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Acoustic sensors enable efficient and non-invasive monitoring of a wide range of species, including many that are difficult to monitor in other ways. Although they were initially limited in application scope largely due to cost and hardware constraints, the development of low-cost, open-source models like the Audiomoth in recent years has increased access immensely and opened up new avenues of research. For example, some teams are using them to identify illicit human activities through the detection of associated sounds, like gunshots, vehicles, or chainsaws (e.g. OpenEars).
With this relatively novel dimension of wildlife monitoring rapidly advancing in both marine and terrestrial systems, it is crucial that we identify and share information about the utility and constraints of these sensors to inform efforts. A recent study identified advancements in hardware and machine learning applications, as well as early development of acoustic biodiversity indicators, as factors facilitating progress in the field. In terms of limitations, the authors highlight insufficient reference sound libraries, a lack of open-source audio processing tools, and a need for standardization of survey and analysis protocols. They also stress the importance of collaboration in moving forward, which is precisely what this group will aim to facilitate.
If you're new to acoustic monitoring and want to get up to speed on the basics, check out these beginner's resources and conversations from across the WILDLABS platform:
Three Resources for Beginners:
- Listening to Nature: The Emerging Field of Bioacoustics, Adam Welz
- Ecoacoustics and Biodiversity Monitoring, RSEC Journal
- Monitoring Ecosystems through Sound: The Present and Future of Passive Acoustics, Ella Browning and Rory Gibb
Three Forum Threads for Beginners:
- AudioMoth user guide | Tessa Rhinehart
- Audiomoth and Natterjack Monitoring (UK) | Stuart Newson
- Help with analysing bat recordings from Audiomoth | Carlos Abrahams
Three Tutorials for Beginners:
- "How do I perform automated recordings of bird assemblages?" | Carlos Abrahams, Tech Tutors
- "How do I scale up acoustic surveys with Audiomoths and automated processing?" | Tessa Rhinehart, Tech Tutors
- Acoustic Monitoring | David Watson, Ruby Lee, Andy Hill, and Dimitri Ponirakis, Virtual Meetups
Want to know more about acoustic monitoring and learn from experts in the WILDLABS community? Jump into the discussion in our Acoustic Monitoring group!
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Community Announcement
Apply now: Women in Conservation Technology Programme, Kenya
Stephanie O'Donnell
Are you an early career Kenyan conservationist looking to explore emerging conservation technologies while networking with a strong cohort of other female leaders? Apply now for our 6-month Women in Conservation Tech...
08 March 2022
Article
Introducing the WILDLABS On the Edge Fellows
WILDLABS Team
We're proud to introduce the first WILDLABS On the Edge Fellows for 2022, Loretta Schindlerova and Meredith Palmer! Working alongside expert Edge Impulse mentors, these two fellows will use embedded machine learning to...
10 February 2022
Article
GroupGets: AudioMoth Underwater Case
Open Acoustic Devices
Don't miss your chance to order the AudioMoth Underwater Case through GroupGets! This campaign is for a waterproof case designed specifically for AudioMoth version 1.2.0 (without the 3.5mm socket), and for use at depths...
11 January 2022
Article
New Paper: HydroMoth Testing
Remote Sensing in Ecology & Conservation
Open Acoustic Devices have tested their new HydroMoth, an affordable marine acoustic tool that could open up new avenues for marine conservationists without budget for expensive hydrophones. Read the newly published...
05 January 2022
Article
Deep Learning for Marine Ecology and Conservation
arXiv (Journal)
This article provides a review of deep learning (predominantly ML) used in marine ecology and considerations for its future directions in conservation. In plain language, the authors provide a methodology for training...
20 December 2021
Article
MBARI shares trove of marine acoustic data
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute has an extensive acoustic archive from underwater recordings and has made their valuable dataset available to researchers around the world via an open data registry on the...
05 November 2021
Funding
Opportunity: μMoth v1.1 Group buy
Group Gets
04 November 2021
Article
This article outlines how acoustic monitoring of bird species provides a means to study ecosystems with minimal disturbance and over wide areas. Birds are excellent indicator species, therefore, monitoring their trend...
21 October 2021
Article
In David Savage's Technical Difficulties case study, he discusses lessons learned from working with bioacoustic tools in the field and dealing with damages caused by environmental factors and wildlife. Download this...
12 October 2021
Article
GroupGets: μMoth Now Available
Open Acoustic Devices
The new μMoth is now available on GroupGets! These units are going quickly, so join the order quickly to be among the first to try the world's smallest full-spectrum acoustic development board! Join the GroupGets order...
27 May 2021
Article
New Papers: Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation
Remote Sensing in Ecology & Conservation
ZSL's Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation journal has released new research for early view before inclusion in an issue. See the full list of recent open access research papers on RSEC.
22 April 2021
Article
Survey Invite: Open-source acoustic monitoring technology
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne and Open Acoustic Devices are conducting an online survey to understand the future needs of open-source acoustic monitoring technology applied to the study of biodiversity. The results of...
