Sensors already equip a range of tools to enhance monitoring capacity for conservation. Some of the higher bandwidth technologies, like camera traps and acoustic monitoring systems, have been essential elements of the conservation toolkit for decades, and thus have enough users that we've created dedicated WILDLABS groups to address them. But a whole range of lower bandwidth sensors beyond these core technologies are being increasingly integrated into conservation monitoring systems, and offer rich new insights into the wildlife and ecosystems we're all working to protect. As with many technologies, cost and access have historically been challenges to the adoption of new sensors, but with low-cost and open-source solutions on the rise, we're excited to see what the future of this space holds.
Getting Started with Sensors:
- Watch Shah Selbe's Tech Tutors episode on scaling FieldKit, an open-source conservation sensor toolbox, from a project to a successful conservation tech product.
- Check out our Virtual Meetup about Low-Cost, Open-Source Solutions in conservation tech, including a talk by Alasdair Davies on the Arribada Initiative's work with thermal sensors in early warning systems.
- For a more in-depth introduction, watch the first video in our datalogger mini-series: Freaklabs: How do I get started with Arduino?
In this group, you'll meet others who are using and innovating diverse sensors in their work, discuss ways to make sensors more effective & accessible for conservationists, learn about what sensors are already helping us accomplish in the field, and have the opportunity to ask and answer questions. Join this group to get started!
Header image: Emma Vogel, University of Tromsø
- @matt_hron
- | He/Him
Wildlife Protection Solutions (WPS)
Product Manager at Wildlife Protection Solutions
- 0 Resources
- 7 Discussions
- 8 Groups
- @carlybatist
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Science Outreach Lead-Rainforest Connection (RFCx) & ArbimonEcoacoustics, biodiversity monitoring, primates, lemurs
- 68 Resources
- 271 Discussions
- 18 Groups
- @vandita_shukla
- | she/her
PhD candidate studying drone flight planning for enabling tracking and identification of individual characteristics of wildlife; member of the WildDrone, an MSCA Doctoral Network funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 20 Groups
Smart Parks
Founder of Smart Parks - www.smartparks.org / Founder of OpenCollar - https://opencollar.io
- 0 Resources
- 13 Discussions
- 5 Groups
Movement Ecologist studying the where, why, and how animals move throughout our world. Current work is investigating the movement and energetics of large neotropical bats in a changing environment with ephemeral resources.
- 0 Resources
- 23 Discussions
- 22 Groups
- @amykukulya
- | she/her
Amy Kukulya is an ocean tech innovator and conservationist from the US. She has captured thrilling footage of megafauna using novel biologger and oceanrobotCams—SharkCam, TurtleCam featured across the globe on mainstream media outlets.
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 7 Groups
Aarhus University
Biologist and Research Technician working with ecosystem monitoring and research at Zackenberg Research Station in Greenland
- 12 Resources
- 201 Discussions
- 7 Groups
- @Rob_Appleby
- | He/him
Wild Spy
Whilst I love everything about WILDLABS and the conservation tech community I am mostly here for the badges!!
- 0 Resources
- 248 Discussions
- 11 Groups
- @TaliaSpeaker
- | She/her
WILDLABS & World Wide Fund for Nature/ World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
I'm the WILDLABS Research Specialist at WWF-US
- 11 Resources
- 53 Discussions
- 24 Groups
GreenLab
- 0 Resources
- 19 Discussions
- 8 Groups
- @aleontiou
- | she/her
- 0 Resources
- 10 Discussions
- 7 Groups
Western Sydney University
Zoologist
- 0 Resources
- 32 Discussions
- 3 Groups
Article
You’re invited to the WILDLABS Variety Hour, a monthly event that connects you to conservation tech's most exciting projects, research, and ideas. We can't wait to bring you a whole new season of speakers and...
22 March 2024
This funding opportunity is to support projects to enhance existing, high TRL (7-9) marine biogeochemical sensors and integrate with National Marine Equipment Pool’s autonomous underwater platforms. You must be based...
11 March 2024
The IQOE Task Team on Low-Cost Hydrophones for Research, Education, and Citizen Science is looking for industry partners to develop a low-cost hydrophone.
15 December 2023
Funding
With $60,000, $30,000, and $10,000 grants available for 14 outstanding projects, the support of engineering and technology talent from Arm (the leading semiconductor design company), and access to the world’s biggest...
1 December 2023
Article
Read our interview with Clementine Uwamahoro, African Parks’ Country Manager in Conservation Technology overlooking technology operations for both Akagera National Park and Nyungwe National Park.
29 November 2023
The Department of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering (AOPE) at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) seek to hire 1-2 scientists at any of the Assistant/Associate/Senior Scientist levels to develop research...
