An automated camera system for remote monitoring in polar environments

There is widespread recognition of the benefits in automating procedures for the collection of scientific data, and an increasing ability to do so as technology advances. The benefits are particularly relevant to long term monitoring programs in remote areas such as the polar regions where the costs of regularly accessing sites for repeated data collection are high. We describe the design and use of a camera system for automated recording of digital images at remote sites in polar environments. The design placed emphasis on low maintenance, low environmental impact, autonomous operation, and the ability to withstand high winds and low temperatures with very low electrical power requirements. Our motivation for designing the system was to facilitate monitoring of some aspects of Adelie penguin breeding biology, such as breeding chronology and chick survival, at multiple remote islands off the Antarctica coast. However, the system also has potential for application to other monitoring programs in polar environments.