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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Light in the dark: How AI and FLIR cameras are saving black rhinos in Kenya
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Live and work in sunny San Diego for the summer, contributing to engineering projects as they relate to conservation technology.
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The Conservation Technology Laboratory within the Population Sustainability department is seeking two fellows for summer 2025
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The Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies (WFE), SLU, Umeå, is looking for a postdoc with strong interests in wildlife conservation technology.
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I am thrilled to share that we are hiring for an AI Innovation Manager to help us build out CI's Nature Tech & Innovation Portfolio. You don't need to be a software engineer or AI expert to apply! We are seeking an...
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| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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| My name is Frank Short and I am a PhD Candidate at Boston University in Biological Anthropology. I am currently doing fieldwork in Indonesia using machine-learning powered passive... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Animal Movement, Data management and processing tools, Early Career, Emerging Tech, Ethics of Conservation Tech, Protected Area Management Tools, Software Development | 3 weeks 4 days ago | |
| This looks like a great application, thank you! I wonder if they are planning to run this study in future years. |
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AI for Conservation | 4 weeks ago | |
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Latin America Community, Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Drones, Early Career | 1 month ago | ||
| @LukeD, I am looping in @Kamalama997 from the TRAPPER team who is working on porting MegaDetector and other models to RPi with the AI HAT+. Kamil will have more specific questions. |
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AI for Conservation, Camera Traps | 1 month ago | |
| Super happy to finally have Animal Detect ready for people to use. We are open for any feedback and hope to bring more convenient tools :) |
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AI for Conservation | 1 month ago | |
| Hi Ștefan! In my current case, I am trying to detect and count Arctic fox pups. Unfortunately, Arctic fox does not seem to be included in the training data of SpeciesNet but... |
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AI for Conservation, Camera Traps | 1 month ago | |
| Interesting. Thanks for the explanation. Nice to hear your passion showing through. |
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AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Data management and processing tools, Open Source Solutions, Software Development | 1 month ago | |
| 📸 Do you use camera traps in your work? Take part in our survey!Hi everyone! I’m currently a final-year engineering... |
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Camera Traps, AI for Conservation, Data management and processing tools, Open Source Solutions, Software Development | 1 month ago | |
| WILDLABS colleagues—My team at TNC is looking for support as we try to understand opportunities of AI applications for freshwater (eco)... |
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AI for Conservation | 1 month 1 week ago | |
| Hi Adam! Sounds like you have your work cut out for you. I have not used radar systems or AI systems for this sort of detection, but there are methods using change detection... |
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AI for Conservation, Drones, Wildlife Crime | 1 month 1 week ago | |
| Hey Amber, that makes a lot of sense! And this effort by Insect Detect is amazing, thanks for sharing! |
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AI for Conservation, Autonomous Camera Traps for Insects | 1 month 1 week ago | |
| One of our goals with explorer.land is to bridge satellite data and on-the-ground perspectives — helping teams combine field updates,... |
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AI for Conservation, Geospatial, Open Source Solutions, Sensors | 1 month 2 weeks ago |
RFCx/Arbimon is Hiring a Data Scientist!
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New collaboration network - Computer vision for insects
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21 June 2023 8:23am
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19 June 2023 11:07pm
Innovation wanted: Technology Testing to Mitigate Human-Elephant Conflict in West Bengal
19 June 2023 10:54pm
The Wildlife Society Conference
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Catch up with The Variety Hour: June 2023
16 June 2023 11:43am
AI Prompt Engineer in Dublin, DGB Group
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CV4Animals: Computer Vision for Animal Behavior Tracking and Modeling
15 June 2023 12:39pm
FathomNet Workshop @CVPR 2023
15 June 2023 12:27pm
Apply for the Google for Startups Accelerator: Climate Change Middle East & Africa Program
9 June 2023 1:54pm
Celebrating World Oceans Day: Revitalizing the marine ecosystem with technology-driven engineered reefs to accelerate CO2 capture
9 June 2023 10:14am
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Experience an integrated media property for tech workers—latest news, explainers and market insights to help stay ahead of the curve.
Imageomics Institute Image Datapalooza, August 2023
2 June 2023 11:44pm
ISO Speakers for Emerging Technologies class.
31 May 2023 4:29pm
2 June 2023 2:08pm
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!
10 AI for the Planet Projects you should be excited about
25 May 2023 11:07am
Looking for AI volunteer positions
24 May 2023 5:41am
24 May 2023 3:45pm
Hi Donya! You might check out the Conservation Tech Directory to see what projects/organizations/tools best align with your interests and skills.
Director of Research
Mbaza AI recognized by UNESCO & new team member
17 May 2023 8:49pm
Happywhale: AI-Powered Whale Identification
16 May 2023 10:00am
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Dan Morris
and 1 more
11 May 2023 10:00am
Crowdsourcing individual ID for pop dyn?
1 May 2023 5:36pm
5 May 2023 6:15pm
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?
GRO is the story of what on Earth is going on
5 May 2023 1:50pm
Using computer vision to understand bee vision
5 May 2023 1:10am
31 May 2023 10:21pm
Definitely interested! I'm in the ecoacoustics/acoustic monitoring space, working at Rainforest Connection and Arbimon.