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
Monitoring and Evidence Manager, Kent Wildlife Trust
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Founder of Owl Sense, we create low cost, long running audio recorders.
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- @emmlub
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Interested in soil health and acoustic monitoring
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- @tobiaspetri
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Schäuffelhut Berger GmbH
data science & algorithmic developmentfor movement ecology
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PhD student in animal biology working on AI for wildlife conservation
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- @szacoustics
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Bioacoustics @CarbonRewild
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- @srfreeze
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I am a wildlife expert with a decade of experience working with bats and proven success in efforts to study, manage, and conserve the species. I work at the nexus of advanced technologies and deep ecological understandings to provide effective solutions to government, academic, a
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Environmental Engineer, phd researcher on soundscape ecology
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- @mr.kite
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Environmental Specialist working with bird surveys and impact assessment. Here I'm focused on acoustic recording technologies and acoustic data analysis for birds.
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- @joevstaas
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Working with ocean data, technology and collaboration. Empowering ocean insights with a cloud-based geospatial platform, the Ocean Data Platform at HUB Ocean.
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61 Products
| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hi there Loveness, I agree there is a ton to learn with acoustic monitoring! Here's my favorite website for learning the (many) basics! Discovery of Sound in the SeaHave... |
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Acoustics | 9 months 1 week ago | |
| Karibu sana |
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Acoustics, East Africa Community, Conservation Tech Training and Education | 9 months 2 weeks ago | |
| Hi César, Is there a geographic area you're limited to? That would help to narrow down options. I would recommend reaching out perhaps to the Kitzes Lab, Sound Forest... |
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Acoustics, Citizen Science, Community Base, Early Career, Marine Conservation | 9 months 2 weeks ago | |
| Retweet on OpenSoundscape - great package and documentation that allows you to build your own CNNs! Note that this is in Python though. There are tons of bioacoustics... |
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Acoustics, Data management and processing tools | 9 months 4 weeks ago | |
| Hi @BrettMargoSupplies this product seems like a fantastic addition to The Inventory, WILDLABS' wiki-style discovery platform for conservation technology. Adding a product is... |
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Acoustics | 9 months 4 weeks ago | |
| Hi everyone, I am conducting a research project as part of my MSc in Environment and Development at the London School of Economics. I... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Autonomous Camera Traps for Insects, Ethics of Conservation Tech | 9 months 4 weeks ago | |
| Yeah that would be great - I have done a little looking into it today and I have some ideas. I'd love to collab. I will DM you |
+16
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Acoustics | 10 months ago | |
| Many thanks. That is a useful place to start. I don't think there is any shortage of blackbirds in the UK. And they nest in our garden every year. I don't remember the last time I... |
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Acoustics | 10 months 1 week ago | |
| Hi Luke,As Matthew has suggested, the best way is always to run a test run whenever you are doing something new. Put your recorders out for one or two days and see how they... |
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Acoustics | 10 months 1 week ago | |
| My organization has some Wildlife Acoustics SongMeter SM4 units that we’re looking to sell. We need more mobile and cost-effective ARUs for... |
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Acoustics | 10 months 1 week ago | |
| Hi Chris - I missed this entire dialog, just to say I have successfully recorded all the"quiet" bats using pippyg / pippistrelle, but it inevitably turns into an SNR issue, and... |
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Acoustics | 10 months 2 weeks ago | |
| Fantastic!! |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Animal Movement, Build Your Own Data Logger Community, Community Base, Early Career, Ethics of Conservation Tech, Marine Conservation, Open Source Solutions | 11 months 2 weeks ago |
European Forum Alpbach
1 August 2023 5:23pm
Senior Technical Specialist, Monitoring & Technology, ZSL
18 July 2023 1:44pm
New Updates to Carbon Mapper Data Portal
12 July 2023 4:57pm
WOPAM Day (World Oceans Passive Acoustic Monitoring Day)
12 July 2023 4:04pm
LABMaker
6 June 2023 3:31pm
17 June 2023 10:36am
Dear Tom, the AudioMoths are being sold via LabMakers (but I do not know if they construct them for them). Have you been in touch with the AudioMoth team? I am sure they will be able to provide you useful feedback regarding what you are trying to do, and LabMakers.
I have only used them to buy things from them.
Regards, Christos
3 July 2023 4:00pm
Hi Tom,
Seeed Studio also offers manufacturing services. Check out more info on the website here :)
RFCx/Arbimon is Hiring a Data Scientist!
