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
TerrOïko
I am an ecological data engineer at Terroïko, where I work on OCAPI, a platform for semi-automatic camtrap data annotation, biodiversity data interoperability and biodiversity indicators.
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- @shana
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I am a Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Human Centered Design and Engineering at the University of Washington. I am a researcher with the eDNA Collaborative and Co-Director of the Pacific Marine Energy Center.
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- @douggillespie
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University of St Andrews
PAMGuard software developer
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- @hjayanto
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Your friendly Indo-Crocky-Croc
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- @catwasp
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Arribada Initiative
Director at Arribada, a UK-based conservation technology research & development organisation
- 2 Resources
- 95 Discussions
- 11 Groups
Fauna & Flora
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Ph.D Speech-Hearing Sciences; 3D Designer/Printer interested in building/testing/deploying standardized environmental recording platforms for scientists and engineers in developing countries.
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- @BrunaTeixeira
- | She
Master and PhD student in the Postgraduate Program in Animal Biology. She works mainly in Landscape Ecology with an emphasis on bioacoustics and interactions between primates.
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- @jcturn3
- | He/Him
Colorado State University
I am a graduate student at Colorado State University working to develop novel acoustic technology for remotely monitoring wildlife.
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- @rowan
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Octophin Digital
Jack of all Trades. I've been a zoo keeper, a conservation geneticist and a web developer who specialises in conservation projects and orgs.
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Seeking interested individuals with qualifications and educational background and experience in marine species biology/ecology (marine mammals, sea turtles, fish, seabirds, etc.); with skills in applied scientific study...
31 August 2022
Marine Acoustics, Inc. (MAI) is seeking an Acoustic Modeler and Analyst to assist us in the analysis of underwater acoustic system performance and the effect underwater acoustic transmissions have on the marine...
30 August 2022
Boost cons tech capacity at an international NGO! Fauna & Flora International is offering a paid three-month internship to consolidate and share best practices for the application of emerging hardware and software...
26 August 2022
Article
An update on Ceres Tags products that are being used in conservation
22 August 2022
Funding
Wildlife Acoustics' grant program to receive bioacoustic tools and software is now accepting applications. Apply for up to $4,000 worth of products and software licenses.
9 August 2022
Gavin Jones is seeking a postdoctoral researcher to join his movemebt ecology and bioacoustics work focusing on spotted owls.
4 August 2022
The Earth Species Project (ESP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to decoding animal communication and translating non-human language.
15 July 2022
PAM & transfer learning, defining occupancy in surveys, effects of anthropogenic noise on fish, soundscapes to track ecosystem recovery, detecting sharks with echosounders, using PAMGuard to detect marine mammals
21 June 2022
The Sound and Light Ecology Team, a collaboration between Colorado State University and National Park Service scientists, is hiring an acoustic ecology postdoctoral fellow in Fort Collins, CO.
16 June 2022
Rainforest Connection has multiple engineering positions that will suppor their work developing acoustic monitoring devices.
16 June 2022
Video recording of workshop held in Madagascar + PDFs of slide, links to other resources & terrestrial PAM bibliography
13 June 2022
Acoustic pingers to reduce net entanglement of river dolphins, acoustic observatories for sperm whales, detectability of dolphin whistles, monitoring sperm whales through echolocation rates
11 June 2022
June 2024
July 2024
event
September 2024
event
February 2024
December 2023
event
43 Products
Recently updated products
Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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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... |
+11
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Acoustics | 6 minutes 32 seconds 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 | 3 days 8 hours 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 | 1 week 6 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 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 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 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 ago | |
Oh wow, thank you so much!!!I will keep that four advices in mind! |
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Acoustics | 2 weeks 1 day 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 2 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 2 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 3 days ago | |
Thank you Robyn. Sure I will send more information to your email |
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Citizen Science, Acoustics, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Human-Wildlife Conflict | 3 weeks 2 days ago |
PhD Opportunity - Marine Bioacoustics and Behaviour Lab
16 November 2023 2:13pm
PhD Opportunity - Real-time acoustic monitoring of insect pollinators and their behaviours
16 November 2023 12:48pm
Software Engineer at Rainforest Connection & Arbimon
14 November 2023 12:30am
Seeking AudioMoth in SF Bay Area
6 November 2023 8:48pm
8 November 2023 10:28pm
You're awesome Tim, thank you! However, we ordered another from GroupGets yesterday and it's arriving tomorrow, so we (should) be good to go : ) Now if I can only get LabMaker to reimburse me for the one that didn't arrive, that would fix everything. Unfortunately they've been incredibly slow to reply ....sigh
Replacement (cheaper) foam mic covers
23 October 2023 3:35pm
3 November 2023 3:04pm
Hi! I got these ones from Amazon. Also, I was tired of creatures eating them so I created a shield using window mesh screen
6 November 2023 9:31am
Hi - thanks for your reply. I've been thinking along the same lines though unsure where I'd purchase 'acoustic foam' from. I've made 'dead cats' before for some of my active monitoring mics and that material is not too difficult to source but the only acoustic foam I've come across is the type for deadening sound in studio etc. - the exact opposite of what I want!! The search continues ....!
