NewsWatch: 2006: Quail Ridge

[Narrator:] From the University of California at Davis, this is NewsWatch.

[Paul Pfotenhauer:] Because of recent advances in wireless technology, the Quail Ridge Reserve in the hills above Lake Berryessa is now accessible to students and researchers via the internet. Ecologist Mike Benard studies how frogs adapt to changing environments. But what makes this so special is that he can eavesdrop on these frogs from his home base in Michigan.

[Mike Benard:] I’ve got the opportunity to go anywhere in the world and download and utilize the data on these populations that I have been studying for so long.

[Paul Pfotenhauer:] UC Davis is one of a handful of universities developing and refining what are called, “wireless mesh” networks. Powered here by solar energy and tested in this remote location free of electronic noise.

[Stephanie Liese:] Working on a 2,000 acre wildlife preserve gives us the opportunity to test our hardware and software in a way that is not achievable in the lab, and at the same time we can further our knowledge of wireless networks.

[Paul Pfotenhauer:] Because frogs are often the first species affected by environmental changes, this remote sensing system will be a huge advantage to scientists.

[Mike Benard:] We look at how they change year after year and correlate that with all sorts of environmental variables that will be collected by this remote monitoring system such as water depth, pond temperature, air temperature. We’ll be able to see which of these factors or combinations of these factors are most important for explaining why amphibian populations increase and why they decrease.

[Paul Pfotenhauer:] To test the network, the students set up television cameras and other remote sensing equipment that give researchers, like Benard, real time data. Reporting from Quail Ridge, I’m Paul Pfotenhauer.

[Narrator:] For more information, please log onto broadcast.ucdavis.edu