Photograph by Greg Marshall
Inspiring people to care about the planet since 1888
Photograph by Greg Marshall
Greg Marshall is a biologist, inventor, and filmmaker who has dedicated his career to exploring and documenting the behavioral ecology of animals in remote or otherwise inaccessible environments.
In 1986, on a research dive in Belize, Greg encountered a shark and was inspired by a remora clinging to its side. Imagining the unique perspective the suckerfish has while hitchhiking with a host, Greg conceived of an animal-borne imaging system to mimic the remora, enabling study of host species behavior. He began developing a research tool to record images, sound, and data from the animal perspective. Today this system is called “Crittercam” and Greg and his team have employed these instruments in studies of whales, sharks, seals, turtles, penguins, and other marine and terrestrial species. Crittercam enables direct observation of animal behavior over temporal and spatial scales that is unprecedented.
Funded by the National Geographic Society, philanthropic foundations, and federal grants, Greg has created a collaborative research program engaging scientists worldwide. To date, he and his Remote Imaging Department have worked with dozens of science teams in studies of more than 50 species.
The unique images Crittercam captures provide an intimate connection to the challenges animals face in the wild. Greg shares these images and the novel stories they convey through National Geographic films intended to inspire caring and conservation. He is a two-time Emmy Award winner for cinematography and sound (National Geographic Specials Great White Sharks and Sea Monsters: Search for the Giant Squid). He earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Georgetown University and a master’s degree in marine science from SUNY Stony Brook.
Presentation Topics
Innovation Sparks Success
Marshall got the idea for Crittercam while swimming behind a shark, noticing the tiny remora hitchhiking along. He figured if he could design a camera small and light enough to be barely perceptible to the animal, he could shift the point of view from researcher to subject, taking us light years ahead in our capacity to understand animal behavior. Since 1986, Crittercam has been successfully used on countless marine species and recently made the leap to land animals.
Crittercam: A Wild Point of View
Peek inside the Remote Imaging Lab and the resulting award-winning films at National Geographic to see how Marshall and his team of fellow scientists use innovation, creativity, engineering, and wild and woolly expeditions as they lead the field of animal-borne imaging.
Learn More About Greg:
Listen to Radio Interview With Greg Marshall
Boyd Matson Interviews Greg for NG Weekend Radio Show
Greg Marshall explains how Crittercam may be used to observe the actual behavior of animals without the presence of humans, and demonstrates a few techniques for deploying the devices
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