27 November 2023
TagRanger® is a state-of-the-art wildlife finding, monitoring and tracking solution for research, conservation and environmental professionals. With superior configurability for logging data, reporting location and...
23 November 2023
Yale University & Map of Life Rapid Assessments - XPRIZE
8 November 2023
Yale University & Map of Life Rapid Assessments - XPRIZE
8 November 2023
Yale University & Map of Life Rapid Assessments - XPRIZE
8 November 2023
The new white paper from Rainforest Connection (RFCx) explores the power of ecoacoustics and AI to monitor biodiversity and track progress towards GBF targets using case studies from around the world.
20 September 2023
Applications are now open for an open capital funding opportunity for projects demonstrating innovative approaches toward environmental monitoring at a sensor or systems-based level.
31 August 2023
December 2023
Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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Hi @Henrikcox I hope you are well. I am not sure if you may remember myself and my colleague from CLS. We had a meeting and met in-person at Earthranger last year. ... |
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Human-Wildlife Conflict, Sensors | 1 day 3 hours ago | |
Unless you are planning on making a mesh network between nodes then the total distance spanning the location of all the nodes is important to know, not just the intra node... |
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Sensors, Protected Area Management Tools | 1 month ago | |
Hi Danilo. you seem very passionate about this initiative which is a good start.It is an interesting coincidence that I am starting another project for the coral reefs in the... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Biologging, Camera Traps, Citizen Science, Climate Change, Community Base, Connectivity, Drones, Emerging Tech, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Open Source Solutions, Sensors, Software and Mobile Apps, Wildlife Crime | 1 month 3 weeks ago | |
Real nice video. I'll have another look in the weekend in detail. |
+10
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Acoustics, Community Base, Protected Area Management Tools, Remote Sensing & GIS, Sensors | 2 months ago | |
Fire detection is a sort of broad idea. Usually people detect the products of fire, and most often this is smoke.Many home fire detectors in the US use a radioactive source... |
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Community Base, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Data management and processing tools, Ethics of Conservation Tech, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Open Source Solutions, Protected Area Management Tools, Sensors, Wildlife Crime | 2 months ago | |
Thank you for sharing! Super interesting, as we don't see many underwater stereo cameras! We also use Blue Robotics components in our projects and have found them reliable and... |
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Sensors, Camera Traps, Marine Conservation | 3 months ago | |
I am working on a prototype to detect and alert for temic & karbadust. They are used for the poisoning of waterholes in South Africa.... |
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Sensors | 3 months ago | |
Will you accept personal/hobbyist focused on conservation on their small plots of land (10-100 acres)?I would, and know others, who would happily pay more than the official... |
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Camera Traps, Climate Change, Community Base, Connectivity, Emerging Tech, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Sensors, Wildlife Crime | 3 months 1 week ago | |
Hi,This is a really late answer but I was new to wildlabs then. I have a security appliance that uses state of the AI models and user defined polygon areas of interest that... |
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Human-Wildlife Conflict, Camera Traps, Sensors | 3 months 1 week ago | |
Featuring some of the very best spider video you'll ever see.. @JayStafstrom has been pushing the boundaries of camera technology,... |
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Camera Traps, Sensors | 3 months 2 weeks ago | |
I always thought a tracker that attached like a slap bracelet would be sweet. |
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Emerging Tech, Footprint Identification Technique (FIT), Sensors | 3 months 2 weeks ago | |
I came across this which looks like it might work for you.Others have mentioned Davis. I used the Davis vantage pro2 in a previous life, and the cabled version was about... |
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Sensors | 3 months 3 weeks ago |
Song Meter Micro experience?
27 October 2022 6:33pm
26 September 2023 5:55am
Hi everyone. I am suuuuuper late on this discussion but I just finished 6-month fieldwork deploying 18 SM Micro over 70 different locations in Java, so I thought I would like to share my opinion on this device. So my work is basically installing each recorder in one location for the duration of 7-14 days before moving it to a different location, with battery and silica gel changed in between every deployment. Here's my thought:
Waterproofing - The first 2 months of the fieldwork was the wettest season I have ever experienced in the field. Extreme rain almost on a daily basis. Most of the time the recorder was working just fine except for the 2nd week of deployment when I found the inside a bit wet, but it was probably because I forgot to ensure that both lids were clicking. The recorder still works fine after this deployment, and this was when I decided to change the silica gel before the next deployment.
Sound quality - As mentioned by others. there's an annoying peak at 6kHz. I did not originally plan to do soundscape analysis so it wasn't a big problem at the beginning, but now there is some discussion on doing so. Other than this I found the quality to be just adequate.
