Triggered by motion

The Graduate Campus developed a video installation titled "Triggered by Motion" together with an international network of researchers and citizen scientists. 20 camera traps in 14 countries were filming the local environment and all the animals that trigger the cameras by their movement. Using this video data, we built a walk-in pavilion where visitors can gain insights into the local biodiversity and immerse themselves in the natural environment of wildlife.

The installation will be shown in various exhibition contexts from 2022 and aims to foster the dialogue between science, art and the interested public. It was first shown in our exhibition "Planet Digital" (11 February 2022 - 6 June 2022), a collaboration between the UZH Graduate Campus and the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich.

Camera traps are a relatively simple and non-invasive method for scientists to observe wildlife. At UZH and around the world, researchers use these traps to study biodiversity, animal behaviour or environmental changes - increasingly also in combination with machine learning applications, which are used to process and evaluate the image material. "Triggered by Motion" aims to give an insight into various current research projects and to bring the audience closer to a field of research that, like many others, is undergoing drastic changes due to digitalisation.  

You can find more information about the camera locations in our interactive map:

Click here for a bigger version of the map.

Africa

Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana: Gabriele Cozzi, University of Zurich / Megan Claase, Peter Apps, Botswana Predator Conservation

Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya: Dominic Maringa, Eunice Kamau, Timothy Kaaria, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy / Martin Bauert, Zurich Zoo

Kuruman River Reserve, Südafrika: Marta Manser, Brigitte Spillmann, University of Zurich / Zoe Turner, Kalahari Research Centre

Asia

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Indien: Susy Varughese, Vivek Puliyeri, Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Hantan River Crane Observatory, Cheorwon, South Korea: Choi Myung-Ae, Center for Anthropocene Studies, KAIST

Mount Ilgaz National Park, Kastamonu, Turkey: Anil Soyumert, Alper Ertürk, University of Kastamonu / Dilşad Dağtekin, Arpat Özgül, University of Zurich

Neighborhood park in Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea: Kim Gitae, Citizen Scientist

Tianmashan Forest Park, Shanghai, China: Li Bicheng, Shanghai Natural History Museum (Shanghai Science & Technology Museum)

Europe

Gran Paradiso National Park, Aosta valley, Italy: Alberto Peracino, Parco Nazionale Gran Paradiso / Alice Brambilla, University of Zurich

Natur reserve Fanel, Switzerland: Stefan Suter, WLS.CH / Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW)

Val Müschauns / Val Trupchun, Engadin, Switzerland: Hans Lozza, Swiss National Park

Private garden in Zurich Albisrieden, Switzerland: Cornelia Hürzeler, Citizen Scientist / Madeleine Geiger, StadtWildTiere Zürich

Sunčevica forest, Cerova, Serbia: Mihailo Stojanovic, Citizen Scientist

North America

Palo Alto, California, USA: Bill Leikam, Urban Wildlife Research Project

Rolling, Wisconsin, USA: Blayne Zeise, Jennifer Stenglein, Snapshot Wisconsin / Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, United States Fish and Wildlife Service Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Program

San José, California, USA: Yiwei Wang, Dan Wenny, San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, Coyote Creek Field Station

Private garden in Horseshoe Hill, California, USA: Jeff Labovitz, Susan Pace, Citizen Scientists

Oceania

Oamaru, New Zealand: Philippa Agnew, Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony

South America

Pedregulho, São Paulo, Brazil: Rita de Cassia Bianchi, Rômulo Theodoro Costa, São Paulo State University 

Parque Natural Municipal de Marapendi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Natalie Olifiers, Cecília Bueno, Beatriz Elvas, Universidade Veiga de Almeida / Wild Vertebrate Study Center NEVS

The project is being developed with the support of: swissnex San Francisco, swissnex Brazil, swissnex Boston, swissnex China, swissnex India, Swiss Science & Technology Office Seoul and the Swiss Embbassy in Nairobi.

Head: Dr. Katharina Weikl
Assistance: Manuel Kaufmann, M.A.
Project management: Anne-Christine Katharina Schindler (since September 2021), Leila Girschweiler (until August 2021)
Computational biology: Laurens Bohlen
Pavilion design: Dino Rossi
Scientific Advice: Prof. Dr. Daniel Wegmann, University of Fribourg
Mentor: Prof. Dr. Ulrike Müller-Böker

We'd like to thank Impact Acoustic for the production of the pavilion out of materials made with recycled PET.