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
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Bioacoustics @CarbonRewild
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DrivenData
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I'm a PhD candidate in the Responsive Environments Group, working on electronic systems for human and wildlife monitoring.
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We're very pleased to announce the publication of new 'Good practice guidelines for long-term ecoacoustic monitoring in the UK', produced by Manchester Metropolitan University, Baker Consultants Ltd and a great team of...
23 February 2023
Rainforest Connection (RFCx), in collaboration with USFWS, seek four Puerto Rican field agents to assist in deploying and retrieving audio recorders for a long-term biodiversity monitoring project in and around six...
22 February 2023
Our group once again has openings for Research Assistants to work with us on our bioacoustics projects. A job ad and description of how to apply are below - please feel free to get in touch with any questions!
16 February 2023
The Cornell University Lab of Ornithology is seeking a Software Developer to join the K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics.
10 February 2023
You will develop and apply novel approaches and machine learning techniques for the detection, classification and identification of marine fauna from passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) validated with paired visual...
10 February 2023
IMOS Animal Tracking Facility is hiring a Technical Officer to assist with the preparation, deployment and maintenance of acoustic receivers to monitor movements of tagged animals & continue to develop operational...
7 February 2023
Are you excited by the potential for new technologies to help monitor the natural world? Do you enjoy communicating your passion for technology and nature with diverse audiences? We are seeking an enthusiastic...
2 February 2023
Consultancy opportunity at ZSL for an experienced monitoring specialist to support species monitoring in rewilding landscapes across Europe
31 January 2023
Are you stuck on an AI or ML challenge in your conservation work? Apply now for the chance to receive tailored expert advice from data scientists! Applications due 27th January 2023
18 January 2023
WILDLABS and Fauna & Flora International are seeking an early career Vietnamese conservationist for 12-month paid internship position to grow and support the Southeast Asia regional community in our global...
11 January 2023
To assist with creative research project in the DC/VA/MD region
6 January 2023
Careers
We are looking for someone who enjoys the craft of making to come and help run our London based lab.
5 January 2023
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43 Products
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 | 23 hours 43 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 | 2 days 6 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... |
+7
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Acoustics | 1 week ago | |
Hello!Long time, no update. @StephODonnell suggested I post here with my thesis and some reflections. ---------------------------------------------------------TL;DR... |
+19
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Acoustics | 2 weeks 3 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... |
+1
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Acoustics, Biologging | 2 weeks 4 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 4 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 4 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 6 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 6 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 |
Owl call detection software
17 October 2023 4:47am
30 January 2024 9:05am
We are currently working on Eurasian Pygmy, Tengmalm's and Tawny owl calls recognition. It's not a trivial task if you want to include different call types (male, female, pair, chicks), that's why we started with only 3 species. If you are interested in these 3 European species, drop me a line.
30 January 2024 10:53pm
Hi Teresa,
Thanks for your interest in Arbimon! The platform has a couple different analysis tools that range from unsupervised (like audio event detection & clustering, or AED-C) to semi-automated (pattern matching, random forest). We've got lots more info about each in our support docs here.
The AED-C is an unsupervised machine learning model, so you aren't providing any labels (though the validation page allows you to assign events or clusters as particular species after the fact). The pattern matching is a cross-correlation template matching function where you provide 1 template (example of the species-specific call you're looking for) and the algorithm looks for matches similar to that template. Random forest is a decision-tree-based machine learning model where you provide training clips (presence & absence clips for a species) which the model uses to learn how to classify that species' call. We have developed a number of CNNs (like BirdNet is) but they have more of a regional focus (e.g., one for Kenya, one for western Sumatra, etc. etc.). Right now we run these on the backend, but we are currently working on a public-facing CNN page that we hope to phase in this year.
Hope that helps, but feel free to reach out if you have more questions! You're welcome to also email me directly at [email protected] .
All the best,
Carly
Detection and removing of windy events in wild acoustic recordings
12 June 2023 1:28pm
12 July 2023 4:07pm
Hi everyone!
@baddiwad was one of our fantastic speakers in our June Variety Hour show, so we had the chance to hear about her work in a lot more detail. If you're interested in finding out more about Franscesca's project, catch up here:
19 July 2023 12:21am
Audacity has a noise filter which one 'trains' on a piece of recorded noise. Perhaps it is worth a shot. Freeware, open source, and with a community of developers and users.
30 January 2024 2:00pm
Hi Francesca!
Did you managed this problem somehow? Can you post the workflow or the solution that worked for you?
Power managment/Recharging System and Communication System
2 January 2024 4:06pm
26 January 2024 8:49am
"Seychelles and South Africa did not allow Starlink to operate"
This is not good, has implications for anti-poaching measures.
