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New user info for the Echo Meter EM3 Bat Detector from Wildlife Acoustics

We recently received the following information from Wildlife Acoustics to help you get the most out of your Echo Meter EM3

Dear EM3 User,

Congratulations on your purchase of the Wildlife Acoustics Echo Meter EM3 Bat Detector! We think the EM3 represents the most advanced technology available in a handheld detector and provides unparalleled functionality at a fraction of the price of other professional detectors. A piece of equipment with this much technology does, however, have a learning curve. To help you master the skills necessary to get the best performance from your new detector we would like to share some tips and best practices (and common mistakes) we have learned since its release. We think the following information will help you get the most out of your EM3.

Update your firmware!

We are constantly making improvements to all of our products via firmware updates. These improvements can include important bug fixes as well as new functionality or requested features. We provide these updates at no charge to add further value to our products. Please go to www.wildlifeacoustics.com/downloads to download the latest version of firmware and read the release notes on what has changed. The current firmware version loaded on your Echo Meter can be seen on the top left of the “splash screen” at start-up. At the time of this email we are on version 1.1.2.

Introducing a whole new approach to zero crossing

With this email we would like to introduce a free new software we have developed called Kaleidoscope and a whole new approach to zero crossing. Kaleidoscope converts WAV or WAC files into zero crossing files with incredible quality and speed. In fact the results are superior not only to any existing zero crossing conversion software but they are also superior to what would be possible with native zero crossing. Don’t just trust us, try it and let us know what you think!

The conversion is incredibly fast. It can convert several nights of data in just a few minutes. This represents a 30x improvement over our existing WAC2WAV software, which was on par or faster than any other conversion software.

Kaleidoscope can even convert zero crossing to WAV (yes you read that right). This is a great way to be able to convert your Zero Crossing files into audible WAV files. Kaleidoscope is available on the download page of our site (see the link above). It is currently in Beta and will ultimately replace our WAC2WAV conversion software.

What about native zero crossing?

As you know the EM3 also has the ability to record zero crossing files natively and you might be wondering how that compares to full spectrum files converted to zero crossing using Kaleidoscope. We feel the results from Kaleidoscope are superior to native zero crossing, whether it be on the EM3 or any other zero crossing recorder. The zero crossing results from Kaleidoscope are so good and the conversion is so fast that we are now recommending this as the best approach. Feel free to test this out if you need convincing. You can record simultaneously in WAV and zero crossing, convert the WAV files to zero crossing and compare the results.

If you do prefer to stick with the native zero crossing, here are a couple tips to get the best results. Always be sure to adjust the zero crossing sensitivity (just hold down the speaker button until you enter FDAdj made). The default setting is quite high and will not pick up many bats. Also, always adjust the setting using headphones. If you adjust using the speaker, the feedback from the speaker will result in a much higher than optimal setting. You want to set the level just to the point where you only hear a little noise rather than a constant din of noise. This should be three or four squares on the display.

We have found that the GPS attachment for the EM3 can introduce noise into the zero crossing circuit. This necessitates setting the sensitivity up a couple squares. For best zero crossing results with the GPS please consider our recommendation to use WAC and convert using Kaleidoscope. As an added bonus, when using the GPS in WAC mode, you will retain not only the location of every recording but the entire transect path. Kaleidoscope can output the recording locations and the path during the conversion process into a KML file compatible with Google Earth!

Try Real Time Expansion (RTE)!

We have included three monitoring modes in the EM3. Heterodyne and Frequency Division were included for those familiar and comfortable with those technologies. We also developed our own novel technique for monitoring called Real Time Expansion. This technique provides all of the frequency and timing information of the original call. It has superior tonality to Frequency Division and does not require tuning like Heterodyne. We consider it the best monitoring method on the market. If you have been using Heterodyne or Frequency Division, we strongly encourage you to try RTE.

Screen adjustments

Remember that you can adjust both the brightness and contrast of the screen to suit any lighting condition and preference. If you momentarily press and release the Display button, you can then adjust brightness using either the Plus and Minus buttons or Up and Down buttons. The contrast is adjusted using the Right and Left Arrow buttons. You can also switch between “black on white” and “white on black” display modes by holding down the Display button.

