Camera Trap Battery Appeal - Amazon Rainforest PhD Research

Hi, I am Holly O’Donnell and I am a Scottish conservation biologist. I have been working in the Peruvian Amazon for almost a decade. I am currently a PhD researcher at the University of Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit.

Short version:

My PhD fieldwork is well underway but I have hit a hurdle. Someone has lent me 43 camera traps and I travelled to Peru to collect them. I need to set them up ASAP (in the next two weeks) but I don't have enough batteries. The cost of sufficient batteries is £375.

£5.18 buys one pack of 2 batteries.

I need 75 more packs.

I also need SD cards because these Cuddeback cameras only take 32GB SD cards and I have 64GB. The cost of SD cards is £422.

I have outlined below the costs of the batteries and SD cards. The MINIMUM I require right now is around £800If people are generous, it would be extremely helpful if people could help cover the costs of upcoming unfunded fieldwork. This study will require several trips to the field over the next 12 months. I covered most of the costs of this trip myself with personal funds and I simply cannot pay for any more myself. Fieldwork is not cheap and conservation is severely underfunded. I've been working as a conservationist for almost a decade and as a result I do not have disposable income to spend on my research. You will see below that I have maximised funds from grants, my university, and I have cut costs through strong collaborations that I have established over the past 9 years.

Longer version and budget details below:

My PhD focuses on assessing large mammal populations in and around areas of legal and illegal gold mining here in the Peruvian Amazon. Through my in-country collaborations the results will inform local and national restoration management. My PhD research will, genuinely, be useful in conserving the Amazon rainforest!

Part of my work involves surveying animals in less impacted areas as well as behavioural studies of focal species such as ecosystem engineers and see dispersers. It is this component for which I am seeking funding. Our surveys of the gold mines are well underway but for my study to be completed I need to embark upon several large studies using my FAVOURITE conservation and research tool - camera traps!

Also known as trail cameras, these cameras are placed across large areas for months at a time (which involves me hiking through the rainforest for weeks). Every time an animal walks in front of the camera, it will take a photo or video. That data can be analysed to look at spatial and temporal patterns of species richness and habitat use in relation to a number of biotic and abiotic factors, including things like deforestation, mining, and other human activity.

Through collaborations and grants my project is well underway but I have hit a hurdle.

I am very fortunate in that someone is lending me 43 camera traps. However, these are different type of camera trap to what I usually lose. Why is this a problem? These cameras require D-cell batteries which are a lot more expensive. I have sufficent AA batteries for my own 20 cameras in this study, and the surplus will be used for my larger camera trap grid next year, but right now I am in Peru for a three-week expedition with camera traps that I cannot deploy because I do not have batteries for them.

I have outlined below the costs of the batteries and SD cards. The MINIMUM I require right now is around £800If people are generous, it would be extremely helpful if people could help cover the costs of upcoming unfunded fieldwork. This study will require several trips to the field over the next 12 months. I covered most of the costs of this trip myself with personal funds and I simply cannot pay for any more myself. Fieldwork is not cheap and conservation is severely underfunded. I've been working as a conservationist for almost a decade and as a result I do not have disposable income to spend on my research. You will see below that I have maximised funds from grants, my university, and I have cut costs through strong collaborations that I have established over the past 9 years.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you in advance for any donations received :) You can follow along with my fieldwork and PhD research on Instagram at hollyodonnell_conservationist

Essentials required urgently: $1049 / £811

D-cell batteries. Duracell are available locally for 25 soles for a pack of 2. This comes to $6.70 / £5.18. I require 150 more batteries at a cost of $503 / £389. SD cards $546 / £422

Remaining unfunded components of fieldwork:

Fieldwork in 2025. This study will be a 12-month survey and so I need to cover future field site costs and transport. Estimated at $2884 / £2229

I have £800 funding for a salary for an assistant. I will hire a biology student from the local university.

Data Loggers to record temperature and humidity inside and outside of giant armadillo burrows. Easylog USB Temperature and Humidity Loggers. £73.29 each. I require a minimum of 25 and ideally 50.

25 = $2370 / £1832

50 = $4740 / £3664

Future fieldwork that requires funding (non-urgent:

Next year I will deploy a large camera trap grid across an intact area which will function as a comparison site to the gold mines. This is essential for my study.

I have acquired 78 camera traps so far through grants (Royal Geographic Society, Sir Peter Elworthy) and collaborations (ACEER Foundation, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, WildCRU) and sponsorship (Browning). I also have a special discount with Browning who support my research which makes purchasing cameras significantly cheaper. Ideally I need 100 cameras.

22 more camera traps = $2145 / £1657

I have AA batteries and SD cards.

Costs paid by me:

Costs paid for out of pocket for travel and transportation of camera trap equipment:

$2017 / £1559

This includes flights to Peru (partially funded by an RGS grant), flight to Cusco and accommodation, transport within Cusco to collect the cameras, shipping of the cameras to Puerto Maldonado on a bus, storage boxes. Transport to my field site was provided for free by my friends/collaborators at Junglekeepers.

I also purchased 3 camera traps at $75 each.