26 January 2024 9:03am
Power usage for microcontrollers with solar is much more manageable. For Raspberry Pi's and higher it gets expensive and big.
I'm quite impressed by the specs from the Goal Zero Yeti devices. This can have high capacity and be charged with Solar. Not small though. And the price is not in proportion to the Pi's.
So this 200x model for example, would be close to 16 days running the audio recorder. Let's say 10. without solar. Add solar? Depends on the size of the panels I guess. Power usage for mobile networking? Depends on how much you transmit.
Probably some well documented experiments would be really nice for people here. Sounds like something nice for the next set of grants :)
26 January 2024 2:11pm
Real nice video. I'll have another look in the weekend in detail.
New paper - An integrated passive acoustic monitoring and deep learning pipeline for black-and-white ruffed lemurs in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar
23 January 2024 4:08pm
19 February 2024 4:22pm
19 February 2024 5:46pm
Wireless communication for Jungle
23 January 2024 1:21pm
Questionnaire for Pain Points and Needs in Bioacoustics
23 January 2024 12:37pm
Hi! We're engineers eager to understand how technology can simplify acoustic work. If you use recorders, your input would be invaluable. Please consider taking our 5min survey. As a thank you, participants will be entered into a draw for a Audio Moth Recorder! Thank you so much!!
Monitoring setup in the forest based on the wifi with 2.4 GHz frequency.
30 December 2023 4:39pm
18 January 2024 8:17pm
Hi Dilip,
I do not have data about signal distortion in a forest area and with the signal you are intended to use.
However, in a savannah environment, when I put a tour on the highest point of the park, Lora signal (avg 900MHz) is less distorted than WiFi signal (2.4GHz). This is normal as a physics law: the frequency determines the wave length, and the less the length (obviously the less the frequency), the less obstructed the signal.
So, without interfering with your design, I would say that in a forest configuration, WiFi will need more access points deployed and may be more costly, and in your context, even when using LoRa, you will need more gateways than I have in a savannah.
To design the approximate number of gateways, you may need to use terrain Visibility analysis.
To design the cameras deployment, you will need to comply with the sampling methods defined in your research. However, if it is on for surveillance reasons, you may need to rely on terrain visibility analysis also.
Best regards.
22 January 2024 6:22pm
I've got quite a lot of experience with wireless in forested areas and over long(ish) ranges.
Using a wifi mesh is totally possible, and it will work. You will likely not get great range between units. You will likely need to have your mesh be fairly adaptable as conditions change.
Wireless and forests interact in somewhat unpredictable ways it turns out. Generally, wireless is attenuated by water in the line-of-sight between stations. From the Wifi perspective, a tree is just a lot of water up in the air. Denser forest = more water = worse communications. LoRa @ 900Mhz is less prone to this issue than Wifi @ 2.4Ghz and way less prone than Wifi @ 5Ghz. But LoRa is also fairly low data rate. Streaming video via LoRa is possible with a lot of work, but video streaming is not at all what LoRa was build to do, and it does it quite poorly at best.
The real issue I see here is to do with power levels. CCTV, audio streaming, etc are high data rate activities. You may need quite a lot of power to run these systems effectively both for the initial data collection and then for the communications.
If you are planning to run mains power to each of these units, you may be better off running an ethernet cable as well. Alternatively, you can run "power line" networking, which has remarkably good bandwidth and gets you back down to a single twisted pair for power and communications.
If you are planning to run off batteries and/or solar, you may need a somewhat large power system to support your application?
23 January 2024 1:19am
I would recommend going with Ubiquity 2.4Ghz devices which have performed relatively well in dense foliage of the California Redwood forests. It took a lot of tweaking to find paths through the dense tree cover as mentioned in the previous posts.
Audiomoth Bat Call Triggering Settings
22 January 2024 9:48am
22 January 2024 7:26pm
Nils Bouillard (@Nilsthebatman) would be good to talk with!
Adrià López-Baucells also has lots of useful info on his website.
23 January 2024 1:09am
Thank you @carlybatist
Program Officer - Bioacoustics, WILDLABS
22 January 2024 9:37pm
Introducing Citibats Cambodia Citizen Science Project
22 January 2024 7:29am
Hiring bioacoutics analysts
19 January 2024 4:18am
Recycled & DIY Remote Monitoring Buoy
15 January 2024 1:14am
15 January 2024 9:17pm
Hello fellow Brett. Cool project. You mentioned a waterseal testing process. Is there documentation on that?
18 January 2024 10:25am
I dont have anything written up but I can tell what parts we used and how we tested.