6 November 2023 9:33am
Brilliant - thank you.! Great idea about the screen too - I'm replacing some of them monthly so may try that myself. Have you found any issues with the mesh generating any tones with wind?
Digital Signals Processing - free online textbook
31 October 2023 1:50pm
I just discovered this freely available book on digital signal processing and love the fact that it is“…intended for students … who may not have much mathematical or engineering training.” Seems like a great resource for bioacoustics, biologing etc!
Searching for researchers working in Africa
25 September 2023 1:57am
20 October 2023 7:45pm
Hi Andrew,
Rainforest Connection (RFCx) has projects in a couple different countries in that region, and also working with agroforestry systems to monitor biodiversity using acoustic monitoring! You can read more about that project (Kenya) here: https://rfcx.org/blog/monitoring-biodiversity-in-kenyan-agroforestry-parcels. We've also got a project working with small-scale cacao farmers in Colombia to monitor biodiversity in their cacao plots. For some background, RFCx is a non-profit focused using sound and AI to monitor biodiversity and detect threats, and we also manage the Arbimon acoustic analysis platform.
I'd be happy to talk through ideas further if you'd like, feel free to reach out! [email protected]
All the best,
Carly
21 October 2023 12:13am
HI Andrew,
I am replying to the "elsewhere". I am based in Aus but travel and work in the Arts/ Science field of field recording, often with scientists. I have been acoustic monitoring a peri-urban site in Victoria with a local council. The subject is a wetland, transferring from farmland to a wetland public space that is now surrounded and impacted by urban infrastructure. I was lucky enough to get sounds before, during and after CoVid lockdowns so we can hear a stark comparison of anthropogenic sound.
I'd love to chat further about this and other work I do if this fits your collaboration criteria.
Best,
Vicki
31 October 2023 1:56am
Hi Vicki,
I've sent you a private message.
Ecoacoustic Bird Survey White Paper
30 October 2023 3:48pm
PAM workflow and file question
27 October 2023 3:50pm
29 October 2023 10:59am
Like this:
ffmpeg -i input.wav -f segment -segment_time 60 -c copy output%03d.wav
30 October 2023 1:17pm
Thank you!
30 October 2023 1:17pm
Thank you!
In case you missed it... (no.2)
27 October 2023 1:20pm
Acoustic Monitoring Specialist
26 October 2023 7:32pm
5 Trailblazing Wildlife Monitoring Tech Solutions across East Africa. What Monitoring Technologies are you using?
25 October 2023 12:40pm
Soundscapes and deep learning enable tracking biodiversity recovery in tropical forests
20 October 2023 3:38pm
New paper in Nature Communications from Jörg Müller et al. using BAR-LT recorders and CNNs to track biodiversity recovery. Study shows that #soundscapes 🎙🎶 and deep learning are powerful tools for tracking biodiversity recovery in tropical forests
PhD Opportunity: YELLOWHAMMER - Individual acoustic monitoring to study song culture evolutionwithin and between dialect areas
20 October 2023 12:54pm
PhD Opportunity: Distributed sound source localisation and separation for wireless microphone networks consisting of two-microphone nodes
20 October 2023 12:47pm
PhD Opportunity: 'FLOATERS' position at Bioacoustic AI Doctoral Network
20 October 2023 12:36pm
Is there a good resource for learning bird calls?
20 October 2023 12:13pm
20 October 2023 12:19pm
Some of the recommendations Kylie has been getting:
eBird is also a great resource. Can help narrow downs species based on sightings in your area and has links to profiles of all species.
