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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- @jscanass
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University College London (UCL) & Red Ecoacústica Colombiana
PhD Student at UCL
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- @Gathoni
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PhD Candidate at Nottingham Trent University, UK. Ecologist with a passion for wildlife conservation and conservation technology with foundational training in BSc and MSc Rangeland Management (Ecology option). Current project: Use of acoustics to monitor ecosystem restoration.
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Develops acoustics for cetacean and bat monitoring: F-POD, C-POD, BatBug
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Open Acoustic Devices
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creative technologist
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Wildlife Protection Solutions (WPS)
Director of Technology at Wildlife Protection Solutions. Primarily focuses on leveraging machine learning and advanced data analytics to combat poaching, monitor biodiversity, and predict environmental threats.
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Arribada Initiative
Director at Arribada, a UK-based conservation technology research & development organisation
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I am a researcher working on non-human primates in southern India
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Senior web developer and ML practitioner
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Wildlife Biologist/Conflict Specialist and drone enthusiast in Montana
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Link
News about a population survey of California Spotted Owls using 1,600 autonomous recording units in the Sierra Nevada region. Machine learning made analyzing this acoustic data possible at this large scale for the first...
29 August 2023
Careers
Reviewing Now: Animal Telemetry Postdoctoral Fellowship
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution seeks a field- and data-oriented biologist to support marine animal telemetry research and to assist with activities of the Atlantic Cooperative Telemetry (ACT) Network.
24 August 2023
Careers
RFCx/Arbimon is hiring a Quantitative Ecologist!
Carly Batist
Apply to work on a wonderful team translating acoustic monitoring data into conservation & ecological insights!
11 August 2023
Link
This article discusses Cornell's bioacoustics work with AI tools to recognize both elephant "voices" as well as gunshots. The elephant rumbles analyzed in this work are almost imperceptible to the human ear, but can be...
9 August 2023
Article
#Tech4Wildlife Photo Challenge: Judges' Panel Honorees
WILDLABS Team
Please join us in celebrating this year’s top #Tech4Wildlife Photo Challenge Honorees as chosen by our panel of leading conservation organization judges, and enjoy the story contained within these entries about how our...
4 August 2023
Careers
Senior Technical Specialist, Monitoring & Technology, ZSL
Anthony Dancer
Exciting opportunity for an experienced biodiversity monitoring expert in ZSL's conservation department
18 July 2023
Article
New Updates to Carbon Mapper Data Portal
Stephanie O'Donnell
Global methane data and new functionaity on the Carbon Mapper Data Portal
12 July 2023
Careers
RFCx/Arbimon is Hiring a Data Scientist!
Carly Batist
Apply to work with an absolutely all-star group developing AI/ML techniques and models for acoustic monitoring!
28 June 2023
Article
Request for proposals - Biodiversity + tech solutions
Anna Colquhoun
The GSMA ClimateTech programme
21 June 2023
Careers
Job opportunity in Leiden, The Netherlands
9 June 2023
Careers
Wildlife Monitoring Engineer
Tom August
Permanent and Full Time role at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
8 June 2023
Funding
Field Inclusive, Inc. is offering a $2000 travel award to students to attend bird-focused conferences, workshops, and trainings. Interested acoustic monitoring community members should apply by July 31st for...
2 June 2023
August 2025
event
Louisa Richmond-Coggan
September 2025
October 2025
event
Vanesa Reyes
November 2025
November 2023
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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... |
+7
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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.,... |
+9
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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 |
