You don’t have to get your feet wet to see what’s happening
under the water’s surface thanks to a variety of new,
lightweight hi-definition cameras that bring everything from
crabs to crawfish to your laptop or TV. The affordable
technology shows species behavior like never before and it turns
out, it’s also serious science. Oregon Dept of Fish and Wildlife
Marine Biologists Bob Hannah and Matt Blume created the new
“video lander;” an easy to use and inexpensive tool that’s
giving scientists a new look into Oregon’s silent and secret
underwater world. “We started out by drawing on a piece of
paper,” noted Hannah with a chuckle. “We knew we had to keep all
the sensitive stuff inside the frame so it's all somewhat
protected – then we evaluated it in the field. They couldn’t
afford to buy an expensive remote operated submersible that can
cost more than a hundred thousand dollars, so they built the
65-pound video lander for less than ten thousand dollars. It's
become an affordable option that surveys the ocean fl