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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University of Florida (UF)
PhD student - acoustic monitoring in Amazon flooded forests.
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I'm a wildlife ecologist with interests in a range of technology.
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- @ana-alcantara
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Postgraduate Biology student interested in bioacoustics, conservation biology and biodiversity
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- @AthenaRycyk
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- @SamuelHertz
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I'm a PhD researcher at Royal Holloway University of London (Centre for GeoHumanities) researching modalities of sound-sensing technologies across climate and conservation sciences. Interested in ethics and histories of acoustic monitoring as well as new visualization methods.
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Nature lover
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- @dhanushshetty
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Centre for Wildlife Studies
Doctoral fellow at Centre for Wildlife Studies
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- @maddy
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Iam a Doctorate in molecular bology by profession & associated with a tech startup, focued on IoT/sensor based automation solutions. But I spend half of my time to document and conserve local & wildlife arond us and trying to explore our technology in conservation.Love to join
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General Purpose Electronics Engineer
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Agroecology Geek
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BSc Forest Engineering, MSc GIS Sciences, Drone researcher
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Interested in solving problems in Agriculture
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Article
New guidance - Good practice for ecoacoustic monitoring
Carlos Abrahams
We're very pleased to announce the publication of new 'Good practice guidelines for long-term ecoacoustic monitoring in the UK', produced by Manchester Metropolitan University, Baker Consultants Ltd and a great team of...
23 February 2023
Careers
Rainforest Connection (RFCx), in collaboration with USFWS, seek four Puerto Rican field agents to assist in deploying and retrieving audio recorders for a long-term biodiversity monitoring project in and around six...
22 February 2023
Careers
Research Assistants in Kitzes Lab
Justin Kitzes
Our group once again has openings for Research Assistants to work with us on our bioacoustics projects. A job ad and description of how to apply are below - please feel free to get in touch with any questions!
16 February 2023
Link
Interesting PhD thesis just shared via ResearchGate, looking at developing eDNA and bioacoustics to 1) detect invasive/endangered crayfish & identify rivers vulnerable to invasion, and 2) Describe pond soundscape...
10 February 2023
Careers
Swift Software Developer - Lab of Ornithology
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
The Cornell University Lab of Ornithology is seeking a Software Developer to join the K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics.
10 February 2023
Careers
Research Associate - Machine Learning (Underwater Sound)
Stephanie O'Donnell
You will develop and apply novel approaches and machine learning techniques for the detection, classification and identification of marine fauna from passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) validated with paired visual...
10 February 2023
Careers
Technical Officer – IMOS Animal Tracking Facility
Stephanie O'Donnell
IMOS Animal Tracking Facility is hiring a Technical Officer to assist with the preparation, deployment and maintenance of acoustic receivers to monitor movements of tagged animals & continue to develop operational...
7 February 2023
Careers
Are you excited by the potential for new technologies to help monitor the natural world? Do you enjoy communicating your passion for technology and nature with diverse audiences? We are seeking an enthusiastic...
2 February 2023
Careers
Consultancy opportunity: Wildlife monitoring specialist
Anthony Dancer
Consultancy opportunity at ZSL for an experienced monitoring specialist to support species monitoring in rewilding landscapes across Europe
31 January 2023
Article
Apply Now: AI for Conservation Office Hours
WILDLABS Team
Are you stuck on an AI or ML challenge in your conservation work? Apply now for the chance to receive tailored expert advice from data scientists! Applications due 27th January 2023
18 January 2023
Link
This study uses passive acoustic monitoring to record the patterns of illegal cattle occurrence within protected areas in the Brazilian Pantanal.
12 January 2023
Careers
Conservation Technology Intern (Vietnam)
Meredith Palmer
WILDLABS and Fauna & Flora International are seeking an early career Vietnamese conservationist for 12-month paid internship position to grow and support the Southeast Asia regional community in our global...
11 January 2023
August 2025
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Louisa Richmond-Coggan
September 2025
October 2025
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Vanesa Reyes
November 2025
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Wildlife Acoustics
September 2023
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Stephanie O'Donnell
July 2023
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| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Over the years, we have experienced AI in vision & speech. We have seen growth in LLMs. But, we could also have large sound... |
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Acoustics | 2 hours 59 minutes ago | |
| As someone from the future, thank you for posting this update! |
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Acoustics | 5 days 23 hours ago | |
| Dear Colleagues,I hope this message finds you well. I am Manuel Sánchez Nivicela., an independent ornithology researcher based in Ecuador,... |
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Funding and Finance, Acoustics, Latin America Community | 6 days 18 hours ago | |
| Kudos for such an innovative approach—integrating additional sensors with acoustic recorders is a brilliant step forward! I'm especially interested in how you tackle energy... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Latin America Community, Open Source Solutions | 1 week 1 day ago | |
| 🐝 Apis Nomadica Labs: Mapping Royal Jelly Terroir Through Mobile Bee BiotechAbout Us:Apis Nomadica Labs is a mobile apiary research... |
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Acoustics, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Animal Movement, Human-Wildlife Coexistence | 1 week 3 days ago | |
| Awesome, I think I get what you mean! Thank you! |
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Acoustics | 2 weeks 3 days ago | |
| This is such a compelling direction, especially the idea of linking unsupervised vocalisation clustering to generative models for controlled playback. I haven’t seen much done... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Emerging Tech | 2 weeks 4 days ago | |
| Hi Josept! Thank you for sharing your experience! This types of feedback are important for the community to know about when choosing what tech to use for their work. Would you be... |
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Acoustics, Latin America Community, Software Development | 3 weeks 2 days ago | |
| Another option you can try is HawkEars, which is a classifier made particularly for Canadian birds. Unlike BirdNET, it doesn't have a graphical interface, though. |
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Acoustics | 3 weeks 2 days ago | |
| PROJECT UPDATE: We are curating an open-access, annotated acoustic dataset for India! 🇮🇳🌿This project has two main goals:🎧 To develop a freely available dataset of annotated... |
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Acoustics | 1 month ago | |
| Just to provide an update to my post from 2021. Colleagues and I at the BTO have built a species classifier now for the BTO Acoustic Pipeline for the sound identification of all... |
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Acoustics | 1 month ago | |
| Thanks @Adrien_Pajot, we are! Also buoys! |
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Acoustics, Animal Movement | 1 month 1 week ago |