— David Parker (@pedionomus) October 20, 2023
Thanks! The trouble I’m having is narrowing it down based on calls - I know the tiny birds of the area, but can’t get eyes on them. So after somewhere I can go to hear a list of “what noises does a yellow rumped thornbill make” without listening to 15 min YouTube 😂
— Dr. Kylie Soanes (@kyliesoanes) October 20, 2023
I usually go listen to the calls for the potential suspects on Pizzey and Knight on my phone…
— Erika Roper 🦜🥔 (@_erikaroper) October 20, 2023
I start with Pizzey & Knight but it’s not comprehensive for call variations. Morcombe and also Stewart are good backups (if you’re keen enough to have them all :)
— Leo (@leo_qbn) October 20, 2023
Anyone know how Merlin is progressing with Australian birds?
I have found that, but it’s all I have so I make do 😅
— Erika Roper 🦜🥔 (@_erikaroper) October 20, 2023
20 October 2023 12:21pm
A few more!
Yes i use the Merlin app however i dont recommend using it too much as the males get agitated a bit (around breeding nesting)
— Simon Cotter (@SimonCotter62) October 19, 2023
For sure—there’s a few apps that are ideal for this, including the Michael Morcombe and David Stewart’s e-guide ($30)
— David M Watson (@D0CT0R_Dave) October 19, 2023
Also Pizzey and Knight’s birds of Australia has a digital edition with calls that you can check and compare ($50)
— David M Watson (@D0CT0R_Dave) October 19, 2023
Failing all that, if you have internet connection where you are then Graeme Chapman’s website has a terrific library of bird calls - I often refer to it: https://t.co/Metmy9VUxU
— Harry Saddler (@MondayStory) October 19, 2023
Xeno Canto is also an incredible website for bird calls, but not very mobile friendly.
The online calls help but still a learning a challenge. So many different calls by the same bird, regional variations, age variations and more mimics than lyrebirds and magpies. Tips like the Australian Raven and Little Raven are distinguished by final notes are good
— Ian Thompson (@IanThom186000) October 19, 2023
Everyone has answered while I was on the bike, so I'm just repeating. I use Morcombe first, YouTube second and xeno canto if I'm really stuck
— Bird Michael From Twitt℮r (@wtb_Michael) October 19, 2023
Try Merlin App by Cornell University. Can take a recording and it gives you options to narrow the search
— Jason Mingo (@jason_mingo) October 19, 2023
I am keen to try this one myself:https://t.co/CQy0CuKC5I
— Matt Furlong @[email protected] (@matticus_flinch) October 20, 2023
https://t.co/QlY0lmGQSF is my go-to
— The Bird Emergency - Grant the Bird Nerd (@birdemergency) October 19, 2023
Arbimon - Jobs are not working
11 October 2023 8:31am
12 October 2023 11:23am
Pinging @carlybatist!
12 October 2023 4:22pm
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks so much for notifying us about this! We have a support page here and you can contact our user support team directly by clicking the green 'question mark' icon in the bottom right corner of the Arbimon page. We can absolutely look on the backend to see what is stalling your jobs, we'll just need a bit more information (e.g., project name, job type, playlist size, etc.) to do diagnostics. I can reach out to you directly for that info - what's a good email for you?
16 October 2023 8:10am
Hi, thanks so much for getting back. You can reach me at [email protected]
Peruvian Bird Audio Dataset Questions
29 September 2023 3:39am
3 October 2023 10:47pm
Hi Sean!
Wanted to just mention that Arbimon, Rainforest Connection's ecoacoustic platform, has a number of projects in Peru (here, here, & others, if you search by keyword 'peru'). We have some existing CNNs for that region (mostly from Ecuador & Brazil, but there is likely species overlap). Do feel free to DM me here or email me ([email protected]) and I'm happy to talk about collaborating!
-Carly
3 October 2023 10:50pm
Also tagging @NickGardner who works on a similar project! (detecting birds from audio in Peruvian flooded forests)
8 October 2023 4:49pm
Interesting!
Hi Sean, sounds like an excellent project. Definitely talk with the Arbimon folks! As @carlybatist said, I am working with birds in the Peruvian Amazon, but in Loreto. Definitely would like to hear more about your project. As for this labelling issue here, definitely looks like an error. I have not used this dataset, now I'm curious. To be honest, some questionable labelling in that file in general. Bounding boxes can be very subjective...
Song Meter Micro experience?