Getting back to the present

We have seen a common confusion where users are monitoring for bats while scrolling back through the spectrogram buffer to look at past calls. When you are viewing calls at or near the end of the buffer and a bat comes along the end of the buffer begins to disappear as new data is written to the front. This can give the illusion that you are viewing “the present bat” because the buffer begins to move making the spectrogram scroll. To get “back to the present” to see the new bat calls being written to the spectrogram, just double click the X/Y button.

Use headphones for best sound quality

The speaker on the EM3 was included for convenience and can provide an excellent monitoring experience, but for the very best quality, we encourage you to try monitoring with headphones. Headphones have better fidelity, greater volume and more bandwidth than the speaker so they really bring the bat playback to life.

Always use the EM3 with charged batteries

The EM3 monitors battery level and automatically shuts down when the battery is near depletion. This prevents the circuitry from getting into a state where it is not appropriately powered resulting in erratic behavior. But if you power up the unit with nearly depleted batteries, it will exhibit this erratic behavior before the detector gets the chance to determine that the batteries are nearly depleted. It will be stuck in bad state and you will not be able to power down without removing a battery. Batteries tend to regain voltage over short durations of no use. This means that if you do not charge the batteries after using them and then power up the detector after some time, the batteries will have regained just enough voltage to power up but not enough to supply proper power. Also be aware, that the EM3 is never truly off, but in a deep sleep state so as to be able to retain the spectrogram buffer and clock. After a few weeks the batteries will deplete even after no use.

If you get stuck, reset

If, while using the EM3, you find that you have made a bad setting or gotten into an unknown state you can always reset the unit back to factory defaults. You simply pop a battery from the battery tray and reinsert while holding down the left button. Continue holding the button until the splash screen appears. Sometimes an apparently broken unit can be something as simple as the brightness having been turned quite a low at night appearing as though it won’t power up in the morning! This procedure would reset the brightness setting to default, apparently bringing the unit back to life.

Happy detecting.

Wildlife Acoustics, Inc.

NHBS Equipment Team:

+44 (0)1803 865913

customer.services@nhbs.co.uk

Save 35% on ten natural history classics from Johns Hopkins UP this June

Always setting a high standard for scientific publishing, Johns Hopkins University Press titles span the range of our natural history subject areas providing solid high-quality research from top academics.

These ten books from JHUP have been – and continue to be – bestsellers at NHBS, and they are all on special offer at 35% off this June:

Ecological and Behavioral Methods for the Study of Bats

First published in 1988, “Ecological and Behavioral Methods for the Study of Bats” is widely acknowledged as the primary reference for both amateur and professional bat researchers. Only one group of mammals includes more species than bats. Bats live on every continent except Antarctica, range from deserts to tropical forests to mountains, and their activities have a profound effect on the ecosystems in which they live.

The Biology of Small Mammals

The first exploration of the lives of small mammals undertaken in decades. Mammalogist Joseph F. Merritt offers an engaging, in-depth discussion about a diverse array of small mammals, from the rare Kitti’s hog-nosed bat of Southeast Asia to the bizarre aye-aye of Madagascar to the familiar woodchuck of North America.

Walker’s Mammals of the World (Complete Edition)

The sixth edition is 24% longer, and the number of separate genera has increased by 75 – among them, three remarkable large ungulates recently discovered in the forests of Indochina. New also is a full account of the woolly mammoth, now known to have survived until less than 4,000 years ago.

Walker’s Bats of the World

Introduction by Thomas H. Kunz and Elizabeth D. Pierson. The first single segment of the leading reference workWalker’s Mammals of the World to become available as a separate volume. It is a complete guide to this varied order of mammals and includes scientific and common names, as well as the number and distribution of species, measurements and physical traits, habitat, daily and seasonal activity, population dynamics, home range, social life, reproduction, and longevity.

