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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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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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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The Nature Conservancy
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Research in animal communication developing SongBeam song recorder devices
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Purdue University
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PhD in Ecology, Nature's sound lover.
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Article
Catch up on the conservation tech discussions and events that happened during World Wildlife Day 2024!
7 March 2024
Careers
A PHD POSITION AT NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY
Consolata Gathoni Gitau
Do you know anyone interested in this position? Let them know by sharing widely.
27 February 2024
Careers
The Ecological Acoustics and Behavior Lab at the University of New Hampshire seeks a PhD student to join our lab to investigate how forest habitat affects moose occupancy and soundscape in northern New Hampshire
13 February 2024
Careers
The primary focus of the research is to explore how red deer movements, space use, habitat selection and foraging behaviour change during the wolf recolonization process.
10 February 2024
Link
These researchers are introduce the ISPA (Inter-Species Phonetic Alphabet) as a new way to precisely interpret and transcribe animal sounds. By using text to represent sounds, existing human language machine learning...
8 February 2024
Careers
PhD Opportunity - Exploring plants’ sensing capability with vibroacoustics
University of Southampton
Applications open for a PhD position in plant vibroacoustics at the University of Southampton
8 February 2024
Article
We demonstrate the power of using passive acoustic monitoring & machine learning to survey species, using ruffed lemurs in southeastern Madagascar as an example.
23 January 2024
Link
Questionnaire for Pain Points and Needs in Bioacoustics
Olivier Staehli
Hi! We're engineers eager to understand how technology can simplify acoustic work. If you use recorders, your input would be invaluable. Please consider taking our 5min survey. As a thank you, participants will be...
23 January 2024
Careers
Program Officer - Bioacoustics, WILDLABS
Henry Rees
Come join our team! We're looking for a Program Officer to join the WILDLABS Community, hosted by WCS in Argentina. This role will support our research program, with the chosen candidate leading our horizon scanning...
22 January 2024
Careers
Hiring bioacoutics analysts
Joshua Taylor
We're hiring ecologists for immediate start / remote working / short contract
19 January 2024
Careers
Two year postdoc - Machine Learning & Bioacoustics
Emmanuel Dufourq
Two years in Cape Town, South Africa. Yearly visits to Rwanda. If you love to code, and all things Python/deep learning/tech stuff/ then you'll have an awesome time!
16 January 2024
Article
This article discussed early work on modeling how acoustic properties of the environment will change with variations in weather.
9 January 2024
August 2025
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Louisa Richmond-Coggan
September 2025
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Vanesa Reyes
November 2025
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Oliver_Metcalf
May 2022
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Carly Batist
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| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hi Sol,If the maximum depth is 30m, it would be worth experimenting with HydroMoth in this application especially if the deployment time is short. As Matt says, the air-filed case... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Data management and processing tools, Emerging Tech, Sustainable Fishing Challenges | 1 year 3 months ago | |
| Oh wow, thank you so much!!!I will keep that four advices in mind! |
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Acoustics | 1 year 3 months ago | |
| You won't get any audio if you don't allow enough time for the hydromoth/audiomoth to write. So when you do a continuous recording you need to experiment a little. I'm sure there... |
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Acoustics | 1 year 3 months ago | |
| Congratulations! My first hydromoth was just arrived yesterday and so excited! Looking forward for the update from your project!!! |
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Acoustics, Animal Movement, Climate Change, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Data management and processing tools, Emerging Tech, Open Source Solutions, Protected Area Management Tools, Sensors, Software Development, Latin America Community | 1 year 3 months ago | |
| If you have the resources, I would suggest testing the sensitivity and directionality of the system at relevant frequencies both with and without an external mic, and let the... |
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Acoustics | 1 year 3 months ago | |
| Totally agree.Inititally sceptical until I saw Helena and Graeme were involved.MJ |
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Acoustics, Citizen Science, Community Base, Human-Wildlife Coexistence | 1 year 3 months ago | |
| 'Most importantly, we have to make it play a MIDI version of the DoctorWho theme song when you arm the device. That has to be the #1 feature if you ask me!' Seconded! |
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Acoustics, Animal Movement, Emerging Tech, Open Source Solutions, Sensors | 1 year 4 months ago | |
| We've deployed passive acoustic monitors in various urban environments without any issues of theft, even in locations where camera traps and other technology has been historically... |
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Acoustics | 1 year 4 months ago | |
| We could always use more contributors in open source projects. In most open source companies Red Hat, Anaconda, Red Hat and Mozilla, people often ended up getting hired largely... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Early Career, Marine Conservation | 1 year 4 months ago | |
| Hello everyone, I'm interested in gathering insights on how the behavior of different species impacts the development and efficacy of... |
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Animal Movement, Acoustics, Camera Traps, eDNA & Genomics, Emerging Tech, Marine Conservation | 1 year 4 months ago | |
| Thank you Carly, I will definitely take a look. |
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Acoustics, Animal Movement, Climate Change, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Data management and processing tools, Geospatial, Software Development | 1 year 4 months ago | |
| Hi @timbirdweather I've now got them up and running and winding how I can provide feedback on species ID to improve the accuracy over time. It would be really powerful to have a... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Citizen Science, Emerging Tech | 1 year 5 months ago |
