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
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User insights for a Shazam for frogs
Juliana Gómez Consuegra
I'm a MIDS graduate student at UC Berkeley working on a citizen science app for automated frog call identification. I'd like to know how users interact with such apps and their pain points. This 5-minute survey will...
27 September 2024
Article
🌍🎶 **Inspiring Moments at the African Bioacoustics Community Conference!** 🎶🌍
Consolata Gathoni Gitau
The African Bioacoustics Conference!
18 September 2024
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Calibration Talk at the 2017 ASA ACBA Symposium
Pete Marchetto
After all the discussion about calibration yesterday during the bioacoustics hardware call, I figured I should link to my talk on the subject from a few years ago.
6 September 2024
Funding
The Coral Research & Development Accelerator Platform opened it's Coral Accelerator Program 2024 for internationally collaborating teams to apply with innovative projects ranging from 'novel early-phase' to 'final...
26 August 2024
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Hydrophone user survey 2024
Lucille Chapuis
The IQOE Task Team on Low-Cost Hydrophones for Research, Education and Citizen Science would like to understand the needs of all hydrophone end-users. Please answer a few questions in this online survey! By...
26 August 2024
Article
Join us for Season Five of the WILDLABS Virtual Meetup Series, tuning in to the world of Bioacoustics! Laying the groundwork for our new horizon scan research, each event will convene cross-sector experts to explore a...
22 August 2024
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Join us in celebrating this year’s Judging Panele Award winners!
19 August 2024
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Join us in celebrating this year’s Community Choice Award winners!
15 August 2024
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Vote for your favorite submissions that best demonstrate conservation impact, novel innovation/discovery, and strong storytelling of the work and the sector.
12 August 2024
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On the final day of the #Tech4Wildlife Photo Challenge, we wrap up looking at past and current submissions that feature the fastest growing areas of conservation tech. Today’s topic: bioacoustics!
9 August 2024
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Listen to the Future: A Bioacoustics Horizon Scan
Vanesa Reyes
We are thrilled to introduce our new horizon scan, which will chart the future of bioacoustics. By collectively prioritizing emerging innovations that could transform the field, we aim to build consensus, facilitate...
5 August 2024
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Wildlife Acoustics is proud to offer a grant program to support the advancement of wildlife research, habitat monitoring, and environmental conservation
4 August 2024
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| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Would anyone know about the recommended number of months to conduct acoustic monitoring of sharks. This is part of a small grant project.... |
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Acoustics | 3 years 5 months ago | |
| We've been using 18650 lithium ion protected cells in our BAR recorders since 2013. The protected cells are great because the protection circuitry kicks in to disconnect the... |
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Acoustics | 3 years 6 months ago | |
| Unfortunately, the ASA is currently planning to do an in-person meeting only. Things may change if the COVID situation doesn't improve in May, but it is hard to predict at... |
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Acoustics | 3 years 7 months ago | |
| Hi all, For everyone's reference but also a new one for your list Tessa (just checked and it isn't there yet) - Fuentes, M., Salamon, J., Zinemanas, P.,... |
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Acoustics | 3 years 9 months ago | |
| Hi Nicole-- We've already chatted about this function, and I think the answer is "quite a bit" for a lot of deployments. The more accurately the proposed function... |
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Acoustics | 3 years 9 months ago | |
| Hi Wildlabbers, This week's Tech Tutor Jamie MacAulay is talking about how to use and analyze large acoustic data using... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Marine Conservation | 3 years 10 months ago | |
| Tessa-- Thanks for chiming in. I agree with a lot of what you're saying, both about what RFCX is likely to actually be doing and about the need for more open labeled... |
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Acoustics | 3 years 10 months ago | |
| We are filming with the Australian Acoustic Observatory soon with one of the Solar BARs we created (it's continuously recording for four years!) and were wondering if... |
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Acoustics | 3 years 10 months ago | |
| Thanks Rob! Hopefully it turns out to be a useful tool. Just to reiterate for folk, there are links to tutorials and a beta version in the blog post. |
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Acoustics | 3 years 11 months ago | |
| This is a small device that sits in your backyard and monitors sounds and RF signals for wildlife. https://www.kickstarter.com/... |
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Acoustics | 4 years 2 months ago | |
| Tessa Rhinehart has developed a great compilation of bioacoustic analysis platforms, software, etc. with basic functionality on each. It's openly-available on Github -https://... |
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Acoustics | 4 years 3 months ago | |
| Dear Antoine, collect sound data (.wav) with the audiorecorder (audiomoth) of your choice. Point the script https://github.com/kahst/BirdNET-Lite to the location of your data... |
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Acoustics | 4 years 3 months ago |