The Rise of Amphibians: 365 Million Years of Evolution

For nearly 100 million years amphibians and their ancestors dominated the terrestrial and shallow water environments of the earth. Archaic animals with an amphibious way of life gave rise not only to modern frogs, salamanders, and caecilians but also to the ancestors of reptiles, birds, and mammals.

Mountain Gorillas: Biology, Conservation and Coexistence

Tucked into one of the most beautiful and conflicted regions of the world are the last of the mountain gorillas. These apes have survived centuries of human encroachment into their range and decades of intense conflict and violence. The remaining 720 mountain gorillas exist in a fragile habitat, nestled in an area torn by human interests and needs for land, water, and minerals.

Dragonfly Genera of the New World: An Illustrated and Annotated Key to the Anisoptera

Dragonfly Genera of the New World is a beautifully illustrated and comprehensive guide to the taxonomy and ecology of dragonflies in North, Middle, and South America. A reference of the highest quality, this book reveals their striking beauty and complexity. Although Odonata – dragonflies and damselflies – are among the most studied groups of insects, until now there has been no reliable means to identify the New World genera of either group.

Damselfly Genera of the New World: An Illustrated and Annotated Key to the Zygoptera

In this companion volume to “Dragonfly Genera of the New World”, Rosser W. Garrison, Natalia von Ellenrieder, and Jerry A. Louton provide a comprehensive, fully illustrated guide to the damselflies of North, Central, and South America. Damselflies are more diverse and harder to identify than dragonflies.

Forest Ecosystems

This acclaimed textbook is the most comprehensive available in the field of forest ecology. Designed for advanced students of forest science, ecology, and environmental studies, it is also an essential reference for forest ecologists, foresters, and land managers.

Chimpanzee Politics: Power and Sex among Apes

The first edition of Frans de Waal’s “Chimpanzee Politics” was acclaimed not only by primatologists for its scientific achievement but also by politicians, business leaders, and social psychologists for its remarkable insights into the most basic human needs and behaviors. Twenty-five years later, this book is considered a classic.

View the list of special offer books as a web page

New full-colour monograph focuses on the Peregrine Falcon

New Holland have just published the third in their unique occasional series of ornithological monographs. Packed with brilliant full-colour photography, these attractive books are written by experts and passionate advocates for the particular species.

Patrick Stirling-Aird has studied Peregrine Falcons for more than 25 years. He is Secretary of the Scottish Raptor Study Groups and is an advisor to the British and Scottish governments on the conservation of the species. His monograph on the Peregrine has just been published and combines a detailed exploration of the science and natural history of the bird with an anecdotal tone borne of his years of personal experience.

Also available now in the same series:

Kingfisher by David Chandler and Ian Llewellyn (2010)

Barn Owl by David Chandler (2011)

Imagine a rock pool: wildlife kit winners with NHBS and Wildlife Watch magazine

In association with NHBS, Wildlife Watch – the Wildlife Trusts‘ young members magazine – has been running a competition to win NHBS Educational Rock Pooling Kits.

The task was to choose a shore creature and imagine a rock pool that would be ideally suited to its needs – and to draw it! There are five winners and their drawings suggest that there are plenty of inspired creative young minds out there with a passion for wildlife and environment.

Well done to the winners who should have received their rock pooling kits this week – you can see their creations here:

http://www.wildlifewatch.org.uk/Design-your-own-rock-pool

More NHBS Educational Kits:

Starter Butterfly Kit
Advanced Butterfly Kit
Educational Bug Hunting Kit
Advanced Bug Hunting Kit
Educational Pond Dipping Kit

New Edition of Bat Surveys: Good Practice Guidelines – available now

From the Bat Conservation Trust website:

The Bat Conservation Trust encourages people working with bats, or those who might come into contact with bats or their roosts during their daily lives, to follow good practice.

We have worked with organisations and individuals across many sectors to develop a range of guidance to help you conduct your business or perform your work with consideration for bats.

Bat Surveys: Good Practice Guidelines, 2nd Ed.

Following feedback from experts in the field and authored by professionals, the Bat Conservation Trust has updated and revised the “Bat Surveys: Good Practice Guidelines“. In line with the latest evidence and best practice the second edition features new chapters and content, with revised advice and guidance. This is the essential reference and guide for anyone involved in professional bat work.

