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
- @leonardoscarpa
- | He/His
I'm Leonardo, I'm a biologist, and I'm passionate about movement ecology. Another of my hobbies is GIS. I have a master's degree in this topic, which I complement with the use of technology such as drones, camera traps and acoustic receivers
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- @Thomas_Luypaert
- | He/him
Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
Ecological monitoring enthusiast with a focus on ecological and conservation research
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- 1 Discussions
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CIBIO-InBio
I am a PhD student working on wolf bioacoustics. I am combining Audiomoths and Deep Learning into more efficient wolf monitoring protocols. My main field of interest is population ecology.
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- @nlubcker
- | Dr
Results-Driven R&D Project Manager | Data scientist | I'm a versatile professional with 10 years of global experience in conservation and research.
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- @mariammatta
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The Nature Conservancy
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- @LianaN
- | She/Her
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- @robertlachlan
- | He/Him
Research in animal communication developing SongBeam song recorder devices
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Purdue University
- 8 Resources
- 48 Discussions
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Pochitroniks
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Careers
Sarab Sethi is looking for a PhD student (Sept 24) to investigate real time insect pollinator monitoring with acoustics. Sensor design, ML, lab and field experiments, and more !
16 November 2023
Careers
Software Engineer at Rainforest Connection & Arbimon
Carly Batist
Join the Rainforest Connection & Arbimon team to develop software for biodiversity monitoring!
14 November 2023
Link
Digital Signals Processing - free online textbook
Lars Holst Hansen
I just discovered this freely available book on digital signal processing and love the fact that it is“…intended for students … who may not have much mathematical or engineering training.” Seems like a great resource...
31 October 2023
Article
Ecoacoustic Bird Survey White Paper
Carlos Abrahams
Baker Consultants has released new ecoacoustic research assessing the benefits of using automated detectors alongside transect bird survey methods.
30 October 2023
Article
In case you missed it... (no.2)
Stephanie O'Donnell
Five #tech4wildlife people, projects and updates that caught my attention this month. This issue is a naturetech, biodiversity startup edition! Featuring a living map of the biodiversity startup scene, is nature data...
27 October 2023
Careers
Acoustic Monitoring Specialist
Mandy Holmgren
The Institute for Bird Populations (IBP) seeks a California-based acoustic monitoring specialist to collect, manage, and process avian acoustic data from multiple research and conservation projects across California...
26 October 2023
Article
With the rising threats to biodiversity such as wildlife crime, climate change and human-wildlife conflict today, wildlife monitoring technologies have become vital to study movement ecology, behaviour patterns, changes...
25 October 2023
Link
New paper in Nature Communications from Jörg Müller et al. using BAR-LT recorders and CNNs to track biodiversity recovery. Study shows that #soundscapes 🎙🎶 and deep learning are powerful tools for tracking biodiversity...
20 October 2023
Careers
To study song evolution in time and space, we will use individual acoustic monitoring (IAM) - a non-invasive method that allows the identification of individuals based solely on their vocalisations. In this project, we...
20 October 2023
Careers
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie PhD Fellowship in Bioacoustic AI for wildlife protection. The PhD position advertised here will be based at the KU Leuven Electrical Engineering Department (ESAT), under the supervision of...
20 October 2023
Careers
PhD Opportunity: 'FLOATERS' position at Bioacoustic AI Doctoral Network
Stephanie O'Donnell
FLOATERS: Using individually distinct vocalizations to estimate breeding and non-breeding population of a species. Apply for the fully funded PhD position now!
20 October 2023
Careers
The Kitzes Lab at the University of Pittsburgh (http://kitzeslab.org) is seeking applications for a Postdoctoral Scholar, Research Assistant, and Graduate Student to work in the areas of bioacoustics, quantitative...
28 September 2023
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61 Products
| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Okay, super! Really nice thread you started. It’s great to get these insights.With my own experiments, as you mentioned, accuracy is very good within the polygons. But in addition... |
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Acoustics | 6 months 1 week ago | |
| The PCB mount terminals are actually quite robust and paired with a lock washer and something that would better secure the nylon (e.g., a piece of flat grooved plastic to add... |
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Acoustics, Conservation Dogs, Sensors | 6 months 1 week ago | |
| I guess, you know USB digital audio | Android Open Source Project. from which I conclude it should be possible, however, my Android experience is also zero. |
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Acoustics | 6 months 1 week ago | |
| PCBs back, working great but right now a custom firmware build ("force_27"), need to make sure all is well with the standard build. This of course a non-switch version. |
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Acoustics | 6 months 3 weeks ago | |
| Hi Brett, I am interested in developing really low cost multi channel underwater acoustic recorders. Can you tell me a bit more about the board and stuff you were using... |
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Build Your Own Data Logger Community, Acoustics, Camera Traps, Climate Change, East Africa Community, Marine Conservation, Open Source Solutions, Protected Area Management Tools | 7 months ago | |
| These would be infrasound, so no the sealed volume doesn't need to be buried. It only needs to be a few cc total volume for a single element. I found an old poster... |
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Acoustics | 7 months ago | |
| Thanks, we know they are breeding these animals here, I asked, since it's seems to be an expensive hobby, we need to allocate more funding for rural women in entrepreneurship and... |
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Acoustics, Animal Movement, Citizen Science, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Protected Area Management Tools, Wildlife Crime | 7 months 1 week ago | |
| Here is the final, dramatic word. I built a pipistrelle (noisier than a pippyg so a good test) and used non-ceramic capacitors and played with ferrites and 1R resistors. ... |
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Acoustics | 7 months 1 week ago | |
| WildMon, Terra Genesis, The VF Foundation, Thaksin University, and the Wanakaset Symbiosis Network have teamed up on a new project in... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Community Base | 7 months 1 week ago | |
| This looks awesome! |
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Acoustics | 7 months 2 weeks ago | |
| I would love to see my bat detector designs in use in Africa - drop me a line, let's see if we can get something to happen - I'm pipistrelledetector at gmail dot comhttp://www.... |
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Citizen Science, Acoustics, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Human-Wildlife Conflict | 7 months 3 weeks ago | |
| Hi Phil, Thanks for sharing - this is really interesting work! Seems like a cool integration of ground-based (or ocean-based) data and satellite data, with a community... |
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Geospatial, Acoustics, Camera Traps, eDNA & Genomics | 7 months 4 weeks ago |
