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
Terrestrial Ecologist
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PhD Student on bio- and ecoacoustics at the University of Freiburg (GER)
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Open Acoustic Devices
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Educational development and AI researcher (ANNs/Bioacoustics) at the University of Wolverhampton
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British Trust for Ornithology (BTO)
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Newcastle University
Senior Lecturer in Biological Modelling. Interests in AI, spatial data, invertebrate ecology, species mapping
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Drone Operator and Tech Developer
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Conservationist currently working as UAS Remote Pilot & with ecoacoustics
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- @wyoerger
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I'm passionate about mindful birding practices, recording bird vocalizations, and learning more about animal behavior.
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Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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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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Acoustics | 2 years 7 months ago | |
Hi Wildlabbers, This week's Tech Tutor Jamie MacAulay is talking about how to use and analyze large acoustic data using... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Marine Conservation | 2 years 7 months 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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Acoustics | 2 years 7 months 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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Acoustics | 2 years 8 months ago | |
Thanks Rob! Hopefully it turns out to be a useful tool. Just to reiterate for folk, there are links to tutorials and a beta version in the blog post. |
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Acoustics | 2 years 9 months ago | |
This is a small device that sits in your backyard and monitors sounds and RF signals for wildlife. https://www.kickstarter.com/... |
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Acoustics | 2 years 11 months ago | |
Tessa Rhinehart has developed a great compilation of bioacoustic analysis platforms, software, etc. with basic functionality on each. It's openly-available on Github -https://... |
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Acoustics | 3 years ago | |
Dear Antoine, collect sound data (.wav) with the audiorecorder (audiomoth) of your choice. Point the script https://github.com/kahst/BirdNET-Lite to the location of your data... |
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Acoustics | 3 years ago | |
I didn't see this post until the digest came out, but if you still need some comments... I suggest asking this question on one of the sound recordists forums. The... |
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Acoustics | 3 years ago | |
furry "dead cat" covers and blimps work best for cutting down wind noise, and a very good spectral noise repair tool, though it's paid, iZotope RX8. There is a de-... |
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Acoustics | 3 years 1 month ago | |
Hi all, The UK Acoustics Network's Bioacoustics special interest group is hosting a monthly webinar series starting this month (... |
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Acoustics | 3 years 1 month ago | |
I'm assuming that by "sort by frequencies" you mean the frequency of the call itself, not the frequency of the audio recording (for example, a call at 1KHz vs a... |
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Acoustics | 3 years 1 month ago |