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!
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 11 Groups
Fauna & Flora
- 0 Resources
- 41 Discussions
- 6 Groups
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 7 Groups
UX Designer, Artist, Reader, and more.
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 4 Groups
- @manonverchot
- | she/her
Multimedia Journalist and Trainer
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 1 Groups
- @annie2
- | she/her
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 16 Groups
- @Augustine_Oti_Yeboah
- | Oti Yeboah
Wildlife conservation and an ecotourism enthusiast
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 4 Groups
An enthusiastic technology conservationist!
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 5 Groups
Entrepreneur and investor in African SMEs
- 1 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 4 Groups
- @Tjomme
- | He/Him
Building a community of AI professionals working on the Sustainable Development Goals.
- 4 Resources
- 3 Discussions
- 4 Groups
World Wide Fund for Nature/ World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
- 0 Resources
- 2 Discussions
- 5 Groups
- @nora.gourmelon
- | She/her
PhD candidate in Computer Science working on Computer Vision for glacier front delineation in synthetic aperture radar satellite images
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 2 Groups
When Victoria Espinel, President and CEO of BSA | The Software Alliance, spoke at the WWF Fuller Symposium, she took us on a whistle-stop tour of case studies where software and data are transforming our understanding...
10 March 2016
The Captain Planet Foundation is offering EcoTech grants in the amount of $2,500 to engage children in inquiry-based project in STEM fields.
18 February 2016
New horizon scanning report published this month identifies 15 emerging threats and opportunities for global biodiversity.
3 February 2016
From artificial “sniffer” technologies to portable DNA sequencers, the Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge received hundreds of innovative ideas to help stamp out wildlife crime. Now, the Challenge is proud to announce 16...
22 January 2016
Dr. Lucas Joppa, Scientist at Microsoft Research, considers the evolving impact of data in conservation and society. He examines the difference between ‘big data’ and ‘small data’, and explores how models such as the...
22 December 2015
John Amos, President of SkyTruth, explores how remote sensing is being used in conservation today and the importance of sky-truthing. He examines the role that citizen scientists can play in increasing transparency in...
21 December 2015
Gary Atkinson, Director of Emerging Technologies at ARM, explains why we should be interested in the Internet of Things. Could it be a game changer for conservation?
10 December 2015
The 2015 Fuller Symposium brought together thought leaders in science, policy, business, conservation and development to tackle emerging issues facing our planet. This framing piece was developed to support a Fuller...
26 November 2015
Article
Traceability (knowing where products come from and how they are made) is a foundational pre-cursor for many sustainability interventions. While many tools have been developed to offer high-level insight about the...
26 November 2015
The speed at which data travels from the point of collection to a format which is understandable and useful for decision makers can be of critical importance. In this case study, Tim Wilkinson discusses a powerful suite...
6 November 2015
New technologies offer a lot of potential for conservation, but are there potential risks to deploying these new technologies? In this first thought piece for the Ethics of Conservation Tech Group, Dr Chris Sandbrook...
2 November 2015
June 2024
July 2024
August 2024
event
event
September 2024
event
event
October 2024
March 2020
November 2019
event
April 2019
December 2018
event
54 Products
Recently updated products
14 Products
Recently updated products
Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
---|---|---|---|---|
Carly, that would be great! Thanks! I work with soundscapes and love the work of Rainforest Connection! I'll send you an email (@CUNY) to coordinate! |
|
Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Drones, eDNA & Genomics, Emerging Tech, Remote Sensing & GIS | 1 year ago | |
Hi Donya! You might check out the Conservation Tech Directory to see what projects/organizations/tools best align with your interests and skills. |
|
Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Drones | 1 year ago | |
Hey everyone, I am super excited to share two announcements with the Community!🏆🌍 Our flagship Data4Good project - Mbaza AI... |
|
AI for Conservation, Camera Traps | 1 year ago | |
That sounds like a really neat project! Do fish get re-caught often enough that individual ID is useful? Is sample bias (more data from popular spots) an issue? |
|
AI for Conservation, Citizen Science, Software and Mobile Apps | 1 year ago | |
Hi everybody 👋🏽,I'm a UX designer, and I design interfaces and improve user experiences/flows. I would love to contribute to conservation... |
|
AI for Conservation, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Emerging Tech, Human-Wildlife Conflict | 1 year 1 month ago | |
Thanks Bas! I'll look into SSD vs RCNNs, I'd never heard of an SSD. |
|
AI for Conservation, Camera Traps | 1 year 1 month ago | |
greetings! i sent you a PM regarding this, feel free to contact me however is most convenient for you - regards,chris |
|
Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Climate Change, East Africa Community, Wildlife Crime | 1 year 1 month ago | |
I'm looking for any recommendations for any entry level/internship remote roles/companies in the United States that are focused in... |
|
AI for Conservation, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Early Career, Remote Sensing & GIS | 1 year 1 month ago | |
Hi everyone! and thanks @StephODonnell for the invite :)I’m a software engineer working on MLOps, and currently studying for a part-time... |
|
AI for Conservation, Open Source Solutions | 1 year 1 month ago | |
Indeed, I'll be there too! I like to meet new conservation friends with morning runs, so I will likely organize a couple of runs, maybe one right near the conference, and... |
|
Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Autonomous Camera Traps for Insects, Camera Traps, Remote Sensing & GIS | 1 year 1 month ago | |
Hi everyone! The Fine Grained Visual Categorization Workshop (FGVC) is hosting its 10th rendition at CVPR this June in Vancouver. A huge... |
|
AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Marine Conservation | 1 year 1 month ago | |
Hi everyone,I'm new here :)I'm doing my thesis of biology bachelor about Rhino poaching. I wanted to ask here if yu have some articles... |
|
AI for Conservation, Ending Wildlife Trafficking Online, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Wildlife Crime | 1 year 2 months ago |