Its pretty straightforward, we used this M10 Enclosure Vent from Blue Robotics:
Along with this nipple adapter:
Then you can use any cheap hand held break pump to connect to your enclosure. You can pump a small vacuum in and make sure the pressure holds.
Here's a tutorial video from blue robotics:
Let me know if you have any questions or if I can help out.
Two year postdoc - Machine Learning & Bioacoustics
16 January 2024 7:49am
Cold-Weather Soundscapes
Listening to nature how sound can help us understand environmental change
9 January 2024 6:33pm
Looking for a Supervisor/Research Group - ML-driven Marine Biomonitoring
3 January 2024 2:05pm
5 January 2024 11:07am
Hi Filippo,
Nice to read your message. Have you thought of contacting anyone in the Bioscience department at UCL? In our group "the People and Nature Lab", a few PhD students (Ben and Jason) are working on ML methods for coral reef monitoring. Might be interesting to reach out to them. List of People at CBER.
Best, Aude
7 January 2024 6:06pm
Thanks Aude, very useful. Will reach out to them!
Gunshot detection technology deployed
7 January 2024 5:41pm
The sound maps that predict poachers' movements
7 January 2024 5:33pm
Bird Acoustic Surveys: Comparison with traditional transect methods
6 November 2023 9:32am
4 December 2023 11:36am
Hi Theresa. In comparison to traditional survey, I think that the time/cost benefits of acoustics are good. Certainly the set-up, maintenance, and data management requirements are minimal. And if there is significant travel time to site, and the recording period of acoustic survey is long, then I think the benefits are compounded (i.e. there are economies of scale to acoustics that you don't get with trad surveys).
Until the last year or two, the data analysis for species identification has been the time-consuming part. However, now that systems such as BirdNET are available, this issue is fairly well dealt with (but still needs a little bit of skill/experience).
A couple of scientific papers have assessed these costs/benefits - I hope these make an interesting read.
Carlos
2 January 2024 3:28pm
Thanks for taking the time to respond and share these articles!
3 January 2024 4:55pm
A very nice read, especially for me someone new to the field as myself. Nice to see all of the various approaches and to know I wasn't re-inventing the wheel but adding something new (Potential new platform for real time localization).
Looks like my timing wasn't ideal to be included in your summary. Maybe for version #2 :)
Thanks for sharing!
Practical sound localization on the Raspberry Pi
17 December 2023 5:31pm
18 December 2023 11:24pm
Worth a read? The synopsis sounded very star trek like.
21 December 2023 6:22am
Probably not unless you are old enough to be nostalgic. I don’t think that’s you Brett 😀
31 December 2023 10:55am
Cool! My Sound Localization project has hit hackaday. The use case of fireworks localization was pure sensationalism.
Hydromoth for coastal & offshore surveying
16 November 2023 7:36am
18 November 2023 1:47am
Hi Sol,
I think your concern is well placed. The pros typically tow an array of hydrophones, in its simpler configuration it looks like a long fat rubber hose containing maybe a dozen transducers feeding their electrical signals to a recording unit back on the ship. All this is done to reduce noise from the ship, from waves crashing, and flow noise. The multiple transducers can also be electronically tuned to be directional so that it can be "pointed" away from a noise source (like the ship).
In your position, I would just try the simplest thing that could work, then fix the problems as they arise. It could be you may need to be dead in the water while recording. To address surface noise (slapping waves, wind), you could mount the hydromoth low down on a spar buoy, which you tow into position.
Best of luck, it sounds like an interesting project (c:
19 December 2023 2:20pm
Hydromoths are great for the price but they do not have the most streamlined housing and audio quality won't be as good as something like a SoundTrap or really any recorder with a proper hydrophone and 16-bit +DAQ system.
If you can afford it, this is an excellent SoundTrap based towed autonomous system NOAA have been using. It might work towed behind an autonomous vehicle
Alternatively, if you can have something inside the vehicle, a simple tape recorder (e.g. Tascam DR40X) and hydrophone on cable will provide excellent sound quality. You could also use something like a Raspberry Pi with audio focussed ADC hat to record but that would require a bit more programming. Even consider a standard AudioMoth and plug a proper hydrophone into the audio jack - this would still have a 12-bit ADC but would provide better sound quality than a hydromoth (hydrophones are more omnidirectional and there's no air filled causing reflections and attenuation)
20 December 2023 6:57am
If you are considering an external microphone and a towed system, then you would also be in a position to consider a raspberry pi with an external microphone with sbts-aru. Another option:
New Raspberry Pi Sound Localizing ARU is now fully released and ready for use
7 October 2023 2:10pm
18 December 2023 3:42pm
Hi @chrisgnicholas ! AudioMoth has a pipeline for exactly that:
Cheers,
Lars
18 December 2023 7:06pm
Very cool, real-time audio pattern matching is exactly what I meant! I'd love to hear updates as it goes.