09 April 2021
| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hi Julien,I use this mic for my raspberry pi setup and it works well picking up bird species singing in our garden while the mic and raspberry sit under our roof tiles.Greetings,... |
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Acoustic Monitoring | 16 hours 29 minutes ago | |
| Hi David,There a quite a few options to buy recorders through either Alibaba or Taobao. They are very cheap and the quality is actually pretty good depending on what kind of work... |
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Acoustic Monitoring | 2 days 2 hours ago | |
| Hi Everyone,what is your #HydroMoth setup for freshwater ecoacoustic monitoring? What are your settings for... |
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Acoustic Monitoring | 2 weeks 4 days ago | |
| Koen, Hi - the config for the audiomoth looks fine (you could put a high-pass filter on to cover frequencies 12-96 kHz only). The scheduler is not set (you have 0 files per day... |
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Acoustic Monitoring | 2 months 2 weeks ago | |
| Would anyone know about the recommended number of months to conduct acoustic monitoring of sharks. This is part of a small grant project. Nine months are being proposed to... |
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Acoustic Monitoring | 3 months ago | |
| We've been using 18650 lithium ion protected cells in our BAR recorders since 2013. The protected cells are great because the protection circuitry kicks in to disconnect the... |
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Acoustic Monitoring | 4 months 1 week ago | |
| Unfortunately, the ASA is currently planning to do an in-person meeting only. Things may change if the COVID situation doesn't improve in May, but it is hard to predict at... |
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Acoustic Monitoring | 4 months 1 week ago | |
| Hi all, For everyone's reference but also a new one for your list Tessa (just checked and it isn't there yet) - Fuentes, M., Salamon, J., Zinemanas, P.,... |
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Acoustic Monitoring | 6 months 2 weeks ago | |
| Hi Nicole-- We've already chatted about this function, and I think the answer is "quite a bit" for a lot of deployments. The more accurately the proposed function... |
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Acoustic Monitoring | 7 months 1 week ago | |
| Hi Wildlabbers, This week's Tech Tutor Jamie MacAulay is talking about how to use and analyze large acoustic... |
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Acoustic Monitoring, AI for Conservation, Marine Conservation | 7 months 1 week ago | |
| Tessa-- Thanks for chiming in. I agree with a lot of what you're saying, both about what RFCX is likely to actually be doing and about the need for more open labeled... |
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Acoustic Monitoring | 7 months 2 weeks ago | |
| We are filming with the Australian Acoustic Observatory soon with one of the Solar BARs we created (it's continuously recording for four years!) and were wondering if... |
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Acoustic Monitoring | 8 months ago |
Hydromoth settings
9th May 2022 at 05:03pm
Passive Acoustic Monitoring - Malagasy Training Workshop
9th May 2022 at 04:10pm
Sensor availability in the PRC
14th April 2022 at 01:16am
Apply now: Women in Conservation Technology Programme, Kenya
8th March 2022 at 12:00am
BirdCLEF 2022 Kaggle Challenge
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
2nd March 2022 at 12:00am
Acoustic monitoring - sharks
23rd February 2022 at 05:31pm
Help with AudioMoth configuration for bat recording
17th February 2022 at 01:31pm
11th March 2022 at 02:11pm
Koen,
Hi - the config for the audiomoth looks fine (you could put a high-pass filter on to cover frequencies 12-96 kHz only). The scheduler is not set (you have 0 files per day), but presume this is just the screenshot.
The issue you have, though, is to do with your loudspeaker - presuming it is just a standard one. Standard music/computer speakers are tuned to human range of hearing and don't emit sound above around 20 kHz. They won't emit ultrasound to 100 kHz. For that you need specialised equipment. If you want to generate some ultrasound yourself though, just rub your fingers together, or jangle some keys near the Audiomoth!
Hope that's of some use, Carlos
Introducing the WILDLABS On the Edge Fellows
WILDLABS Team
10th February 2022 at 12:00am
Bioacoustics Webinar: Primates You May Have Missed
Wildlife Acoustics
14th January 2022 at 12:00am
GroupGets: AudioMoth Underwater Case
Open Acoustic Devices
11th January 2022 at 12:00am
New Paper: HydroMoth Testing
Remote Sensing in Ecology & Conservation
5th January 2022 at 12:00am
Special session on "Open-Source and Free Tools for Bioacoustics" at the ASA Meting in Denver
3rd January 2022 at 02:27pm
14th January 2022 at 12:13pm
Do you know if there are plans for remote attendance?
14th January 2022 at 01:19pm
Unfortunately, the ASA is currently planning to do an in-person meeting only. Things may change if the COVID situation doesn't improve in May, but it is hard to predict at this point.
Deep Learning for Marine Ecology and Conservation
arXiv (Journal)
20th December 2021 at 12:00am
MBARI shares trove of marine acoustic data
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
5th November 2021 at 12:00am
Opportunity: μMoth v1.1 Group buy
Group Gets
4th November 2021 at 12:00am
26th May 2022 at 05:41am
Hi David,
There a quite a few options to buy recorders through either Alibaba or Taobao. They are very cheap and the quality is actually pretty good depending on what kind of work you want to do. They can be powered with USB powerpacks for extended periods.
I would say this would be a good place to start.