BCT Members receive a 20% discount: please quote your membership number when ordering (in the ‘comments’ field when ordering online), and the discount will be applied when we process your order. Please disregard the full amount quoted in your shopping basket and automated order confirmation. If you are not a BCT member, click on the following link to join online now and claim your discount.

Join the Bat Conservation Trust today

Five reasons you will love the new Habibat Bat Box

1. Artificial accommodation designed for bats

The Habibat is a large bat box made of insulating concrete with an internal roost space, which can be incorporated into the fabric of a building as it is built or renovated. Its single chamber is internally divided by inverted V wedges to increase surfaces for bats to roost against and to allow them to move around.

2. Habibat boxes can be faced to match the building

Two stock colours: Staffordshire Smooth Red, and Staffordshire Smooth Blue brick, are complemented by thousands of bespoke colours of facing brick, stone, granite, masonry, slate, terracotta, tile and timber finishes.

3. Habibat is a unique partnership with the Bat Conservation Trust

The Bat Conservation Trust will be collating information on the use and installation and of Habibat boxes. In addition, the Trust has contributed to the design of the box, and a number of Habibat variants will be tried and tested to continue the development of the product.

4. Habibat is a versatile bat box system

We can supply quotes for joining multiple Habibat boxes or other bespoke requirements.

5. Habibat is made to standard brick dimensions

Habibat is simple to incorporate into walls as it has the same footprint as a standard UK brick (215mm wide x 103mm deep) and can be matched in height with six courses of bricks.

Primates of West Africa “in much more detail than other field guides” – review

Review published in the Gorilla Journal 43, December 2011

Primates of West Africa: A Field Guide and Natural History

John F Oates

Published by Conservation International

This field guide introduces the primates of West Africa in much more detail than other field guides. The species/subspecies are not only described (and shown in drawings by Stephen D. Nash as well as photos), but their behaviour and ecology are also explained. But it is not just a field guide, it contains much more information for people interested in West African primates; the appendix introduces important sites for primate conservation and observation (also with respect to tourism), also illustrated with photos, and finally, 52 pages with references suggest material for further reading.

Angela Meder

NHBS Weekly Digest: Snails; birds – extinct, and hidden; 77 Years of WAZA; spotting scopes and hand lenses

New books in stock

The best of the new arrivals:

Snails on Rocky Sea Shores

John Crothers

Number 30 in the Naturalists’ Handbooks series. The British and Irish coastlines are covered in this key to the common species. Habitats and ecology are considered along with accessible techniques useful to anyone interested in the study of these fascinating invertebrates. Clearly illustrated throughout with photographs, maps and diagrams.

Extinct Birds

Julian P. Hume and Michael Walters

This Poyser monograph detailing the avian extinctions of the last 700 years is a vital resource for the serious ornithologist as well as the interested amateur. The historical range is fascinating; in the Plovers section, for instance, the Madagascar Lapwing – which disappeared around the 14th century due to habitat aridification, and is known only from subfossil records – rubs shoulders with the Javan Lapwing, which is assumed extinct having not been recorded since 1940 – although an unconfirmed report is given from 2002. Thorough and informative.

RSPB Birds: Their Hidden World

Peter Holden

Handy compact guide to the intricacies of avian behaviour, focusing on the usual categorisations of territory, breeding, songs, migration, feeding etc. but incorporating the lesser-known facts and interesting discoveries made through recent scientific investigations. Peter Holden worked for the RSPB for over 40 years and is the author of 9 books, including the RSPB Handbook of British Birds – a bestseller now in its third edition, and the acclaimed RSPB Handbook of Garden Wildlife.

77 Years: The History and Evolution of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums 1935-2012

Laura Penn, Markus Gusset and Gerald Dick

Of interest to anyone associated or involved with zoos and aquariums, or the history of wildlife conservation in general. Tells the story of WAZA, and the key individuals and events involved since its establishment in 1935, through archival material that goes back to the 1930s, giving insight into the various historical contingencies and political and industrial factors that have affected the development of the organisation.

