外刊阅读:A database for wildlife conservation

在研究野生动物的时候,常常会用放在野外的自动照相机来拍摄它们。但是拍到的照片和视频却没有好好利用,所以有人就专门建了一个数据库。

A database for wildlife conservation

by Nathan Sing

A new website will allow anyone in the world to access millions of wildlife photos taken by camera traps.

access /ˈækses/ v. 存取(信息)、使用
trap /træp/ n. 陷阱(camera trap捕获的是照片)

Researchers in the field often use camera traps to remotely photograph the intimate lives of animals. These stationary(不动的) cameras have a sensor that is triggered by heat or movement, letting researchers monitor animals without disturbing them.

researcher /rɪˈsɜːtʃə(r)/ n. 研究者(由research加上表示人的后缀-er)
the field 现场、实地
remotely /rɪˈməʊtli/ adv. 远程地(由remote加后缀-ly变成副词)
photograph /ˈfəʊtəɡrɑːf/ v. 拍照
intimate /ˈɪntɪmət/ adj. 私下的
sensor /ˈsensə(r)/ n. 传感器
trigger /ˈtrɪɡə(r)/ v. 引发
movement /ˈmuːvmənt/ n. 移动、运动(由move加后缀-ment变成名词)
monitor /ˈmɒnɪtə(r)/ v. 监控
disturb /dɪˈstɜːb/ v. 打扰

The traps can be deployed for months at a time, sometimes capturing hundreds of thousands of images. But these images, and the valuable information they reveal, typically just sit on researchers' hard drives, unavailable to anyone else, according to Jorge Ahumada, a scientist with environmental nonprofit Conservation International.

deploy /dɪˈplɔɪ/ v. 部署
at a time 一次
capture /ˈkæptʃə(r)/ v. 拍照
image /ˈɪmɪdʒ/ n. 图片、照片
reveal /rɪˈviːl/ v. 揭示
hard drive 电脑硬盘
unavailable /ˌʌnəˈveɪləb(ə)l/ adj. 不可得到的、无法利用的(由available加上表示否定的前缀un-)
environmental /ɪnˌvaɪr(ə)nˈment(ə)l/ adj. 环境的(由environment加后缀-al变成形容词)
nonprofit /ˌnɒnˈprɒfɪt/ n. 非营利组织(由profit加上表示否定的前缀non-)
conservation /ˌkɒnsəˈveɪʃ(ə)n/ n. (动植物、环境等)保护

So Ahumada set about creating an online platform where researchers could share their photos. Wildlife Insights launched in December as the world's largest camera-trap database, hosting over 4.5 million images.

set about 开始做某事
platform /ˈplætfɔːm/ n. 平台
insight /ˈɪnsaɪt/ n. 洞察、洞见
launch /lɔːntʃ/ v. 开始、启动
database /ˈdeɪtəbeɪs/ n. 数据库
host /həʊst/ v. 为(网站等)提供存储空间

Supported by the World Wildlife Fund, among others, the idea is to encourage collaboration between biologists and wildlife conservation organizations, and bring camera trap footage(视频片段) to the fore of conservation efforts.

fund /fʌnd/ n. 基金
collaboration /kəˌlæbəˈreɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 合作、协作
biologist /baɪˈɒlədʒɪst/ n. 生物学家(由biology加上表示人的后缀-ist)
to the fore /fɔː(r)/ 在显著位置

As well as making images available to other researchers, the site uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) designed by Google to overcome a key problem with these kinds of photos: camera traps produce an astronomical(天文数字的) number of images to manually analyze, says Ahumada, many of which are blank images where the camera was triggered by its surroundings and not by wildlife. Manually sorting and deleting these photos is a laborious(耗时费力的) task.

as well as = in addition to 除了
artificial /ˌɑːtɪˈfɪʃ(ə)l/ adj. 人工的、人造的
intelligence /ɪnˈtelɪdʒ(ə)ns/ n. 智力、智能
overcome /ˌəʊvəˈkʌm/ v. 克服、战胜
key /kiː/ adj. 关键的
manually /ˈmænjuəli/ adv. 手工地(由manual加后缀-ly变成副词)
analyze /ˈæn(ə)laɪz/ v. 分析
blank /blæŋk/ adj. 空白的
surroundings /səˈraʊndɪŋz/ n. 周边环境
sort /sɔːt/ v. 分类
task /tɑːsk/ n. 任务

To get around that, after someone uploads footage to the Wildlife Insights database, its AI verifies if the image was taken from a camera trap and automatically removes all blank images. If there is an animal in the image, the AI will identify the species. Currently, the AI recognizes about 450 animal species, which Ahumada said will increase over time as more footage is collected from all parts of the world.

get round something 解决某个问题
verify /ˈverɪfaɪ/ v. 验证、核实
automatically /ˌɔːtəˈmætɪk(ə)li/ adv. 自动地(由automatic加后缀-ally变成副词)
identify /aɪˈdentɪfaɪ/ v. 识别、辨认出
species /ˈspiːʃiːz/ n. 物种(单数和复数都是species)
currently /ˈkʌr(ə)ntli/ adv. 现在、目前(由current加后缀-ly变成副词)
over time 随着时间的推移

Apart from collecting and reviewing the photos, the platform will provide analytics(数据分析) that could reveal trends in species' population for different projects. That information could help researchers understand whether a species is increasing its range or if its numbers are in decline.

apart from 除了
review /rɪˈvjuː/ v. 审核、评审
project /ˈprɒdʒekt/ n. 项目、研究项目
range /reɪndʒ/ n. 分布区域
decline /dɪˈklaɪn/ n. 下降、减少

While open access is key, the platform has taken steps to make sure this information doesn't get into the wrong hands. "You will have to ask Wildlife Insights for permission to get the locations of the images," said Ahumada. "That is a vetting process that we will manage carefully because we know that poachers(偷猎者) and other actors with nefarious(罪恶的) purposes will use this information to find endangered species."

access /ˈækses/ n. 存取(信息)、使用机会
step /step/ n. 步骤、措施
make sure 确保
permission /pəˈmɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 准许、许可
vet /vet/ v. 审查、审核
process /ˈprəʊses/ n. 过程
actor /ˈæktə(r)/ n. 行为人、参与者
endangered /ɪnˈdeɪndʒəd/ adj. 濒危的

As internet connectivity improves and becomes increasingly ubiquitous(无处不在的), Ahumada ultimately expects to have "camera traps identifying the images on the hardware itself" and the capability for traps to "send information directly to the cloud" without a person physically retrieving the footage from the device and manually uploading the data to the platform.

connectivity /ˌkɒnekˈtɪvəti/ n. 连通性
increasingly /ɪnˈkriːsɪŋli/ adv. 越来越
ultimately /ˈʌltɪmətli/ adv. 最终
capability /ˌkeɪpəˈbɪləti/ n. 能力
the cloud 云端服务
physically /ˈfɪzɪk(ə)li/ adv. 身体地、亲身地(这里指需要人到现场;由physical加后缀-ly变成副词)
retrieve /rɪˈtriːv/ v. 找到并取回
device /dɪˈvaɪs/ n. 设备、装置
data /ˈdeɪtə/ n. 数据

原文格式更丰富,点此查看

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