upload the footage to our MammalWeb Britain project. There are also opportunities to get involved through our partners and you can help with our October hedgehog survey!
Finally, what do you like to do when you don’t look after the UK’s mammal activity?
I’m fortunate to also be involved in a long-term field project in South Africa focusing on primates and large carnivores. I like to travel out to the field site whenever I can. At home, I’m a sports fan, and when not watching Liverpool FC, I enjoy supporting my kids and their various sports teams in the evenings and at weekends – I’ve had to learn the dark arts of cricket scoring as a result!