Battery Life - I am using alkaline 1,5 volt (non-rechargable) battery and get ~120 hours of recording, with a sample rate of 32khz. Suitable for my method, but certainly not for longer deployment.
Safety - My field site is full of a poacher who does not like to be detected, and the rangers warned me so many times about the camera trap that was destroyed or stolen by these people. I used steel cable and a small carabiner-style padlock which I later realized wouldn't stand a chance against a few hits of the machete, but luckily no recorder went missing--mostly because I tried to hide it as far as possible from the trails and cover our tracks. The small size of SM Micro makes it easy to hide among foliage (be careful on contact noise between leaves and recording), and the fact that it is colored green and has no external light also greatly helps (unlike Swiftone. Seriously, who thought that white is a perfect color for an expensive device that will be left in the forest for a long time?)
In conclusion, it is a cheap and easy-to-get device (compared to the mythical Audiomoth) for species presence detection in a short time like I did, but certainly not for longer deployment or more intricate bioacoustic analysis.
6 October 2023 9:08pm
Hi everyone,
I wanted to provide an update on behalf of Wildlife Acoustics regarding some of these comments in this thread. As some of you may know, we have just announced the second generation of our Song Meter Micro. Along with 33% longer battery life due to an expanded battery tray (which now holds 4 AAs instead of 3), the Song Meter Micro 2 will also have a flatter frequency response. Though we don’t have a firm release date at the moment, we are currently looking at an early 2024 release, with pre-orders likely to start at the end of 2023. Detailed frequency response charts and specs will also be posted to our site soon. In fact, we have built an anechoic chamber in our new office and will be doing detailed testing with a host of new precision instruments. For more info on the Micro 2, check out our current product page. Lastly, thanks all for your open and honest feedback. It allows us to make our products better and better for you.
Unravelling freshwater turtle activity with an open source, low-cost accelerometer
6 October 2023 1:04pm
1st Wildlife Scientific Conference 2023
25 September 2023 11:10am
Best Temperature/ Humidity Dataloggers
24 April 2023 1:30pm
11 September 2023 2:49pm
Heya Nick - ooh cool! We thought about the Kestrels but I had heard about some of the problems with them maxing out at 100. Have gone for HOBO Pro V2s
11 September 2023 2:51pm
Heya Matthew cheers for providing a comparison! We went with HOBO Pro V2s which are more expensive but have been working well so far!
23 September 2023 6:14am
Makes sense if you have the cash...
*NEW* White Paper: Harnessing the Power of Sound & AI to track Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) Targets
20 September 2023 12:53pm
Gundi: The Universal Adaptor for Conservation Technologies
13 September 2023 4:28pm
Looking for Opportunities to Shadow Field Technologists in Southeast Asia
13 September 2023 4:11am
A low-cost, long-running, open-source stereo camera for tracking aquatic species and their behaviours
5 September 2023 12:15pm
Have you ever wanted to continuously film underwater species and their behaviours for up to 2 days at a low cost?
Well now you can with this new open-source design guide published in
@MethodsEcolEvol!
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/2041-210X…
Innovation in Environmental Monitoring
31 August 2023 11:31pm
Live Streaming from a Remote Location (no cell tower access)
15 July 2023 1:18am
29 July 2023 1:29am
"The WiFi Solar Camera comes loaded with various features such as live monitoring ( via smartphone app ), motion sensor recording and notification alerts on detected movement, night vision, cloud storage of footage, an audio system to facilitate communication"
29 July 2023 8:43am
Hi Colin, Many thanks for your replies. Yes, Starlink provides full internet access. Our current Wifi Nest camera contains a web server & provides a html code to embed the live stream into a web page for public access. Most security cameras, due to privacy reasons, do not stream to a web page without requiring a username & password. Not a viable solution for public viewing.
We are looking for a camera with PTZ functionality that can stream to a web page without requiring a username & password.
Cheers, Graeme
11 August 2023 12:27pm
Graeme, Maybe speak to a web IT expert. You may be able to have an interface on the webpage which provides the login credentials to the camera, but then passes the image (and control) to another page. Make a "masking" page that keeps the camera happy, but access and control is via another page.
Human-Elephant Conflict Tech Solution in Tsavo: NdovuCare
7 August 2023 1:36pm
#Tech4Wildlife Photo Challenge: Community Choice Honorees
3 August 2023 10:00am
Live Streaming Camera
31 July 2023 11:36am
Senior Technical Specialist, Monitoring & Technology, ZSL
18 July 2023 1:44pm
Lion collars LoRaWan
24 May 2023 8:10am
17 July 2023 1:36pm
Thank you, looks very good.