18 December 2023 7:29pm
When I designed the recorder. I chose it to use jackd2 instead of pulse audio or direct alsa access because unless I was mistaken it could support multiple consumers of the sound source and the other approaches not.
Originally its purpose was part of my security system so it records as well as being able to connect and listen live. That’s simply a case of also installing icecast2 and darkice onto the same system. Then I discovered bio-acoustics and pivoted and then discovered wildlabs 😀
In principle you could both those things as well as real time audio pattern matching no problem.
Which market-available microphones, accelerometers and GIS sensors for dogs / pets ?
7 September 2023 3:21pm
6 December 2023 2:03pm
good to know that GPS coordinates can be used to sync the time.
Does GPS resolution allow to a desired time resolution (e.g. seconds) ? Does choice of time resolution significantly depends on the physiology of the animal (e.g. time of re-action to stimuli, hence less than a second) or for most animal communication and animal behaviour is it enough above a second?
7 December 2023 7:03am
Hi Luigi!
It is not the coordinates but the information from the "pulse per second" from the GPS which is used for the time sync.
Have a look at
17 December 2023 3:02pm
I am not an acoustics person but train and deploy canines in the field. Are you looking for something that records sniff rate and patterns? For GPS I just use a Garmin collar system Altha 100. There is a Conservation Canine group that might be worth asking your question in.
Call for Interview Subjects: Conservation Bioacoustics Methods
14 December 2023 8:47pm
15 December 2023 12:19pm
Happy to help Samuel, will send a message
15 December 2023 3:46pm
I'd love to!
16 December 2023 9:43am
Thank you Stefan! Will follow up with your email shortly.
Low-cost hydrophone - Invitation to tender
15 December 2023 9:28pm
Sustainable land managment
15 December 2023 3:38pm
Geospatial data training and education for conservation
15 December 2023 3:20pm
Sharing our startup's webpage, featuring information about our services and products.
We are open for new partnership, collaboration R&D project in the field of GIS data analysis.
Conservation of Kikuyu Escarpment Forest
1 December 2023 12:38pm
Deploying Song Meters in Nigeria
24 November 2023 9:01am
28 November 2023 3:08pm
Hi Joan,
Sounds like a great project! I would recommend having a look at some of the nice review literature and guidelines that are out there, like -
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/368683386_Good_practice_guidelines_for_long-term_ecoacoustic_monitoring_in_the_UK
- https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/69/1/15/5193506 (Terrestrial Passive Acoustic Monitoring: Review and Perspectives)
- https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rse2.227 (Optimizing tropical forest bird surveys using passive acoustic monitoring and high temporal resolution sampling)
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/brv.12890 (Acoustic indices as proxies for biodiversity: a meta-analysis)
- https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/2041-210X.14194 (Using acoustic indices in ecology: Guidance on study design, analyses and interpretation)
And some specific to nocturnal birds:
- https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f720/4b65248c2d9335dc0b70d1ac3b748145398e.pdf (In the still of the night: revisiting Eastern Whip-poor-will surveys with passive acoustic monitoring)
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-023-02642-7 (Passive acoustic monitoring in difficult terrains: the case of the Principe Scops-Owl)
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01650521.2021.1933699 (Passive acoustic monitoring of the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum) over a complete annual cycle: seasonality and monitoring recommendations)
- https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.05.22.541336v1.abstract (Nighthawk: acoustic monitoring of nocturnal bird migration in the Americas)
And a study on bird acoustic monitoring in Nigeria:
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X20312115 (Passive acoustic monitoring gives new insight into year-round duetting behaviour of a tropical songbird)
In terms of processing and analyzing the data, I work for Rainforest Connection which maintains Arbimon - a free, no-code ecoacoustic analysis platform to help automate species detection and classification within soundscapes. If you're interested, you can get started with our support docs!
There are also a number of stats packages for analyzing soundscape data (seewave, monitoR, warbleR in R; and OpenSoundscape, scikit-maad in Python).
26 January 2024 3:33pm
I have a question about Arbimon. I'm working on a project looking for bird use of wet meadow (and associated matrices of habitat). We have two bird lists we've created for BirdNet, a "Master List" of all species (to get an understanding of community data as per input from Indigenous partners) and a "Focal Species List" as per the land managers in put. I will have volunteers doing manual verification + passive listening to attempt to catch false positives and species BirdNet has missed. I recently learned about Arbimon from the Soundscapes to Landscapes project and I'm curious about the audio detector function. Is it detecting spectrograms/sonograms from a provided classifier or does it function similar to BirdNet where we can tell it which species to look for?