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!
- @sandrzejaczek
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Movement ecologist working at Hopkins Marine Station. Specialise on large, predatory fishes (particularly sharks and rays).
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Peruvian biologist working on Andean bear conservation in the Peruvian Andes
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- @oag.gimenez
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French scientist working at the interface of animal ecology, statistical modeling and social sciences on the impact of human activities on population dynamics and species distribution and the management of large mammals.
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Marine biologist, cetaceans lover and bioacoustic's methods beginner (experience with sperm whale's click!)
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Murdoch university & BirdLife International
Research Scientist | Ph.D. | Conservation Science, GIS, Data management
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- @Jimi
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A young student diving into the world of data science
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- @haingura
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I am currently a Research Associate (Technology development) at Namibia University of Science and Technology-Biodiversity Research Centre working on machine learning models and technology tools such as camera traps, aerial and other EarthRanger to conserve and monitor wildlife.
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Stanford University
Doctoral Research at Stanford University | Interested in data science and observational approaches for issues in coastal health
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Associate Prof. working on hidden biodiversity with eDNA in terrestrial and marine environments
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Ted Schmitt joined us for a lunchtime lecture in which he shared his experiences working across Africa the past five years with protected area managers, anti-trafficking organisations, and scientists to effectively...
22 November 2018
Machine learning is widely recognized as the solution to camera trap data processing, but a user-friendly and broadly-accessible system for putting this tech to use has not yet been developed. In this case study,...
1 October 2018
Article
In this case study, conservation ecologist Ayesha Tulloch takes us behind the scenes of her recent paper, which came out in Nature Ecology & Evolution earlier this month. In this paper, Ayesha and her team present a...
20 August 2018
The winners of our Human Wildlife Conflict Tech Challenge are offering regular updates throughout the year to chronicle their failures, successes and what they learn along the way as they develop their solutions. In...
27 July 2018
Looking to prototype or pilot a new conservation tech idea or approach? Conservation X Labs is running an idea competition for teams to create a first draft (i.e. prototype) of their conservation solution. 20 finalists...
11 June 2018
Conflict between humans and wildlife is increasing as human communities expand and wild habitats are destroyed, prompting need for new mitigation techniques. As a winner of the Human Wildlife Conflict Tech Challenge,...
19 April 2018
Hundreds of people joined our #Tech4Wildlife photo challenge this year, showcasing all the incredible ways tech is being used to support wildlife conservation. We've seen proximity loggers on Tasmanian Devils in...
3 March 2018
Following the UK Government’s landmark announcement of plans to introduce a complete ban on the domestic trade in ivory, it was fitting that a new machine learning product designed to tackle the supply end of this...
6 December 2017
Article
A new research project is looking to investigate whether technology combined with the ancient skills and knowledge of Namibian trackers can help save cheetahs from extinction. Called FIT Cheetahs, the research project...
4 December 2017
With Arctic sea ice disappearing, can advanced sensor technologies provide insights into an ecosystem on the brink?
30 November 2017
Our panel of international experts has been hard at work reviewing the 47 proposals we recieved for innovative technological tools to address human wildlife conflict. The panelists have systematically been assessing the...
20 October 2017
The Domain Awareness System (DAS) is a revolution in monitoring technology, creating real-time awareness of protected areas assets. This technology has the potential to completely change standard monitoring procedures...
26 September 2017
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Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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Awesome! I am looking at something similar too - also awaiting funding. It's in SE Australia, also focusing on invasive species (red fox), protecting an area that has nesting... |
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AI for Conservation | 9 hours 23 minutes ago | |
Yes, this system is designed to be installed near farms. We also have the repeller system with audio & light, that is battery & solar powered. This system is a "last line... |
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AI for Conservation | 5 days 6 hours ago | |
Yes, exactly! Alec and I are working together on this. |
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AI for Conservation | 1 week 1 day ago | |
Great initiative!Just a short note: any position to distinguish garbage from real snares?Best!Lufer@Landfeelings |
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AI for Conservation, Drones, Emerging Tech, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Wildlife Crime | 1 week 3 days ago | |
Undoubted things will quickly evolve from just "straight" ChatGPTn, BARD, ClaudeAI, etc "standard" models, to more specialized Retrieval Augmentation Generation (RAG) , where... |
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AI for Conservation, Emerging Tech | 1 week 6 days ago | |
This is so cool! I am 1000% going to see if they want to come talk about it at Variety Hou! |
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AI for Conservation, Citizen Science | 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 | |
Online citizen science platforms like iNaturalist and Macaulay Library contain a wealth of images but are hard to search using text. We are... |
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AI for Conservation, Citizen Science | 2 weeks 1 day ago | |
We're seeking training data for AI for wolf ID - we at T4C manage 3 Wildbook platforms: Wild North, Whiskerbook and the... |
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AI for Conservation | 2 weeks 4 days ago | |
Hi Phani,An entry point might be to participate in a challenge related to conservation on:KaggleDrivenDataFruitPunchMax Planck Institute of Animal BehaviorYou could also reach out... |
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AI for Conservation | 3 weeks 2 days ago | |
[oops, the same reply got submitted twice and there doesn't seem to be a "delete" button] |
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AI for Conservation, Camera Traps | 3 weeks 2 days ago | |
Hi @zhongqimiao ,Might you have faced such an issue while using mega detectorThe conflict is caused by:pytorchwildlife 1.0.2.13 depends on torch==1.10.1pytorchwildlife 1.0.2.12... |
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AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Open Source Solutions | 3 weeks 2 days ago |