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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Validation of two independent photogrammetric techniques for determining body measurements of gorillas
American Journal of Primatology, Volume 78, No. 4, Year 2016
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Description
The ability to accurately measure morphological characteristics of wild primates in the field is challenging, yet critical for understanding fundamental aspects of their biology and behavior. Recent studies have shown that digital photogrammetry can be used to non-invasively measure morphological traits of wild primates, as it allows for the determination of geometric properties of objects remotely from photographic images. We report here on a rare opportunity to test this methodology by comparing measurements obtained directly from living great apes to those obtained from photographs. We test the accuracy and precision of two independent photogrammetric techniques, employing the use of parallel lasers and a distance meter, respectively, for obtaining measurements of static objects and captive western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) (n=4) at Zoo Atlanta. For static objects, the mean percent error between corresponding measurements collected by the same observer directly versus using photogrammetry was 0.49-0.74% for the parallel laser method and 0.62-0.76% for the distance meter method. For gorillas, mean percent error between corresponding direct and remote measurements was 2.72-5.20% for the parallel laser method and 2.20-7.51% for the distance meter method. Correlations between direct measurements and corresponding parallel laser and distance meter measurements of gorillas were highly significant with R2 values and slopes approaching 1.0 (parallel lasers: R2=0.9989, P<0.0001; distance-meter: R2=0.9990, P<0.0001). Further, variation between measurements of the same targets collected repeatedly by the same observer, and between different observers, was uniformly low across methods (CV, range=0.003-0.013). While errors are slightly higher for the distance meter technique, both methods show great promise for addressing a wide range of questions requiring the non-invasive collection of morphological data from wild primates. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Authors & Co-Authors
Galbany, Jordi
United States, Washington, D.c.
The George Washington University
Stoinski, Tara S.
United States, Atlanta
The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International
United States, Atlanta
Zoo Atlanta
Abavandimwe, Didier
United States, Atlanta
The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International
Breuer, Thomas
United States, New York
Wildlife Conservation Society
Ndagijimana, Felix
United States, Atlanta
The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International
McFarlin, Shannon C.
United States, Washington, D.c.
The George Washington University
United States, Washington, D.c.
Smithsonian Institution
Statistics
Citations: 23
Authors: 6
Affiliations: 5
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1002/ajp.22511
ISSN:
02752565