Multi-camera videography methods for aeroecology

Abstract

The ability to study the behavior of flying animals in their natural environment has been dramatically improved by recent advances in imaging technologies and video analysis tools. Stereo videography, in particular, has taken aeroecology to a new level. We here describe methods for estimating the three-dimensional flight paths of animals from image data recorded simultaneously by multiple visible-light or infrared cameras. We explain how the accuracy of these estimates is influenced by camera properties and placements, as well as calibration procedures. We include a description of potential pitfalls drawn from field experience with various bat and bird species and show some example stereoscopic reconstructions of bat and bird flight.