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!
I'm a GIS and Remote Sensing specialist with a focus on conservation, currently working as a Visual Data Scientist. I'm passionate about leveraging AI tools to enhance conservation and environmental management efforts.
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Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
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Based in Australia, in the Blue Mountains and working with WWF-Australia on a new program "Eyes on Country". Working on the interface of tech, conservation and First Nations/Ranger groups.
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Senior web developer and ML practitioner
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I am a master's student currently working on acoustic monitoring of an Endangered frog species in South Africa.
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Bioinformatician
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CEO & Co-Founder of SpaceIn. Using geospatial data and computer systems to tackle environmental issues.
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Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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Hi there Camilo, What an interesting project! If you are looking for a lower cost, but effective tools for acoustic monitoring you might want to look into two options: ... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Data management and processing tools, Sensors, Software and Mobile Apps | 1 year 10 months ago | |
Hi Yvan,If you find something which reaches your expectation and especially the ability to identify individual with plumage patterns I will be intereted.In the same idea that... |
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AI for Conservation, Camera Traps | 2 years ago | |
Have you considered creating a Kaggle competition? If you already have lots of images, and some that have been labelled, then this could be a good way to get people working on a... |
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AI for Conservation, Autonomous Camera Traps for Insects, Camera Traps | 2 years ago | |
Hi everyone, I'm new here! I'm a UX designer and researcher, and an animal lover. Excited to be part of Conservation Tech here at WildLabs... |
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AI for Conservation, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Software and Mobile Apps, Wildlife Crime | 2 years 1 month ago | |
@gracieermi & I are happy to announce the latest update to the Conservation Tech Directory, bringing our total resources in the... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Biologging, Camera Traps, Community Base, Data management and processing tools, Drones, eDNA & Genomics, Remote Sensing & GIS, Software and Mobile Apps | 2 years 1 month ago | |
Thank you so much Netty, I really enjoyed it.Good luck to you all with your work.Keep well! |
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AI for Conservation, East Africa Community | 2 years 1 month ago | |
Thank you @carlybatist , @Freaklabs and @MK . The inputs are very useful and I am progressing on my project based on that. Appreciate a lot. |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation | 2 years 1 month ago | |
Some folks doing work in this space - Wildlife Drones, Conservation Drones, UAV Wild, AfricanDrones, Oceans Unmanned, Geonadir. |
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Drones, AI for Conservation, Citizen Science, eDNA & Genomics, Emerging Tech | 2 years 1 month ago | |
Dear Community,Together with Hackster.io, Seeed Studio is very happy to jointly organize “IoT Into the Wild Contest for Sustainable Plant... |
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AI for Conservation, Connectivity, Emerging Tech, Open Source Solutions, Sensors | 2 years 2 months ago | |
Thanks Carly. No special areas of interest for now although that will happen over time. Thanks so much for your reply. I will check the Conservation Tech directory out. Soumya |
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AI for Conservation | 2 years 2 months ago | |
Fascinating article, combining machine learning and acoustical signals to correlate coral reef health.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Marine Conservation | 2 years 2 months ago | |
We've now wrapped our first run of AI for Conservation Office Hours and you can read my review of how it went and lessons learned here. Given the ... |
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AI for Conservation | 2 years 8 months ago |