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Acoustic sensors enable efficient and non-invasive monitoring of a wide range of species, including many that are difficult to monitor in other ways. Although they were initially limited in application scope largely due to cost and hardware constraints, the development of low-cost, open-source models like the Audiomoth in recent years has increased access immensely and opened up new avenues of research. For example, some teams are using them to identify illicit human activities through the detection of associated sounds, like gunshots, vehicles, or chainsaws (e.g. OpenEars).

With this relatively novel dimension of wildlife monitoring rapidly advancing in both marine and terrestrial systems, it is crucial that we identify and share information about the utility and constraints of these sensors to inform efforts. A recent study identified advancements in hardware and machine learning applications, as well as early development of acoustic biodiversity indicators, as factors facilitating progress in the field. In terms of limitations, the authors highlight insufficient reference sound libraries, a lack of open-source audio processing tools, and a need for standardization of survey and analysis protocols. They also stress the importance of collaboration in moving forward, which is precisely what this group will aim to facilitate.

If you're new to acoustic monitoring and want to get up to speed on the basics, check out these beginner's resources and conversations from across the WILDLABS platform:

Three Resources for Beginners:

Listening to Nature: The Emerging Field of Bioacoustics, Adam Welz
Ecoacoustics and Biodiversity Monitoring, RSEC Journal
Monitoring Ecosystems through Sound: The Present and Future of Passive Acoustics, Ella Browning and Rory Gibb

Three Forum Threads for Beginners:

AudioMoth user guide | Tessa Rhinehart
Audiomoth and Natterjack Monitoring (UK) | Stuart Newson
Help with analysing bat recordings from Audiomoth | Carlos Abrahams

Three Tutorials for Beginners:

"How do I perform automated recordings of bird assemblages?" | Carlos Abrahams, Tech Tutors
"How do I scale up acoustic surveys with Audiomoths and automated processing?" | Tessa Rhinehart, Tech Tutors
Acoustic Monitoring | David Watson, Ruby Lee, Andy Hill, and Dimitri Ponirakis, Virtual Meetups

Want to know more about acoustic monitoring and learn from experts in the WILDLABS community? Jump into the discussion in our Acoustic Monitoring group!

Header image: Carly Batist

Article

#Tech4Wildlife Photo Challenge: Our favourites from 2016

WILDLABS Admin

Are you ready for this year's #Tech4Wildlife Photo Challenge? In anticipation, we're counting down our ten favourite entries from last year. Do you think you can top these?

1 March 2017

Funding

Conservation Leadership Programme 2017 Award

WILDLABS Admin

The Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) is a training and capacity building programme that targets individuals from developing countries who are early in their conservation career and demonstrate leadership...

21 November 2016

Funding

Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act grants via USFWS

WILDLABS Admin

Do you work on conserving Neotropical migratory birds? Do you need funding? Why not apply for a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act's grant program? The...

8 November 2016

Article

How can technology help us monitor those small cold-blooded critters that live in caves?

Tony Whitten

Caves don't tend to be well-liked ecosystems, being extremely dark, often quite cramped, and slippery. And the creepy-crawlies that live within them can be the stuff of nightmares. Nevertheless, one's attitude towards...

25 July 2016

Article

Passive Acoustic Monitoring: Listening Out for New Conservation Opportunities

WILDLABS Team

More than half of all primate species are endangered, including our closest living relative, the chimpanzee. Could Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) be applied to primates as well as it has been for other taxa? In this...

29 June 2016

Article

A novel citizen science approach for large-scale monitoring of bats

Stuart Newson

Since 2013, volunteer citizen scientists taking part in the Norfolk Bat Survey have generated over 1.2 million bat recordings, making this one of the most extensive high-quality datasets for bats collected by citizen...

5 February 2016

Article

Report outlines 2016's most pressing conservation issues

Olivia Bailey

New horizon scanning report published this month identifies 15 emerging threats and opportunities for global biodiversity.

3 February 2016

Description	Activity	Replies	Groups	Updated
New Group Proposal: Systems Builders & PACIM Designers	Thank you for your reply, ChadI meant 10 as a whole, indeed. Perhaps you see your post in one group, but since it is tagged for all groups, I assumed you meant 10 in total.In your...		Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Animal Movement, Camera Traps, Citizen Science, Climate Change, Community Base, Connectivity, Drones, eDNA & Genomics, Emerging Tech, Funding and Finance, Geospatial, Human-Wildlife Coexistence, Software Development, Wildlife Crime	2 months 1 week ago
WILDLABS AWARDS 2025 - Pioneering Acoustic Tags for Mysterious Hebridean Giants (Basking Sharks)	Hello WILDLABS!We are very excited and grateful to be recipients of one of the WILDLABS 2025.I (Tom Knowles, @TomKnowles) am currently a...		Acoustics, Marine Conservation	2 months 1 week ago
Feedback needed for new Tech Concepts	Gina- Sounds like an interesting thesis topic! I work with bioacoustics in offshore waters and I'd be happy to have a chat and provide feedback-- feel free to message me via...		Emerging Tech, Acoustics, Connectivity, Marine Conservation, Sensors	2 months 2 weeks ago
The Locally-led East Asian Flyway Acoustics (LEAFA) Migratory Program; Harnessing emerging technologies to understand the impacts of a changing planet on ecosystem function of migratory birds in the East-Asian Australasian Flyway	As recipients of the WILDLABS AWARDS, our team is proud to lead the Locally-led East Asian Flyway Acoustics (LEAFA)...		Acoustics	2 months 2 weeks ago
Improving the performance of the pippyg static bat detector with a remote microphone	@PhilAtkin Really excited to PippyG available for public. Can't wait to get my hands on these little babies soon.	+15	Acoustics	2 months 2 weeks ago
Feedback New Tech - tracking aquatic biodiversity in offshore windfarms	Hi, My name is Gina. I'm currently working on my Bachelor's Thesis and would like some feedback on my final concept. It is a ...		Acoustics, Emerging Tech, Marine Conservation, Sensors, Women in Conservation Tech Programme (WiCT)	2 months 2 weeks ago
Any experience using camera traps for wading bird presence?	Hi everyone! I am hoping to gather a little advice from this amazing community. I am a graduate student at Rutgers University and will be...		Camera Traps, Acoustics	2 months 3 weeks ago
Advice needed for accessible acoustic monitoring	Nev - hi, I'm UK based too and happy to set up a call if I can help? All the best, Carlos		Acoustics	2 months 3 weeks ago
Need advice for running BirdNET on big data	Thank you for the response, I'll look into it.		Acoustics	2 months 3 weeks ago
WILDLABS AWARDS 2025 - Open-Access AI for Marine Mammal Acoustic Detection	We’re excited to announce that Deep Voice has received a 2025 Wildlabs Award to develop a public, web-based platform for marine mammal...		Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Marine Conservation	2 months 4 weeks ago
Field-Ready Bioacoustics System in Field Testing	Hi Ryan, hmm, I had no idea there was a microphone named that. I thought about how it’s used to lure birds for netting, and I like Greek Mythology. I thought it was a perfect fit...		Acoustics, Emerging Tech, Funding and Finance, Protected Area Management Tools, Software Development	4 months 3 weeks ago
Enhancing automated analysis of marine soundscapes using eco-acoustic indices and machine learning	Fascinating article, combining machine learning and acoustical signals to correlate coral reef health.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...		Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Marine Conservation	3 years 2 months ago