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!
Header image: Carly Batist
Society for Conservation GIS
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- @Thomas_Luypaert
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Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
Ecological monitoring enthusiast with a focus on ecological and conservation research
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Wildlife Drones
Wildlife Drones has developed the world’s most innovative radio animal-tracking system using drones so you can track your radio-tagged animals like never before.
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I'm a wildlife ecologist with interests in a range of technology.
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CIBIO-InBio
I am a PhD student working on wolf bioacoustics. I am combining Audiomoths and Deep Learning into more efficient wolf monitoring protocols. My main field of interest is population ecology.
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Technologist and Visual storyteller focusing on social, conservations issues.
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Results-Driven R&D Project Manager | Data scientist | I'm a versatile professional with 10 years of global experience in conservation and research.
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User experience designer focusing on marine mammal conservation through UX-driven exploration of bioacoustics.
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Last month, the 2018 Ecoacoustics Congress was held in Brisbane. Bringing together scientists, natural resource managers, industry and artists, participants explored the ways that sound can deepen our understanding of...
25 July 2018
This latest chapter in the Conservation Technology Series from WWF-UK looks at the opportunities, challenges and state-of-the-art of satellite remote sensing for conservation applications. This issue reviews available...
23 April 2018
Hundreds of people joined our #Tech4Wildlife photo challenge this year, showcasing all the incredible ways tech is being used to support wildlife conservation. We've seen proximity loggers on Tasmanian Devils in...
3 March 2018
Our panel of international experts has been hard at work reviewing the 47 proposals we recieved for innovative technological tools to address human wildlife conflict. The panelists have systematically been assessing the...
20 October 2017
The inherent complexity of not only deploying technologies in the field but also doing so in a scientifically rigorous manner can prove a substantial barrier for the effective use of conservation technologies, and clear...
11 October 2017
Its been a busy couple of months for the Open Acoustic Devices team. They've just returned back from Belize where they have been trialling the new AudioMoth design for gunshot detection. Find out what they've been up to...
27 June 2017
Are you ready for this year's #Tech4Wildlife Photo Challenge? In anticipation, we're counting down our ten favourite entries from last year. Do you think you can top these?
1 March 2017
The Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) is a training and capacity building programme that targets individuals from developing countries who are early in their conservation career and demonstrate leadership...
21 November 2016
Do you work on conserving Neotropical migratory birds? Do you need funding? Why not apply for a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act's grant program? The...
8 November 2016
Caves don't tend to be well-liked ecosystems, being extremely dark, often quite cramped, and slippery. And the creepy-crawlies that live within them can be the stuff of nightmares. Nevertheless, one's attitude towards...
25 July 2016
More than half of all primate species are endangered, including our closest living relative, the chimpanzee. Could Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) be applied to primates as well as it has been for other taxa? In this...
29 June 2016
Since 2013, volunteer citizen scientists taking part in the Norfolk Bat Survey have generated over 1.2 million bat recordings, making this one of the most extensive high-quality datasets for bats collected by citizen...
5 February 2016
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Recently updated products
Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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Hi all,I'm curious to hear experiences/thoughts on mounting microphones in potted instrument housings that will receive a fair amount of... |
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Acoustics | 16 hours 56 minutes ago | |
Hi Tabitha, What recording settings were you using when you saw these differences? I've measured the consumption across some different firmware versions and I can't see any... |
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Acoustics | 1 day 23 hours ago | |
Wow.. Really exciting to see this effort. Congratulations on the award!I have been interested in this subject for a long time, as we have elephant-human conflicts in plenty in... |
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Acoustics | 6 days 22 hours ago | |
Hello!Long time, no update. @StephODonnell suggested I post here with my thesis and some reflections. ---------------------------------------------------------TL;DR... |
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Acoustics | 2 weeks 2 days ago | |
I think I've landed on the Wildlife Acoustics Song Meter Mini Bat 2 for now, but I'm definitely interested to see how this cheaper tech progresses |
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Acoustics | 2 weeks 3 days ago | |
