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!
Yale University & Map of Life Rapid Assessments - XPRIZE
8 November 2023
Yale University & Map of Life Rapid Assessments - XPRIZE
8 November 2023
Careers
The Institute for Bird Populations (IBP) seeks a California-based acoustic monitoring specialist to collect, manage, and process avian acoustic data from multiple research and conservation projects across California...
26 October 2023
Join the NightLife team where you'll blend entomology expertise with technological innovation using automated insect monitoring.
25 October 2023
Have you created a successful career in tech and are ready to do something good with your skills and experience? If yes, then join Open Earth's Earthshot mission to build open source digital systems and solutions to...
25 October 2023
Careers
The Institute of Zoology (IoZ), the research division of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), is seeking to fill three new permanent positions by recruiting outstanding early-career researchers as Research Fellows (...
20 October 2023
To study song evolution in time and space, we will use individual acoustic monitoring (IAM) - a non-invasive method that allows the identification of individuals based solely on their vocalisations. In this project, we...
20 October 2023
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie PhD Fellowship in Bioacoustic AI for wildlife protection. The PhD position advertised here will be based at the KU Leuven Electrical Engineering Department (ESAT), under the supervision of...
20 October 2023
FLOATERS: Using individually distinct vocalizations to estimate breeding and non-breeding population of a species. Apply for the fully funded PhD position now!
20 October 2023
Many people know of the Mozilla Foundation because of the FireFox browser and other open source software they produce together with countless volunteers. Perhaps less well known, the Mozilla Foundation also runs a...
4 October 2023
We're delighted to announce that Connected Conservation Foundation and Airbus Foundation have today launched round 2 of the ‘Satellites for Biodiversity Award’.
2 October 2023
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Could you be our next team member to help empower conservation through data and technology?
28 September 2023
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Try our open-source automatic camera trap detection/labeling tool!
12 November 2021 8:39pm
Opportunity: GEO-Microsoft Planetary Computer Programme
4 November 2021 12:00am
EarthRanger Announces Inaugural Conservation Tech Award Recipients
3 November 2021 12:00am
Opportunity: PhD or Postdoctoral Research Fellowships - Chinstrap penguin biologging
1 November 2021 12:00am
Using IoT and Machine Learning to help protect Kenya's Rivers
21 October 2021 12:00am
Tech Tutors: How do I analyze large acoustic datasets using PAMGuard?
14 October 2021 3:42pm
How do I analyze large acoustic datasets using PAMGuard?
7 October 2021 12:00am
Call for Papers: Special Issue on Computer Vision Approach for Animal Tracking and Modeling
20 September 2021 12:00am
Tech Tutors: How do I use AI to fight wildlife crime?
1 September 2021 10:59pm
Which are major open challenges that AI can help to solve in nature conservation ?
28 April 2021 9:15am
13 August 2021 10:04pm
Elizabeth Bondi has work on detection from thermal imagery taken by drones! I'd look at her papers :)
27 August 2021 10:51am
Looks good, but what is the added value compared to other examples as Obsidentify and Plantnet?
AI/ML Engineer Job at Dryad
26 August 2021 2:45pm
Widening the Bottleneck: Can Citizen Science Accelerate Conservation?
19 August 2021 12:00am
Open positions in ML & conservation/climate sci
18 August 2021 2:22pm
Geo for Good Lightning Talks: Nature Conservation
17 August 2021 12:00am
Building Sustainable Support with Edge Impulse
13 August 2021 12:00am
Accessible Tech and Real Impact with the WILDLABS Fellowship: On the Edge
9 August 2021 12:00am
WILDLABS Community Call: August 12th
4 August 2021 12:00am
Tech Tutors: How do I get started with Wildlife Insights?
29 July 2021 12:04am
Wildlife Insights Launches
27 July 2021 12:00am
Tech Tutors: How do I get started with Megadetector?
22 July 2021 3:34pm
Opportunity: Lead an ML Workshop
21 July 2021 12:00am
How do I get started with Wildlife Insights?
19 July 2021 12:00am
How do I get started with Megadetector?
7 July 2021 12:00am
How do I choose the right camera trap(s) based on interests, goals, and species?
6 July 2021 12:00am
WILDLABS Tech Tutors: Season 3
6 July 2021 12:00am
BearID Featured: Artificial Intelligence & Other New Technology In Bear Research
1 July 2021 12:00am
PhDs (or MSc) in tech + nature conservation ?
28 April 2021 9:16am
26 May 2021 5:09pm
I think programming and machine learning are what I wish I did in uni the most. Particularly Python coding. Most biologists use R/Rstudio but Python is more popular in the tech world. And machine learning is taking over everything, conservation included, so it's definitely a high-demand skill.
26 May 2021 9:14pm
carlybatist, I can help with python. Is there anything you or people in your network may need help?
About ML - can you tell 3 main challenges you'd think as priority in conservation, that ML can be helpful ? Also, anything that also small NGOs may struggle to work on, due to limited budget / IT capacity, and so they may benefit from freelancers ? Large NGOs or international agencies will likely work with established companies. I'ìd like to know if there could be a niche were I can interact directly with NGOs and philantropic institutions, both for supporting with services, as well for listening to feedback to project proposals that could benefit from mutual collaborations (e.g. tech pilot + fundraising = startup and product iterations with lower costs).
Also, can you mention a few activities / roles that may offer both outdoor + analytics / tech skills ?
Piorirty is outdoor for me. But since I have a few tech skills and management skills, im trying to trade them!
26 May 2021 10:04pm
You should join the Key Conservation app, which connects people and NGO's for specific needs, whether funding, time, or skills (programming included). Organizations can list particular things they need and you can get day-to-day updates on progress.
In terms of how ML is used in conservation, it's mostly to process the large datasets yielded by conservation tech (camera traps, passive acoustics, biologging, remote sensing/GIS). Annotating detections (which pictures have animals, which species a call belongs to, where deforestation is happening through satellite imagery, etc.).
And lots of freelancing opportunities come up in Wildlabs - the community threads and the biweekly digest. Twitter is also great for finding those kinds of opportunities, search by relevant keywords or hashtags (e.g., #tech4wildlife). I would also start following conservation tech organizations on LinkedIn and Twitter or subscribing to their newsletters or listservs so you don't miss opportunities as they come up.
New Papers: Methods in Ecology and Evolution
23 April 2021 12:00am
New Papers: Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation
22 April 2021 12:00am
BirdCLEF 2021 Kaggle Challenge
19 April 2021 12:00am
4 August 2021 5:00pm
I would perhaps ask this in a new thread, so the rest of the community can see it! (as opposed to a reply here, where only the people in the conversation are notified of more replies).