Modern Digital Imagery for Capturing and Representing Data from Nature

Studies in nature can be very data-rich, often requiring recording a great number of characteristics for later analysis without knowing which will be most important. This places a premium on efficient data capture and representation. Modern technological advances now permit visualization of biological data ranging from 3D models of stands of forest trees across many acres, to microscopic comparison of insect morphology, to timing of bloom patterns in wild plant communities. We will present tools that were recently developed at Powdermill Nature Reserve, the research field station of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, for capturing these data and representing them visually.