With new technologies revolutionizing data collection, wildlife researchers are becoming increasingly able to collect data at much higher volumes than ever before. Now we are facing the challenges of putting this information to use, bringing the science of big data into the conservation arena. With the help of machine learning tools, this area holds immense potential for conservation practices. The applications range from online trafficking alerts to species-specific early warning systems to efficient movement and biodiversity monitoring and beyond.
However, the process of building effective machine learning tools depends upon large amounts of standardized training data, and conservationists currently lack an established system for standardization. How to best develop such a system and incentivize data sharing are questions at the forefront of this work. There are currently multiple AI-based conservation initiatives, including Wildlife Insights and WildBook, that are pioneering applications on this front.
This group is the perfect place to ask all your AI-related questions, no matter your skill level or previous familiarity! You'll find resources, meet other members with similar questions and experts who can answer them, and engage in exciting collaborative opportunities together.
Just getting started with AI in conservation? Check out our introduction tutorial, How Do I Train My First Machine Learning Model? with Daniel Situnayake, and our Virtual Meetup on Big Data. If you're coming from the more technical side of AI/ML, Sara Beery runs an AI for Conservation slack channel that might be of interest. Message her for an invite.
Header Image: Dr Claire Burke / @CBurkeSci
Explore the Basics: AI
Understanding the possibilities for incorporating new technology into your work can feel overwhelming. With so many tools available, so many resources to keep up with, and so many innovative projects happening around the world and in our community, it's easy to lose sight of how and why these new technologies matter, and how they can be practically applied to your projects.
Machine learning has huge potential in conservation tech, and its applications are growing every day! But the tradeoff of that potential is a big learning curve - or so it seems to those starting out with this powerful tool!
To help you explore the potential of AI (and prepare for some of our upcoming AI-themed events!), we've compiled simple, key resources, conversations, and videos to highlight the possibilities:
Three Resources for Beginners:
- Everything I know about Machine Learning and Camera Traps, Dan Morris | Resource library, camera traps, machine learning
- Using Computer Vision to Protect Endangered Species, Kasim Rafiq | Machine learning, data analysis, big cats
- Resource: WildID | WildID
Three Forum Threads for Beginners:
- I made an open-source tool to help you sort camera trap images | Petar Gyurov, Camera Traps
- Batch / Automated Cloud Processing | Chris Nicolas, Acoustic Monitoring
- Looking for help with camera trapping for Jaguars: Software for species ID and database building | Carmina Gutierrez, AI for Conservation
Three Tutorials for Beginners:
- How do I get started using machine learning for my camera traps? | Sara Beery, Tech Tutors
- How do I train my first machine learning model? | Daniel Situnayake, Tech Tutors
- Big Data in Conservation | Dave Thau, Dan Morris, Sarah Davidson, Virtual Meetups
Want to know more about AI, or have your specific machine learning questions answered by experts in the WILDLABS community? Make sure you join the conversation in our AI for Conservation group!
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I am a technologist of 20+ years. My undergraduate degree is in conservation biology, and I am looking for opportunities to bridge my technical expertise with conservation efforts.
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Addax Data Science
Wildlife ecologist with a special interest in machine learning
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- @mjwethin
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PhD Candiate studying Antarctic penguins and pack-ice seals
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Zoologist, currently serving as Head of Field Studies at Absolute Adventure (UAE). An environmental education professional with expertise in program development: field studies, wildlife conservation, research-based fieldwork, and outdoor education.
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- @LukeSwaby
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Data Research Scientist at a leading multinational aerospace and defence company, looking to transition to a career in conservation AI. Experience covering a broad range of cutting-edge research topics across bioinformatics and machine learning.
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Control and Automation Engineer, currently enrolled in the Automation and Systems Postgraduate Program at Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) in Brazil to obtain a Master's degree. Areas of interest: Multi Agent Systems, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics.