Hi Jesse,For a material to be acoustically transparent (in air), the speed of sound in the material times its density must match that of air. Realistically, any solid... |
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Acoustics, Biologging | 2 weeks 3 days ago | |
Hi Steph, We appreciate the support! Thanks for the tag and your help managing the community!Patrick |
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Sensors, Acoustics, Conservation Dogs, Emerging Tech, Open Source Solutions | 2 weeks 3 days ago | |
Hi Sol,If the maximum depth is 30m, it would be worth experimenting with HydroMoth in this application especially if the deployment time is short. As Matt says, the air-filed case... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Data management and processing tools, Emerging Tech, Sustainable Fishing Challenges | 2 weeks 3 days ago | |
Oh wow, thank you so much!!!I will keep that four advices in mind! |
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Acoustics | 2 weeks 4 days ago | |
You won't get any audio if you don't allow enough time for the hydromoth/audiomoth to write. So when you do a continuous recording you need to experiment a little. I'm sure there... |
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Acoustics | 2 weeks 5 days ago | |
Congratulations! My first hydromoth was just arrived yesterday and so excited! Looking forward for the update from your project!!! |
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Acoustics, Biologging, Climate Change, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Data management and processing tools, Emerging Tech, Open Source Solutions, Protected Area Management Tools, Sensors, Software and Mobile Apps | 2 weeks 5 days ago | |
If you have the resources, I would suggest testing the sensitivity and directionality of the system at relevant frequencies both with and without an external mic, and let the... |
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Acoustics | 2 weeks 6 days ago |
Hiring Acoustic Ecology Postdoctoral Fellow
16 June 2022 4:02pm
Multiple Roles with Rainforest Connection
16 June 2022 9:15am
Passive acoustic training workshop video/materials
13 June 2022 4:03pm
New papers on marine acoustic monitoring
11 June 2022 2:36pm
Ocean Tracking Network - Telemetry Data Study Hall
8 June 2022 6:48pm
Audio Data Across Domains (AudioXD) Workshop
7 June 2022 3:48pm
New microprocessor for low power AI camera & audio applications from Microchip
3 June 2022 8:36pm
New article (Reuters): Orca stuck in river to be lured to sea using drone with loudspeakers
1 June 2022 4:02pm
Enhancing automated analysis of marine soundscapes using eco-acoustic indices and machine learning
31 May 2022 6:33pm
UKAN+ Monitoring UK Biodiversity Symposium 15-16th June
31 May 2022 2:58pm
New papers on passive acoustic monitoring
29 May 2022 7:24pm
4 June 2022 3:09pm
New paper: Animal soundscapes reveal key markers of Amazon forest degradation from fire and logging
29 May 2022 12:43pm
Microphone for bird monitoring on Raspberry Pi
21 August 2019 5:45pm
26 August 2019 1:51pm
I can understand the reluctance to go down the I2c route on linux, but I bought some Adafruit MEMs mics (https://www.adafruit.com/product/3421) and they work fine.
If you want to dip a toe in the water, are not too cost concious, but want something you just plug in and it (largely) pretty much works, then I'd recommend looking at the seeed respeaker. Its an array, and is probably overkill for what you want. It does come with quite a bit of hand holding though, I got a "4 mic linear". Connect some jumper wires, screw on a board, install some software (!). OK for a POC (proof of concept) and as a sanity check.
Going back to the Adafruits mems breakouts, I have them wired back to the pi by re-using old CAT5 network cable, so the pi can be in one place and the mics somewhat remote - eg round the other side of a tree? I configured a lot of software to get this working as I wanted, but it essentially removes "white noise", does file compression etc.
9 May 2022 4:04pm
apologies - ignore this reply (or if someone can delete it please do!) I have forum blindness and thought this thread was also about using Birdnet but I realise it isn't.... I suspect this is a setting on Birdnet-Pi so will post on their forums...
Hi Paul, have been trying to get a i2c mic working with Birdnet but am having challenges in getting it working. I can install the adafruit mems you mention above and getting it working directly but when I try to use it through Birdnet I am failing. Have done some rebooting, testing, search forums but am drawing a blank - did yours work "out the box"?
27 May 2022 3:42pm
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,
Robin
Passive Acoustic Monitoring - Malagasy Training Workshop
9 May 2022 4:10pm
Help with AudioMoth configuration for bat recording
17 February 2022 1:31pm
11 March 2022 2:11pm
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
Apply now: Women in Conservation Technology Programme, Kenya
8 March 2022 12:00am
BirdCLEF 2022 Kaggle Challenge
2 March 2022 12:00am
Acoustic monitoring - sharks
23 February 2022 5:31pm
Introducing the WILDLABS On the Edge Fellows
10 February 2022 12:00am
Using rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for AudioMoths and/or Swift's
13 October 2021 5:32pm
25 October 2021 7:05pm
Actually it's interesting. I think it might be a good opportunity to think about how we can transition to rechargeable batteries in the field. Shipping them is possible if you follow postal rules and pay for hazardous material charges. But it needs to be planned in advance. Anyways, might be a good conversation to have in the community. But there also needs to be other foundational work like understanding how they're used, getting chargers in the field, and how to interface rechargeables to standard equipment.
