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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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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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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Research in animal communication developing SongBeam song recorder devices
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PhD in Ecology, Nature's sound lover.
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Careers
Multiple Roles with Rainforest Connection
Rainforest Connection
Rainforest Connection has multiple engineering positions that will suppor their work developing acoustic monitoring devices.
16 June 2022
Article
Passive acoustic training workshop video/materials
Carly Batist
Video recording of workshop held in Madagascar + PDFs of slide, links to other resources & terrestrial PAM bibliography
13 June 2022
Article
New papers on marine acoustic monitoring
Carly Batist
Acoustic pingers to reduce net entanglement of river dolphins, acoustic observatories for sperm whales, detectability of dolphin whistles, monitoring sperm whales through echolocation rates
11 June 2022
Article
Julia Martínez Pardo et al., Published in Biological Conservation
4 June 2022
Article
Microchip has just announced the 1 GHz SAMA7G54 single-core Arm Cortex-A7 microprocessor (MPU) with MIPI CSI-2 and parallel camera interfaces, as well as up to four I2S, one SPDIF transmitter and receiver, and a 4-...
3 June 2022
Article
"A drone emitting orca sounds will be used in attempt to guide the animal, whose health is fast deteriorating"
1 June 2022
Article
New papers on passive acoustic monitoring
Carly Batist
Couple of hot-off-the-press papers on different passive acoustic monitoring studies, including ones on manatees, coral reef fishes, woodpeckers, insects, and using ecoacoustic indices in marine soundscapes
29 May 2022
Article
Authors: Danielle I. Rappaport, Anshuman Swain, William F. Fagan, Ralph Dubayah, Douglas C. Morton
29 May 2022
Community Announcement
Apply now: Women in Conservation Technology Programme, Kenya
Stephanie O'Donnell
Are you an early career Kenyan conservationist looking to explore emerging conservation technologies while networking with a strong cohort of other female leaders? Apply now for our 6-month Women in Conservation Tech...
8 March 2022
Article
Introducing the WILDLABS On the Edge Fellows
WILDLABS Team
We're proud to introduce the first WILDLABS On the Edge Fellows for 2022, Loretta Schindlerova and Meredith Palmer! Working alongside expert Edge Impulse mentors, these two fellows will use embedded machine learning to...
10 February 2022
Article
GroupGets: AudioMoth Underwater Case
Open Acoustic Devices
Don't miss your chance to order the AudioMoth Underwater Case through GroupGets! This campaign is for a waterproof case designed specifically for AudioMoth version 1.2.0 (without the 3.5mm socket), and for use at depths...
11 January 2022
Article
New Paper: HydroMoth Testing
Open Acoustic Devices
Open Acoustic Devices have tested their new HydroMoth, an affordable marine acoustic tool that could open up new avenues for marine conservationists without budget for expensive hydrophones. Read the newly published...
5 January 2022
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Carly Batist
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| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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| 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 | 10 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 Coexistence, Protected Area Management Tools, Wildlife Crime | 10 months 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 | 10 months 1 week ago | |
| This looks awesome! |
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Acoustics | 10 months 1 week 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 Coexistence | 10 months 2 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 | 10 months 3 weeks ago | |
| Or you could use my sbts-aru project. Which is free software that runs on Raspberry Pis. It also allows you to perform sound localization remotely if required, without bringing... |
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Acoustics | 10 months 3 weeks ago | |
| Yes, predation is a significant conservation issue, especially for vulnerable species. Invasive predators can harm native wildlife, and carnivores preying on livestock often lead... |
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Acoustics | 10 months 3 weeks ago | |
| I shared some information on different ARU options in this post which might help! |
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Acoustics | 11 months ago | |
| Thanks for the plug, @Rob_Appleby Yes, we do a lot of work with audio playback as a nonlethal deterrent. We generally don’t do any work on identifying the animal... |
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Acoustics | 11 months 1 week ago | |
| Hi Sean! I was the one who annotated these recordings and this is definitely a mistake- that song is a Hauxwell's Thrush; it's annotated correctly with 15622 but not with... |
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Acoustics | 11 months 2 weeks ago | |
| @calyptura Try using another version of the download scripts that you can download from this link. There are 2 version of the script available. |
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Acoustics | 11 months 2 weeks ago |