Due to changes in export/import regulations, Vectronic is not shipping to Kenya anymore.
17 July 2023 1:38pm
Thank you for sharing. For cattle, we tested the LT-10 from Globalsat.
But will switch to collars, also for cattle.
17 July 2023 1:39pm
Thanks, Tim, will keep an eye on Smart Parks. Still the preferred solution from our side.
pneumatic artificial muscle applications in conservation tech?
5 July 2023 6:59pm
River Monitoring Sensors
6 June 2023 1:06pm
30 June 2023 7:05pm
Hi Kennedy, this is Ben from the USGS. There are many ways to monitor stream flow, but most are expensive and time-consuming. We have recently come up with an alternative that uses cameras and images combined with AI to estimate relative flow. There is a growing database here:
Feel free to get in touch if this seems like it could help, Ben at [email protected]
3 July 2023 4:05pm
Would you consider using LoRaWAN technology?
LoRaWAN features super low power consumption and ultra-long-range communication, very suitable for the wild :)
One LoRaWAN gateway can connect to up to 200 sensors within the range of 2km to 10km (depending on the environment and antenna etc.)
You can check out the combination of the following:
3 July 2023 6:18pm
Ben Letcher from the comment below will be able to provide much more in-depth info, but feel free to email me at [email protected]
Information Session: Technology Testing to Mitigate Human-Elephant Conflict in West Bengal
19 June 2023 11:07pm
Innovation wanted: Technology Testing to Mitigate Human-Elephant Conflict in West Bengal
19 June 2023 10:54pm
The Wildlife Society Conference
19 June 2023 5:59am
Wildlife Monitoring Engineer
8 June 2023 4:54pm
FieldKit: Accessible Sensor Technology for All
23 May 2023 10:26pm
How sensors in "Smart Eggs" are helping Condors
19 May 2023 12:30am
A really interesting article on how the Oregon Zoo's condor team have used sensors and 3D printed eggs to monitor the conditions inside California Condor nests. Because condors are still endangered, every chick is important to the species' longterm success, so being able to monitor nests for potential changes and more effectively replicate natural nest conditions in incubators is a big step forward for improving their breeding program.
Introducing the 2023 Conservation Tech Showcase
11 May 2023 5:06pm
Looking for an off-the-shelf saltwater switch
6 May 2023 6:05am
Field testing of a radio telemetry system to be deployed in the sea.
24 January 2023 6:52am
21 March 2023 2:47am
Here's a link about waterproofing in the marine environment, if you haven't already discovered Ed Mallon.
21 March 2023 8:52am
Oh, great link! Been doing marine projects recently and a big headache is protecting submerged electronics. I've kind of heard of many of those techniques, but great to see them collected all in one place and with first hand experienced commentary regarding them.
12 April 2023 2:32pm
Not sure exactly how your telemetry will be deployed, but if it's going to be attached to an animal in a relatively non-invasive way, you might check with zoos or aquariums that have similar species.
I worked in that industry for a long time and we tested telemetry for seals, sea lions, polar bears and elephants. There might have been more, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head. This can help improve attachment methods and test how tough the animals will be on the equipment.
What are people using IoT for?
16 March 2019 3:27am
12 April 2023 4:31am
Cell phone detection is one of the more interesting anti-poaching approaches I've seen. Everyone is glued to their phones these days. Even poachers!
12 April 2023 8:34am
Yes it is quite clever! With multiple GSM towers/stations it should be possible to locate the phones (poachers) using trilateration.
12 April 2023 8:35am
Very cool, @BrettMargoSupplies ! Will keep an eye out for that wireless electrical fence!
The 59th Annual Meeting of Illinois Chapter of The Wildlife Society
12 April 2023 5:24am
Advice on afforable LiDAR scanners for Amazon forest surveys
5 April 2023 3:47pm
6 April 2023 6:21pm
Hi Jeremy,
With a quick search I've found the paper linked below. It looks like equipments such as Livox MID are sufficient for plot-level analyses, but not for individual trees. Also, it has performed worse in dense canopies and broadleaf forest, thus I believe we won't have a technology capable of doing what you aim for this amount of money (< $1000) in a few years from now.
I hope someone give us an alternative, though. :D
Best,
11 May 2023 4:45pm
Hi Lucy,
Sorry! I was in the field by the time you replied, and have not been back long. I realise it's been months now, but are you still planning on using the SM Micros? If so, please have a look at my thoughts in the new comment on this thread. I would think in Norway, the stridulating insect issue would not be as bad as in the tropics. Depends on what you want to use them for. Battery life is still definitely an issue though, and even more so in low temperatures. Good luck, let me know how you get on, or if you went with a different recorder.
Cheers,
Nick