25 October 2021 8:02pm
I've taken rechargeable batteries on planes no problem - NiMH can go in checked luggage. I use NiMH D batteries for the Swift's, because they take more and so it still lasts long. The Audiomoth is harder, because it's just the 3 AAs and even with lithium-ion you only get ~1 month. The drop off to NiMH is like a week, from my (minimal) trial-and-erroring.
20 January 2022 3:58am
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 battery and save it from being dicharged too much. It also protects against short circuit.
So if you did want to give 18650 batteries a try then I'd recommend a Keystone 1043P (P for polarised so you can only fit the battery one way) battery holder and KeepPower protected 18650. There are a few other brands too that fit that battery holder ok but that's a common consistent brand.
Eizfan and XTAR make good chargers.
Most of our customers use them in the same continent and drive or road freight their recorders to site and so don' thave any problems shipping them.
We've heard of some problems on planes taking them as hand luggage and it's just luck of the draw if the particular person you encounter in the baggage area knows what their lithium ion battery policy is. I've usually heard of I think attempts to get this claried at the airline level has lead to a run around too.
Some people get to check them in if the batteries are fitted into the battery holders because they consider it built in like a phone or laptop. The spare batteries often go on as hand luggage. We have plastic battery cases to hold the cells for travel.
If you're sending it overseas we find that DHL, UPS and Fdex seem to take about a month to get the paperwork sorted out to give you permission on your account to ship lithium ion batteries with your recorders. Once you have permission though you can do it whenever you need to in the future for subsequenct studies. Look up the IATA regulations for packing lithium ion batteries with your equipment. You'll need to know this so you can tell DHL etc what permission you need and what you typically do. We use UN3481 packing instruction 966 section II becasue our cells are <20Wh and we can ship 5kg of batteries in a carton along with our recorders.
https://www.iata.org/en/publications/newsletters/iata-knowledge-hub/what-to-know-about-how-to-ship-lithium-batteries/
Mark Calder
Frontier Labs www.frontierlabs.com.au
Special session on "Open-Source and Free Tools for Bioacoustics" at the ASA Meting in Denver
3 January 2022 2:27pm
14 January 2022 12:13pm
Do you know if there are plans for remote attendance?
14 January 2022 1:19pm
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.
Bioacoustics Webinar: Primates You May Have Missed
14 January 2022 12:00am
GroupGets: AudioMoth Underwater Case
11 January 2022 12:00am
New Paper: HydroMoth Testing
5 January 2022 12:00am
Deep Learning for Marine Ecology and Conservation
20 December 2021 12:00am
batch/automated cloud processing
27 January 2021 6:13am
18 October 2021 8:08am
Hi Antoine, did you know about our bioacoustic recorders? https://frontierlabs.com.au/ . They have the best sound recording quality and built in GPS. You can have a listen to Australia here https://data.acousticobservatory.org/projects/1 . The Australian Acoustic Observatory uses 400 of our Solar BARs across Australia and the recordings are published for anyone to use.
Unfortunately there isn't software to do an easy bird census. Do you need to know every bird you can hear or just the presence of one species?
Best regards, Mark
9 November 2021 4:24pm
Wanted to chime with another option. My lab develops OpenSoundscape, a Python software package for training machine learning models for bioacoustic detection, especially convolutional neural networks. Check it out at http://opensoundscape.org/
I see that the list of bioacoustic softwares was mentioned earlier in the thread (thanks Carly!) - I'm always on the lookout for new softwares to add to that, so drop me a line if you see a package that is currently maintained and relevant to bioacoustics but is not included on the list.
(Here's the link: https://github.com/rhine3/audiomoth-guide/blob/master/resources/analysis-software.md)
9 November 2021 9:48pm
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., Rocamora, M., Paja, G., Román, I. R., ... & Bello, J. P. (2021). Soundata: A Python library for reproducible use of audio datasets. arXiv preprint arXiv:2109.12690. https://arxiv.org/abs/2109.12690.
MBARI shares trove of marine acoustic data
5 November 2021 12:00am
Opportunity: μMoth v1.1 Group buy
4 November 2021 12:00am
Deploying 'Ears' in Ecosystems: Using Bioacoustics to Monitor Bird Species
21 October 2021 12:00am
1 June 2022 3:00pm