27 October 2022 6:33pm
11 May 2023 4:45pm
Hi Lucy,
Sorry! I was in the field by the time you replied, and have not been back long. I realise it's been months now, but are you still planning on using the SM Micros? If so, please have a look at my thoughts in the new comment on this thread. I would think in Norway, the stridulating insect issue would not be as bad as in the tropics. Depends on what you want to use them for. Battery life is still definitely an issue though, and even more so in low temperatures. Good luck, let me know how you get on, or if you went with a different recorder.
Cheers,
Nick
26 September 2023 5:55am
Hi everyone. I am suuuuuper late on this discussion but I just finished 6-month fieldwork deploying 18 SM Micro over 70 different locations in Java, so I thought I would like to share my opinion on this device. So my work is basically installing each recorder in one location for the duration of 7-14 days before moving it to a different location, with battery and silica gel changed in between every deployment. Here's my thought:
Waterproofing - The first 2 months of the fieldwork was the wettest season I have ever experienced in the field. Extreme rain almost on a daily basis. Most of the time the recorder was working just fine except for the 2nd week of deployment when I found the inside a bit wet, but it was probably because I forgot to ensure that both lids were clicking. The recorder still works fine after this deployment, and this was when I decided to change the silica gel before the next deployment.
Sound quality - As mentioned by others. there's an annoying peak at 6kHz. I did not originally plan to do soundscape analysis so it wasn't a big problem at the beginning, but now there is some discussion on doing so. Other than this I found the quality to be just adequate.
Battery Life - I am using alkaline 1,5 volt (non-rechargable) battery and get ~120 hours of recording, with a sample rate of 32khz. Suitable for my method, but certainly not for longer deployment.
Safety - My field site is full of a poacher who does not like to be detected, and the rangers warned me so many times about the camera trap that was destroyed or stolen by these people. I used steel cable and a small carabiner-style padlock which I later realized wouldn't stand a chance against a few hits of the machete, but luckily no recorder went missing--mostly because I tried to hide it as far as possible from the trails and cover our tracks. The small size of SM Micro makes it easy to hide among foliage (be careful on contact noise between leaves and recording), and the fact that it is colored green and has no external light also greatly helps (unlike Swiftone. Seriously, who thought that white is a perfect color for an expensive device that will be left in the forest for a long time?)
In conclusion, it is a cheap and easy-to-get device (compared to the mythical Audiomoth) for species presence detection in a short time like I did, but certainly not for longer deployment or more intricate bioacoustic analysis.
6 October 2023 9:08pm
Hi everyone,
I wanted to provide an update on behalf of Wildlife Acoustics regarding some of these comments in this thread. As some of you may know, we have just announced the second generation of our Song Meter Micro. Along with 33% longer battery life due to an expanded battery tray (which now holds 4 AAs instead of 3), the Song Meter Micro 2 will also have a flatter frequency response. Though we don’t have a firm release date at the moment, we are currently looking at an early 2024 release, with pre-orders likely to start at the end of 2023. Detailed frequency response charts and specs will also be posted to our site soon. In fact, we have built an anechoic chamber in our new office and will be doing detailed testing with a host of new precision instruments. For more info on the Micro 2, check out our current product page. Lastly, thanks all for your open and honest feedback. It allows us to make our products better and better for you.
GEO BON Monitoring Biodiversity for Action
5 October 2023 3:10pm
Grad student, postdoc, and research assistant positions in bioacoustics and quantitative ecology at Kitzes Lab (University of Pittsburgh)
28 September 2023 2:00pm
Conservation Innovation Manager
27 September 2023 11:08pm
Soil Ecoacoustics - viable?
12 September 2023 1:29pm
19 September 2023 9:03am
Awesome, thanks a lot carlos! I've shared with the person who asked me.
if you're up for it, I also may steal you for a variety hour spot on this at some point, as now i'm curious to hear more!
19 September 2023 10:51am
Would be fantiastic to learn more on soil ecoacoustics in a variety hour!
22 September 2023 6:12pm
I second that!
Leaf Litter Tech Issue: WILDLABS Spotlight
22 September 2023 9:58am
*NEW* White Paper: Harnessing the Power of Sound & AI to track Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) Targets
20 September 2023 12:53pm
Catch up with The Variety Hour: September 2023
20 September 2023 11:39am
WEBINAR: Phantom of the Orthoptera
14 September 2023 6:28pm
In case you missed it... (no. 1)
12 September 2023 11:49am
13 September 2023 6:23am
7 November 2023 9:10pm
I have an AudioMoth that they are welcome to. I'm down in Moss Beach (just north of Half Moon Bay).