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I'm a PhD student at UW working with the Smithsonian and Center for One Health Research. I develop models to predict and explain zoonotic disease patterns, with a strong emphasis on how these diseases impact wildlife populations and communities sharing the same landscape.
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World Wide Fund for Nature/ World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
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- @Rewildman
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Eco-entrepreneur. Concerned with the fundamental interconnectedness of all things creative and environmental.
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Monitoring and Evidence Manager, Kent Wildlife Trust
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- @Naythin
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I’m an 18-year-old passionate about wildlife conservation and interested in how technology can help protect endangered species. I’m just starting out and eager to learn more about AI, and conservation.
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| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hi WILDLABS Community,I’m Simon Juma from Kenya, working on a project to track and manage Red-billed Quelea birds, which... |
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AI for Conservation, Sensors | 2 months 2 weeks ago | |
| Hi everyone, I’m excited to become a member of Wild Lab! I’m currently working on my master’s thesis, focusing on dormouse conservation. My research explores the behavioral... |
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AI for Conservation, Animal Movement, Camera Traps, Citizen Science, Community Base, Data management and processing tools, Early Career, Geospatial | 2 months 3 weeks ago | |
| That's amazing thanks so much! |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Data management and processing tools, Early Career | 2 months 3 weeks ago | |
| Thanks again for the interesting discussion everyone! Just a note that while I touched on it in my opening post above, there were still questions in this thread about what... |
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Open Source Solutions, AI for Conservation, Ethics of Conservation Tech, Software Development | 3 months ago | |
| Thanks @VAR1 great insights! Funny you mentioned the honey thing, @hikinghack said the same in response on the GOSH forum. I think the point I'm trying to make with the vegan... |
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Open Source Solutions, AI for Conservation, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Ethics of Conservation Tech, Geospatial, Software Development | 3 months ago | |
| Linkedin mainly. iNaturalist and eBird ofc but these are more communities than real social networks. But, and this is a real advice, a good RSS feed reader with all your... |
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AI for Conservation, Community Base | 3 months ago | |
| Hi Maureen, thanks a lot for this. Seemed more or less perfect so I applied :)Also didn't realise there was a slack community so I'll be scanning that too... |
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AI for Conservation | 3 months ago | |
| Hey everyone,On Monday, we are starting the test phase of our first MVP version!We are looking for a limited number of testers and still... |
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AI for Conservation | 3 months ago | |
| Hi Dan, Not right now but I can envision many uses. A key problem in RS is data streams for validation and training of ML models, its really not yet a solved problem. Any... |
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Emerging Tech, AI for Conservation, Animal Movement, Build Your Own Data Logger Community, Camera Traps, Connectivity, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Data management and processing tools, Geospatial, Sensors | 3 months 1 week ago | |
| Thanks @eugenegalaxy . Much appreciated and I will go through this thoroughly! |
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AI for Conservation | 3 months 1 week ago | |
| Hey Bob, thanks for the kind words! Your articles on Winterberry Wildlife have really been a big inspiration for me! There are extremely limited numbers of articles on trial... |
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AI for Conservation, Camera Traps | 3 months 1 week ago | |
| This is probably the most realistic one I've seen made by this tool (stable-difussion v1.5) |
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AI for Conservation | 3 months 1 week ago |
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Apply for the Google for Startups Accelerator: Climate Change Middle East & Africa Program
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Carly, that would be great! Thanks! I work with soundscapes and love the work of Rainforest Connection! I'll send you an email (@CUNY) to coordinate!
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Looking for AI volunteer positions
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Hi Donya! You might check out the Conservation Tech Directory to see what projects/organizations/tools best align with your interests and skills.
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That sounds like a really neat project! Do fish get re-caught often enough that individual ID is useful? Is sample bias (more data from popular spots) an issue?
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Using computer vision to understand bee vision
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31 May 2023 10:21pm
Definitely interested! I'm in the ecoacoustics/acoustic monitoring space, working at Rainforest Connection and Arbimon.