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Data Management & Mobilisation / Feed

Conservation tech work doesn't stop after data is collected in the field. Equally as important to success is navigating data management and processing tools. For the many community members who deal with enormous datasets, this group will be an invaluable resource to trade advice, discuss workflows and tools, and share what works for you.
discussion

Getting behavioral data out of datasets that weren't built for it

Maggie Bliss

16 June 2026 3:49pm

Burning question:There's so much monitoring data already- camera trap archives, acoustic recordings, GPS tracks - but almost all of it was collected to answer presence/absence or...

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Maggie Bliss

28 June 2026 10:12pm

This thread is exactly the conversation I was hoping to start - thank you all.

Janelle, your point about context is the crux of it. A crocodile with its mouth open could be thermoregulating, resting, or hunting, and the still frame alone won't tell you which - it's the surrounding signals (eyes, posture, what else is in the scene) that disambiguate. That's the whole problem in miniature: behavior isn't legible without context, and most datasets strip the context out. I love your reframe of observer bias as signal, too - the order in which individuals approach and explore a new camera is behavioral data, not just noise to wait out. And it points at exactly where I think this goes: no single stream is enough. Thermal, acoustic, eDNA, movement - layered together, you start to reconstruct a scene rather than just catalog detections.

Kim, the continuous thermal deployment you're describing is the kind of capture I'd love to understand better - sustained, passive, weatherproof is where the rare and off-frame behaviors actually live. Would be curious how much behavioral signal you're seeing in that data vs. presence/absence.

Henri, your bee work is striking - we're clearly circling the same core idea from different systems. I'd be glad to compare notes; I'll follow up directly.

More soon - this is the good stuff.

Maggie

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discussion

Call for Collaboration: Share your voice at ICTC next week! 

Mandy Eyrich

11 February 2026 3:29am

Hello, fellow WILDLAB-ers! I'm Mandy, your current Human-Wildlife Coexistence Group Leader!  :)I am heading to the ICTC conference in Peru next week and while reviewing the...

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Mandy Eyrich

19 February 2026 3:35am

Hi Anna!

Is there anything that sparks your curiosity, which I can address for you? Take a look at the upcoming day 2 and day 3 sessions, and if you see anything that intrigues you, please let me know! I'll happily join the session that aligns, and share your thoughts! ☺️

Kind regards,

Mandy

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discussion

New "Human Dimensions" group on Wildlabs?

Matt Ziegler

29 May 2026 7:25pm

Hello everybody!I would like to propose the creation of a Human Dimensions group on WILDLABS.This idea came out of the social sciences lunch at ICTC 2026 in Lima...

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Ruben D. Ramírez Ramírez

24 June 2026 7:37pm

Hi Matt,

I would definitely be interested in joining this group.

One thing I often find is that we spend a lot of time discussing technologies and ecological outcomes, but much less time discussing the social and institutional processes that ultimately shape whether those technologies succeed or fail.

I think a Human Dimensions group could be a great space to connect people working on governance, policy, stakeholder engagement, values, and other topics that are often spread across different communities.

Looking forward to seeing how this develops!

Jennifer Zhuge

25 June 2026 12:59am

yes, this group is definitely needed!

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discussion

Safe and Sound project report: Is Camtrap DP a suitable standard for (bio)acoustic data?

Julia Wiel

18 March 2026 4:17pm

Dear WILDLABS community,We are pleased to share with you the publication of the Safe and Sound project report: Is Camtrap DP a suitable...

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Kristoffer Noriel Ordoñez

12 April 2026 6:19pm

Your report on extending Camtrap DP to bioacoustics resonated with something we are just beginning to explore in Mindoro Island, Philippines.

We have ongoing camera trap deployments in interior forest habitats and are beginning to examine the acoustic layer embedded in those recordings, particularly for nocturnal species such as the Mindoro Boobook. The discussion around terminology and how datasets are structured feels especially relevant, though I am still trying to understand how frameworks like Camtrap DP would apply in practice to this kind of data.

It is encouraging to see this direction being shaped at the community level. I will be following this closely as we continue to learn and figure out how our own datasets might eventually align.

Catherine Jardine

15 June 2026 11:54pm

Thanks for this!  I've shared this post with the WildTrax (https://wildtrax.ca/) team and CanAvian (https://canavian.ca/) to investigate. We're exploring data standards as part of a recent initiative so this will be very helpful! @jeffcullis 

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discussion

Project Report: Upgrading Software for The Motus Wildlife Tracking System and NatureCounts 

Catherine Jardine

15 June 2026 11:52pm

We’re excited to report the completion of our Boring Fund Project: BEHIND THE SCENES: UPGRADING SOFTWARE PACKAGES IN SUPPORT OF THE MOTUS WILDLIFE TRACKING SYSTEM AND...

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Denis Lepage

18 June 2026 10:41pm

This initiative was such a great motivation to finally tackle some of our tech debt, so thanks indeed Arm and Wildlabs. The boring stuff is really what underpins the exciting one, and it's great to have partners and funders who understand and appreciate this.
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careers

Biodiversity Monitoring Scientist

Tom August

8 June 2026 5:22pm

This role would suit someone with a background in ecology or environmental science who enjoys combining fieldwork, data analysis, and applied research to support real-world environmental outcomes.

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discussion

Nature Tech Unconference - Anyone attending?

Elsa

8 March 2025 12:11pm

Hi all, anyone planning to attend the Nature Tech Unconference on 28th March at the London School of Economics Campus in London, UK? (the event is free to attend but...

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Elsa

13 May 2026 12:05pm

Myself and the Fauna & Flora Conservation Technology team will be there (@Chelsea_Smith  and @ugyenpenjor ) and also the WILDLABS team @HRees ! See you!

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careers

Ecological Data Scientist

Lacey Hughey

21 April 2026 9:22pm

The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. This position is located in the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology...

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discussion

Developing a Field-companion app

Ivan Herrera Olivares

23 March 2026 10:02pm

Hi everyone,The past couple of weeks I've been working on a field-app built especially for ecologists. The main trigger was that as an engineer working in ecology, I've often...

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Chris Nicholas

25 March 2026 8:22pm

how is this fundamentally different than Kobo toolbox, SMART collect, Cybertracker, Earth Ranger mobile?



I also understand the new SERCA effort will redo/unify EarthRanger and SMART collect

 

 

https://www.kobotoolbox.org/
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discussion

SCB Drones and Data Working Group (Society for Conservation Biology)

David Guerin

3 January 2026 5:30am

I’m pleased to share that the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) has officially approved the new Drones and Data Working Group (D&D WG) for provisional status: https://...

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Akiba

3 January 2026 9:40pm

Congratulations David. Looking forward to attending the inaugural meeting :)

Akiba

David Guerin

23 March 2026 12:37pm

Quick update – our next SCB Drones & Data Working Group coordination meeting is 24 March 2026.

Two identical sessions to accommodate time zones:
EARLY: 07:00 UK / 08:00 CET / 15:00 HKT / 16:00 Tokyo / 17:00 Brisbane / 18:00 Sydney / 20:00 New Zealand  
LATE: 17:00 UK / 18:00 CET / 12:00 US Eastern / 09:00 US Pacific  

If you’re interested in joining the Working Group or haven’t yet completed the Expression of Interest, you can still do so here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScKxh3-e2duORzdqvuD2UCqC-Cpp7booTdWu7zFSHYPV0HOfw/viewform

Please email any questions to me at [email protected]

Agenda:
• Confirming Working Group scope and positioning within SCB 
• Establishing governance and leadership roles 
• Defining priority outputs for the next phase 
• Progressing toward full SCB Working Group status 

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