distant galaxies, unlike galaxies they also tend
to move around a lot, making it difficult to get
a clear image. They also often live in warm
environments where their body heat stands out
less clearly, as was the case on the Bornean
orangutan hunting expedition.
“We would fly very early in the morning,
before the sun had time to warm up the trees
and the orangutans stood out beautifully,”
Longmore says. “Being able to show that we
could detect them, even in their native jungle,
was something that made us really happy.”
The team is using the drones in Madagascar
to support local conservationists in counting
and monitoring the bamboo lemurs of Lac
Alaotra. As well as being highly endangered,
these are what ecologists call an “indicator
species”—one whose population numbers
reliably track the wider health of their habitat.
This makes them a critical metric for
ecologists, as Wich points out, for whom the
complex and dynamic nature of an ecosystem
can make it difficult to distinguish between
normal variation and changes that reflect the
success or failure of a particular conservation
strategy.
FROM OBSERVATION
TO INTERVENTION
Throughout the last 30 years, around
60 percent of the earth’s wildlife has
disappeared, according to the World Wildlife
Fund, placing humanity in the middle of the
biggest extinction event since the end of the
dinosaurs.
Improving the effectiveness of conservation
work is imperative. But beyond merely helping
assess current strategies, the astro-ecology
team’s broader aim is to play an active role in
animal protection. That’s why another goal
of the Madagascar trip is to test the drones’
ability to spot poachers, which would help
park rangers intervene before animals are
harmed. The project, which was delayed due
to COVID-19, will proceed once safe travel
becomes possible again.
Poachers aren’t the only ecological threat
that gives off heat. More recently, Longmore’s
group has been testing the use of thermal
imaging for the early detection of underground
wildfires, common in much of Southeast Asia.
These underground fires may burn undetected
for weeks at a time, collectively contributing
to as much as 3 percent of the world’s annual
CO 2 emissions.
From Malagasy conservationists to
Indonesian firefighters, multiple unexpected
collaborations have sprung from one casual
conversation over a backyard fence. But
while Longmore acknowledges the role
of serendipity in sparking unexpected
partnerships, he also emphasizes it takes
a willingness to explore multidisciplinary
approaches—and to take on work outside
your ordinary remit—to make these a success.
“I love astrophysics and I’ll always be
fascinated by the existential questions we try
to solve, like, ‘How did the universe begin?’”
he says. “But it’s clear that we have serious
issues here on Earth that need immediate
solutions. I’m just grateful to be able to use
my astrophysics background to make even a
small difference in addressing these real-world
problems.” ■
Hear the history of conservation in
the “Conservation: Next Generation
Technology” episode of the Trailblazers
with Walter Isaacson podcast.
DellTechnologies.com/Trailblazers
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