28 June 2023 9:37pm
The Wildlife Society Conference
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Wildlife Monitoring Engineer
8 June 2023 4:54pm
ISO Speakers for Emerging Technologies class.
31 May 2023 4:29pm
31 May 2023 10:21pm
Definitely interested! I'm in the ecoacoustics/acoustic monitoring space, working at Rainforest Connection and Arbimon.
2 June 2023 2:08pm
Carly, that would be great! Thanks! I work with soundscapes and love the work of Rainforest Connection! I'll send you an email (@CUNY) to coordinate!
Funding Opportunity for attending bird-focused events and trainings
2 June 2023 12:54am
Looking for AI volunteer positions
24 May 2023 5:41am
24 May 2023 3:45pm
Hi Donya! You might check out the Conservation Tech Directory to see what projects/organizations/tools best align with your interests and skills.
New Paper: Identification of fish sounds
5 May 2023 12:40am
Marine Mammals Research Association (DMAD) and ACCOBAMS Joint Training Course
4 May 2023 1:00pm
Soundscape analysis using eco‑acoustic indices for the birdsbiodiversity assessment in urban parks (case study: IsfahanCity, Iran)
2 May 2023 11:52pm
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27 April 2023 5:52am
Software for marine acoustic monitoring?
25 April 2023 11:53pm
Congo Basin activity?
30 March 2023 9:14pm
25 April 2023 5:08pm
greetings!
i sent you a PM regarding this, feel free to contact me however is most convenient for you -
regards,
chris
HydroMoth GroupGets Campaign is Open
17 April 2023 8:44pm
How do I get started with Bird Audio processing and classification?
17 April 2023 9:11am
World Oceans Passive Acoustic Monitoring Day
14 April 2023 4:36am
Project Manager, Rainforest Connection (RFCx)
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The 59th Annual Meeting of Illinois Chapter of The Wildlife Society
12 April 2023 5:24am
Accessible acoustic analysis tech for blind scientist - ideas?
31 March 2023 10:52pm
6 April 2023 10:49pm
Hey Kate I don't have any explicit ideas at the moment but will think on it - such a cool concept! I wonder if there's some form of tactile spectrogram that you could develop, or a way that you could have them try to draw a representation (so assign some shape) of what they are hearing as a means of classification a call and then clustering those shapes? There's a way of creating an image using foam and paper I believe so they could have a tactile record of those shapes. Guess it depends what you want to the quantitative results to be. Super cool that you are looking for greater accessibility in acoustics!!!
7 April 2023 1:40am
Hi Kate,
We've developed a screen-reader workflow for a classification problem on our "Ocean Voices" Zooniverse project, which simply asks folks to label sounds based on what they hear and omits the spectrogram altogether. There are lots of screen-reader users who are active in the Zooniverse Talk forums, so they may have valuable input for you as well.
Once a person has labeled data, I wonder if they could run automated detectors over the data in Pamguard, calculate features (using something like the R package PAMpal), and then use the BrailleR package to explore the statistics in R. This article has a pretty interesting summary about statistical software for visually impaired folks - might not be news to your student, but I thought it was pretty cool.
I'm very curious what our friends who are visually impaired might notice in the acoustic data. Best of luck to you and your student!
Cheers,
Anne
7 April 2023 5:11pm
Hi Kate- ARISTA Lab (Advanced Research in Inclusion & STEAM Accessibility) is actively working on this through their eclispse soundscape project. I recommend reaching out to MaryKay to get the latest on their project.
Megan
Who's going to ESA in Portland this year?
31 March 2023 9:27am
4 April 2023 9:58am
That sounds great. I think you should encourage people to bring a bit of tech with them, can be a good conversation starter/ice-breaker
4 April 2023 4:04pm
Good idea! I've got a ransom assortment of different acoustic recorders I can bring along
5 April 2023 11:58pm
Indeed, I'll be there too! I like to meet new conservation friends with morning runs, so I will likely organize a couple of runs, maybe one right near the conference, and one somewhere in a nearby park where we can look for wildlife. The latter would probably be at an obscenely early hour, so we can drive somewhere, ideally see elk (there are elk within 25 minutes of Portland!), and still get back in time for the morning sessions.
Updates about Arbimon for Ecoacoustics - free, cloud based analytical tool
31 March 2023 11:09am
31 March 2023 3:43pm
Yes please reach out with any questions on acoustic monitoring, Arbimon, RFCx, etc.!
8 June 2023 1:59am
GroupGets?