Location: Canada North Environmental Services office, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Instruction by: Dr. Cori Lausen, Wildlife Conservation Society Canada
Course Cost: Cost is $1340 CAD/person. Student and group discounts may be available upon request.
Host: Canada North Environmental Services (CanNorth).
Dates:
Starts 9:00 am Monday, 8 July.
Ends 4:00 pm Friday, 12 July.
For questions, please email Heather Gates at hgates@wcs.org
Course Overview
This course is a well-rounded 5 day course that starts with the basics of bat acoustics, walks you through how to use, program and properly deploy bat detectors, select appropriate sites for passive deployment, and, finally, how to analyze bat calls, including species identification and integrating auto-identification software with manual vetting. There will be 2 field nights of practice recording, weather-dependent. Instruction on species identification will be for all North American species, with hands on practice recording and identifying Saskatchewan species.
The analysis component of this course includes practice of workflow patterns, starting with raw file management, using auto-identification software, and manually vetting. Focus will be on the following software packages: KaleidoscopePro (auto-ID), Sonobat (auto-ID), and Analook to efficiently identify files to species and species-groups, ending with quick and easy pivot-tables and histogram creation in Excel for reporting. There will be an introduction to Bat Call Identification (BCID), another auto-identification software package and an introduction to Anabat Insight, an analysis program for both full spectrum and zero-cross recordings.
This course will provide a foundation for those participating in the North American Bat Monitoring Program, conducting environmental assessments, monitoring at wind energy developments and more. There will be an overview of all major types of bat detectors with focus on Wildlife Acoustics and Titley Scientific products, including hands-on experience with SM4BAT, EMTouch, and Walkabout, with other detectors covered also.
General Schedule:
(Subject to change.)
Day 1 - Introduction to ultrasound, bat acoustics, and bat detectors. Classroom instruction from 9:00 am - approximately 7 pm. Breaks for lunch (provided) and supper (on your own). Evening recording in the field: active recording of bats starts at around 8:00 pm and will continue for approximately 2 hours (weather dependent).
Day 2 - "Ecology of Echolocation" -- clutter continuum in a species-specific context. Introduction to species identification. Understanding bat detectors - passive units, driving transects and specifics of active units for hands-on in field. Classroom instruction 9:00 am - approximately 7:00 pm. Breaks for lunch and supper (on your own). Evening recording in field: - active recording of bats - starts at around 8:00 pm and will continue for approximately 2 hours (weather dependent).
Day 3 - Detailed species identification, with hands-on practice. Introduction to software with focus on KaleidoscopePro and Analook. Site selection and study design. Classroom instruction 9:00 am - approximately 6:00 pm. Breaks for lunch and supper (on your own).
Day 4 - Hands-on practice with analysis of files and species identification. Instruction in acoustic analysis software. 9:00 am - 9:00 pm classroom (with option to deploy passive detectors over supper break). Breaks for lunch (on your own) and supper (provided).
Day 5 - Advanced analysis and workflow. Hands-on practice. 8:00 am - 4:00 pm classroom with lunch break (on your own).
Downloads For The Course:
Software downloads will be required. You will ideally have a PC-based laptop to bring to class. Not all software will run on MAC. You will need to install some programs ahead of time. You will need Excel.
If you are bringing any of the iOS devices listed below, download the free Echo Meter Touch app onto your device to field-trial this device at the course.
An email will go out ahead of the class, but the following is a list to get started:
- Kaleidoscope Pro can be found at http://www.wildlifeacoustics.com/products/kaleidoscope-software/download. Note that you will be issued a Kaleidoscope license at the class which will unlock the autoID component of this software.
- All Wildlife Acoustics configuration utilities used to program their detectors can be found on their website at http://www.wildlifeacoustics.com/support/download-software. Scroll to the bottom of the Download Page and download the utility that you will need for the model of detector you will use (if applicable).
- Analook software and CFCRead can be downloaded at http://users.lmi.net/corben/Beta/. Just download and unzip the first and 6th programs on this list. Do not copy these files to your desktop and do not place them in My Documents folder. Instead, place it as high as you can in the directory tree of your laptop such as in the C: drive. No installation is required.
There will be an email from the course instructor approximately one week prior to the course providing more details.
Acoustic Detector Equipment:
Course participants are encouraged to bring their own detectors to the class for hands on practice and programming of their own field units. There will also be some classroom units available. In-class instruction of EMTouch and Anabat-Walkabout will enable active monitoring on field evenings. Classroom overview will include: SM3BAT, SM4BAT, EMTouch, Anabat Express, Anabat Swift, and Walkabout. If you would like to receive supplemental materials for any of these additional bat detectors, please contact Heather Gates (hgates@wcs.org) with the request and we will do our best to provide these materials. You are encouraged to bring a compatible iOS or Android device to class for use with EMTouch detector. Please check the Wildlife Acoustics website for a full list of compatible devices.
Accommodation and Meals:
Attendees are responsible for their own accommodations. With the exception of the Holiday Inn Express (which is near the university), the following accommodations options are approximately 8 to 10 kms from the course venue.
Hampton Inn and Suites Saskatoon
Holiday Inn Express & Suites: Saskatoon East - University
Saskatoon Inn
Courtyard Marriott, Saskatoon Airport
Best Western Plus Airport Inn and Suites
Lunch will be provided on Day 1 (8 July) and supper will be provided on Day 4 (11 July). Please email Amanda Brewster (amanda.brewster@cannorth.com) with any special dietary restrictions.
Tea, Coffee, and snacks will be provided; participants are encouraged to bring their own mug.
Nearest Airport:
Saskatoon International Airport
Cancellation:
Cancellation with full refund is available until 8 June, 2019.
WCSC reserves the right to cancel the course up to 30 days before the start date.
Other Equipment To Bring:
- Earbuds/earphones
- Headlamp
- Optional: Card reader (SD and CF cards). There will be a few readers available to borrow.
