Integrative Ecology Lab, Center for Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Department of Ecological Science-Animal Ecology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
BMC Ecol. 2018 Sep 10;18(1):32. doi: 10.1186/s12898-018-0190-z.
Ecological research often involves sampling and manipulating non-model organisms that reside in heterogeneous environments. As such, ecologists often adapt techniques and ideas from industry and other scientific fields to design and build equipment, tools, and experimental contraptions custom-made for the ecological systems under study. Three-dimensional (3D) printing provides a way to rapidly produce identical and novel objects that could be used in ecological studies, yet ecologists have been slow to adopt this new technology. Here, we provide ecologists with an introduction to 3D printing.
First, we give an overview of the ecological research areas in which 3D printing is predicted to be the most impactful and review current studies that have already used 3D printed objects. We then outline a methodological workflow for integrating 3D printing into an ecological research program and give a detailed example of a successful implementation of our 3D printing workflow for 3D printed models of the brown anole, Anolis sagrei, for a field predation study. After testing two print media in the field, we show that the models printed from the less expensive and more sustainable material (blend of 70% plastic and 30% recycled wood fiber) were just as durable and had equal predator attack rates as the more expensive material (100% virgin plastic).
Overall, 3D printing can provide time and cost savings to ecologists, and with recent advances in less toxic, biodegradable, and recyclable print materials, ecologists can choose to minimize social and environmental impacts associated with 3D printing. The main hurdles for implementing 3D printing-availability of resources like printers, scanners, and software, as well as reaching proficiency in using 3D image software-may be easier to overcome at institutions with digital imaging centers run by knowledgeable staff. As with any new technology, the benefits of 3D printing are specific to a particular project, and ecologists must consider the investments of developing usable 3D materials for research versus other methods of generating those materials.
生态研究通常涉及对生活在异质环境中的非模式生物进行采样和操作。因此，生态学家经常从工业和其他科学领域借鉴技术和理念，设计和制造专门为所研究的生态系统定制的设备、工具和实验装置。三维（3D）打印为快速生产可用于生态研究的相同和新颖的物体提供了一种方法，但生态学家采用这项新技术的速度较慢。在这里，我们为生态学家提供了 3D 打印的简介。
首先，我们概述了 3D 打印最有可能产生重大影响的生态研究领域，并回顾了已经使用 3D 打印物体的当前研究。然后，我们概述了将 3D 打印集成到生态研究计划中的方法工作流程，并详细介绍了我们为 3D 打印棕色安乐蜥（Anolis sagrei）的 3D 打印模型的成功实施的示例，用于野外捕食研究。在现场测试了两种打印介质后，我们表明，由更便宜且更可持续的材料（70%塑料和 30%回收木纤维的混合物）打印的模型与更昂贵的材料（100%原生塑料）一样耐用，并且具有相同的捕食者攻击率。
总体而言，3D 打印可以为生态学家节省时间和成本，并且随着最近毒性更低、可生物降解和可回收的打印材料的进步，生态学家可以选择将与 3D 打印相关的社会和环境影响降至最低。实施 3D 打印的主要障碍 - 打印机、扫描仪和软件等资源的可用性，以及熟练使用 3D 图像软件的能力 - 在由知识渊博的员工运营的数字成像中心的机构中可能更容易克服。与任何新技术一样，3D 打印的好处特定于特定项目，生态学家必须考虑为研究开发可用的 3D 材料与其他生成这些材料的方法相比的投资。
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