Wildlife Equipment Highlights

Our recommendations to help you get kitted out for conservation field work, wildlife watching, travel and photography, are selected from our range of over 2,000 equipment items.

NHBS are now selling high quality affordable spotting scopes. The first addition to our new range is the Hawke Nature spotting scope with fully multi-coated optics providing crisp, bright images and available with either 20-60x or 24-72x magnification. The Nature family of spotting scopes is designed to deliver years of functional use for the budget-minded consumer. Both Nature spotting scopes are waterproof and come as a complete kit with a hard storage case, soft carry pouch and fully adjustable aluminium tripod.

The Gowlland range of Hand Lenses are another great new addition to our range. With a standard lens and plastic body these affordable lenses are perfect for school groups.

Series Update Part 1: New series announced: Spiders, Fauna of Suriname and two new botanicals

Since the last time we posted on the subject, a lot has happened in the world of book series. Just recently, some wonderful new monograph series have been announced, filling gaps in the literature. Here are the highlights:

The Spiders of Europe, a Synthesis of Data, published by the Société Linnéenne de Lyon in four volumes, is a welcome new overview of current knowledge about the European spiders, with the first volume, Atypidae to Theridiidae, available now.

The Flora of Nepal is an ambitious project coordinated by the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh. The publication of ten volumes of the Flora of Nepal is planned, Volume 3: Magnoliaceae to Roseaceae being available now.

The Fauna of Suriname is being developed by a number of agencies in Suriname and the Netherlands, with the first two volumes on Freshwater Fishes of Suriname and Amphibians of Suriname due this spring.

Sedges receive treatment in the new series Carex Europaea, with the first volume, The Genus Carex L. (Cyperaceae) in Europe, 1: Accepted names, hybrids, synonyms, distribution, chromosome numbers, available now.

You can set up a standing order with NHBS for these, and any other series, that we list on nhbs.com.

Look out next month for Part 2 of our Series Update which will look at ongoing series which have recently been resurrected, with new volumes published after a long break in publication.

NHBS Weekly Digest: Avian Architecture, snow ecology, conservation handbooks, eTrex and Paramo

New books in stock this week

The best of the new arrivals from the last seven days:

Avian Architecture: How Birds Design, Engineer and Build

Peter Goodfellow

A beautifully designed and fascinating book which documents in clear detail many examples of bird nesting styles, with full-colour illustrations and text describing technical details about construction means and methods, and further detail about such things as the purposes of adornment, and defence structures built into nests. Case studies illustrate the nest-building process, and the chapters are ordered around different nest types, eg Aquatic, Domed, Hanging etc.

The Ecology of Snow and Ice Environments

Johanna Laybourn-Parry, Martyn Tranter and Andrew J Hodson

New volume summarizing the state of research into these environments, looking at their function as indicators of climate change, their biological and ecological importance, and the service provided by glacial systems as an environmental analogue for astrobiologists studying eg. the evidence of life on Mars or the moons of Jupiter. As such the material is presented in terms accessible to the environmental scientist getting to grips with the biology, and vice versa.

Two reprints of essential conservation handbooks:

Herpetofauna Workers Manual

Edited by Tony Gent and Steve Gibson

Bird Monitoring Methods: A Manual of Techniques for Key UK Species

Gillian Gilbert, David W Gibbons and Julianne Evans

Wildlife Equipment Highlights

Our weekly suggestions to help you get kitted out for conservation field work, wildlife watching, travel and photography, selected from our range of over 2,000 equipment items.

eTrex 10

Garmin’s long awaited replacement for the eTrex H, the eTrex 10 retains the core functionality, rugged construction, affordability and long battery life that made eTrex H the most dependable GPS device available. The perfect tool for most basic GIS projects, from mapping nature reserves to geocaching.

Browse our range of landscape survey equipment

Paramo Unisex Torres Jacket

Ethically produced, with a lifetime warranty, and designed by outdoors people, the Paramo Torres Jacket provides fast block insulation and water repellency in extreme or prolonged cold and wet. Packs down small when not needed.

Browse our range of Paramo clothing