With new technologies revolutionizing data collection, wildlife researchers are becoming increasingly able to collect data at much higher volumes than ever before. Now we are facing the challenges of putting this information to use, bringing the science of big data into the conservation arena. With the help of machine learning tools, this area holds immense potential for conservation practices. The applications range from online trafficking alerts to species-specific early warning systems to efficient movement and biodiversity monitoring and beyond.
However, the process of building effective machine learning tools depends upon large amounts of standardized training data, and conservationists currently lack an established system for standardization. How to best develop such a system and incentivize data sharing are questions at the forefront of this work. There are currently multiple AI-based conservation initiatives, including Wildlife Insights and WildBook, that are pioneering applications on this front.
This group is the perfect place to ask all your AI-related questions, no matter your skill level or previous familiarity! You'll find resources, meet other members with similar questions and experts who can answer them, and engage in exciting collaborative opportunities together.
Just getting started with AI in conservation? Check out our introduction tutorial, How Do I Train My First Machine Learning Model? with Daniel Situnayake, and our Virtual Meetup on Big Data. If you're coming from the more technical side of AI/ML, Sara Beery runs an AI for Conservation slack channel that might be of interest. Message her for an invite.
Header Image: Dr Claire Burke / @CBurkeSci
Explore the Basics: AI
Understanding the possibilities for incorporating new technology into your work can feel overwhelming. With so many tools available, so many resources to keep up with, and so many innovative projects happening around the world and in our community, it's easy to lose sight of how and why these new technologies matter, and how they can be practically applied to your projects.
Machine learning has huge potential in conservation tech, and its applications are growing every day! But the tradeoff of that potential is a big learning curve - or so it seems to those starting out with this powerful tool!
To help you explore the potential of AI (and prepare for some of our upcoming AI-themed events!), we've compiled simple, key resources, conversations, and videos to highlight the possibilities:
Three Resources for Beginners:
- Everything I know about Machine Learning and Camera Traps, Dan Morris | Resource library, camera traps, machine learning
- Using Computer Vision to Protect Endangered Species, Kasim Rafiq | Machine learning, data analysis, big cats
- Resource: WildID | WildID
Three Forum Threads for Beginners:
- I made an open-source tool to help you sort camera trap images | Petar Gyurov, Camera Traps
- Batch / Automated Cloud Processing | Chris Nicolas, Acoustic Monitoring
- Looking for help with camera trapping for Jaguars: Software for species ID and database building | Carmina Gutierrez, AI for Conservation
Three Tutorials for Beginners:
- How do I get started using machine learning for my camera traps? | Sara Beery, Tech Tutors
- How do I train my first machine learning model? | Daniel Situnayake, Tech Tutors
- Big Data in Conservation | Dave Thau, Dan Morris, Sarah Davidson, Virtual Meetups
Want to know more about AI, or have your specific machine learning questions answered by experts in the WILDLABS community? Make sure you join the conversation in our AI for Conservation group!
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- @laurenharrell
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Data scientist/statistician working in bioacoustics and species distribution models, loves whales
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- @magerk
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wildlife ecologist, Associate Professor of Environmental Science, Policy, & Sustainability and Biology
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- @otgonbayartm
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Thanks to WILDLABS. This community is what exactly matches to my interest in Nature Conservation as IT professional.
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- @accohan1
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Conservation Director who is passionate about bringing tech and innovation into conservation teams and projects for efficiencies, decision making and better on the ground management
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Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI)
Conservation biologist based in Tanzania
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- @Shakirah
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Passionate lover of nature, Birdwatcher, Biotechnologist, Genomics
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Ecology officer with a data science edge for environmental solutions. Skilled in machine learning, computer vision, statistical modeling, and data visualization. Committed to conservation and sustainable practices.
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- @owenmartin22
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I am a firefly researcher and wildlife painter based in Boulder, Colorado
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Human-Wildlife Conflict
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€4,000 travel grants are available for researchers interested in insect monitoring using automated cameras and computer vision
6 June 2024
WildLabs will soon launch a 'Funding and Finance' group. What would be your wish list for such a group? Would you be interested in co-managing or otherwise helping out?
5 June 2024
Now accepting applications for two $15,000 grants to help protect wildlife through cutting-edge, technology-driven efforts
3 June 2024
An aspiring software engineer with a passion for coding and technology
30 May 2024
In 1987, sustainability was defined by the United Nations Brundtland Commission as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”In 1987,...
7 May 2024
€2,000 travel grants are available for researchers interested in insect monitoring using automated cameras and computer vision
3 May 2024
Save the Elephants is seeking a Principal Investigator for our Elephant Collective Behaviour Project. This role will spearhead research initiatives using cutting-edge video analysis tools to study elephant group...
1 May 2024
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Read in detail about how to use The Inventory, our new living directory of conservation technology tools, organisations, and R&D projects.
1 May 2024
Article
The Inventory is your one-stop shop for conservation technology tools, organisations, and R&D projects. Start contributing to it now!
1 May 2024
Technology to End the Sixth Mass Extinction. Salary: $132 - $160k; Location: Seattle WA; 7+ years of experience in hardware product development and manufacturing; View post for full job description
1 May 2024
Review by Professor Iain H Woodhouse
29 April 2024
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The Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute is seeking a Program Manager to help coordinate multiple organizations in an effort to integrate movement data & camera trap data with global...
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Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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Hypraptive and Brown Bear Research Network collaboration to develop a deep learning, brown bear face identification system: BearID Project. [Disclosure: I am a member of... |
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AI for Conservation | 6 years 11 months ago | |
It looks like they haven't updated for a couple of years do you know if it is still active or are they changing to a different system like tensor flow? |
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AI for Conservation | 6 years 11 months ago | |
Here' s a press release we put out today talking about how we're using a deep convolutional neural network to find and curate whale... |
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AI for Conservation | 7 years 2 months ago | |
For those interested: in the acoustics channel I have posted news on our sound event recognition sensor, using conv-net: https://... |
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AI for Conservation | 7 years 3 months ago | |
Ah! Thanks for posting this Tom. It's such a well designed, simple to understand video series, and the backing track is utterly delightful. Given the... |
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AI for Conservation | 7 years 4 months ago | |
Hello all, I'm looking at using a combination of machine learning and satellite imagery to identify and count individual animals,... |
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AI for Conservation | 7 years 10 months ago | |
We are working on the identification of the threats along the flyway of the Egyptian vulture, endangered vutlure species migrating from... |
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AI for Conservation | 8 years 2 months ago | |
Hi Jason, Thanks for sharing this demo, it's interesting to see the fluke id process in action. Is this part of the flukebook project? How do you see the project... |
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AI for Conservation | 8 years 2 months ago | |
Hi folks! The team at Skytruth (responsible for Global Ocean Watch) are looking for a machine learning developer. It might be of... |
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AI for Conservation | 8 years 6 months ago | |
Hi, I am jason Holmberg from WildMe.org. I am one of the developers of Wildbook (wildbook.org), an open source data management platform for wildlife research. I'm... |
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AI for Conservation | 8 years 6 months ago | |
I'd like to suggest our open source package Wildbook (http://www.wildbook.org) as a base data management platfor for this. I agree with the above that there are a number of... |
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AI for Conservation | 8 years 7 months ago | |
Over the past year the open data GDELT Project (http://gdeltproject.org/), which monitors local news coverage worldwide in... |
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AI for Conservation | 8 years 7 months ago |