Try this next
Record air temperature alongside count data and look for a threshold temperature where activity increases.
Light Trap Biodiversity Monitoring
After dark the kura grounds change. A small ultraviolet light could show you who is moving through your site.
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Venture In
Wero
Observe
Kite
Infer
Whakaaro
Create
Auaha
Evaluate
Tohu
Evidence you will build
- Biodiversity dataset (species counts by date/site)
- Annotated photo log
- AI-vs-human comparison table
- Community biodiversity report
Why this matters
Local biodiversity datasets help communities track ecological health and critique AI tools used for species identification.
What you will investigate and collect
You will run a MaramaTrap light trap at school over several nights and document the insects that visit. What kinds of insects visit your site, how counts change with conditions, and how confident you can be in your identifications. Photos and counts of specimens by group, plus weather and time-of-night notes for each session.
- Date and time
- Site
- Weather
- Moon phase
What you might make or share
- Trap housingLaser cut
Improved enclosure based on species capture data
If rain or ambient light affected your trap, a housing addresses those variables.
- Insect hotelLaser cut
Habitat provision based on what species your data shows are present
Your biodiversity data tells you which habitat materials to include.
- Field markerLaser cut
Durable site marker for long-term monitoring locations
If you are monitoring the same site repeatedly, a permanent marker ensures consistency.
What other investigators found
Try this next
Run both trap types at the same location on the same night to control for weather and habitat.
What you will investigate
You will run a MaramaTrap light trap at school over several nights and document the insects that visit.
What you will collect
Date and time, Site
What you might make or share
A printed insect observation chamber, classification labels