Digitizing lizards: The topology of 'vision' in ecological fieldwork

In this paper, we describe and theorize the topology of 'vision' in field e cology, a domain considerably different from laboratory work in the physica l sciences, and discuss the temporal extension of data-collection practices . Data collection in this field is characterized by widely varying measurem ents, measurement dimensions and temporal extension of data collection. We present the ecologists' field laboratory as a perceptual machinery with a h eterogeneous and heteromaterial topology as it pertains to measures, precis ion, replication and other material practices. Because of the complexity of ecological fieldwork, considerable coordination and articulation work is n ecessary. Here, tables, tags and labels are central tools to achieve cohere nce of inscriptions. We topicalize the work that digitizes measurements con ducted on lizards and their habitats, and that therefore imposes signs that lend themselves to mathematical and statistical processes. It is only thro ugh these digitizing processes that lizards become visible to other (intere sted) ecologists, most of whom have not seen this particular animal species in person. We thereby contribute in new ways to discussions of the topogra phy and topology of scientific vision, to the relation of measurement to pr actice, and to the 'adequation' of nature and mathematics.