Meeting Abstract
Dozens of cypridinid ostracod species produce different luminous courtship displays throughout the Caribbean. Quantifying these courtship patterns quickly and precisely remains challenging. We designed submersible, low-light video cameras, deployed in tandem that record to an on board Digital Video Recorder (DVR). We call this dual camera system WALL-E (Waterborne Autonomous Low Light Electrostereovideography) because of its unintentional, yet uncanny resemblance to the main character of the Pixar movie. We successfully deployed WALL-E in the field and recorded usable video for multiple species’ signals. We are now developing semi-automated computer vision software to quantify courtship signals from lab and natural habitats. By quickly quantifying courtship signals, we will be able to compare newly discovered signals to known ones, and produce models that allow simulated displays for behavioral experiments.
