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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University of Suffolk
Sustainability Researcher • Environmental Data Scientist & Technologist • Earth Scientist
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- @varshasuresh
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Program Officer & Researcher at Foundations of Success
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- @tutgut5
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Key Conservation
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- @SrinivasSivakumar
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I am a an Engineer at Wild Life Conservation Trust, India looking to build some tech for the WildLife.
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- @katerakelly
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I am a machine learning researcher (PhD UC Berkeley 2021) looking for opportunities to use my skills to help combat and mitigate climate change and support biodiversity. Research experience in few-shot learning, image recognition, and reinforcement learning.
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Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent
Conservation Science PhD student at DICE, Kent. I am a GIS and remote sensing enthusiast as well as researcher. Been in love with the interaction between AI and conservation ever since I picked up a python crash course book out of curiosity during my undergraduate degree.
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- @LouisaRC
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LRC Wildlife Conservation
With 20 years of experience as a conservation practitioner, I have transitioned from a carnivore scientist to Dean, mentoring Africa’s next generation of conservation leaders. Now, as a consultant, I develop strategies integrating innovative Web 3.0 technologies for conservation.
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Conservation Director, Texas with National Audubon Society
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Careers
The intern will support CI in exploring and implementing AI solutions that address conservation challenges. We are looking for someone familiar with modern AI technologies (genAI, AI agents, LLMs, foundation models, etc...
2 June 2025
Article
I search for an external reviewer for my MSc thesis, which focuses on using temperature sensors and deep learning to detect avian incubation behavior (on- and off-bouts).
1 June 2025
Article
HawkEars: a high-performance bird sound classifier for Canada
Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute
HawkEars is a deep learning model designed specifically to recognize the calls of 328 Canadian bird species and 13 amphibians.
13 May 2025
Link
Survey on Earth Observation in Wildlife Ecology
Helena Wehner
Hi together, I am working on detecting causalities between land surface dynamics and animal movement by using satellite-based earth observation data. As this is might be your expertise I kindly ask for your support...
8 May 2025
Link
Weed-AI: Supporting the AI revolution in weed control
Amber Balfour-Cunningham
Weeds, by definition, are plants in the wrong place but Weed-AI is helping put weed image data in the right place. Weed-AI is an open source, searchable, weeds image data platform designed to facilitate the research and...
7 May 2025
Careers
Global Science Data Management and AI Graduate Intern
World Wildlife Fund
The intern will help the Global Science team expand our understanding of nature-based solutions through artificial intelligence (AI) and support our efforts to create a model for data collection and analysis that can...
18 April 2025
Article
Driving off-highway vehicles (OHVs), which contributes to habitat degradation and fragmentation, is a common recreational activity in the United States and other parts of the world, particularly in desert environments...
8 April 2025
Article
Nature Tech for Biodiversity Sector Map launched!
Carly Batist and 1 more
Conservation International is proud to announce the launch of the Nature Tech for Biodiversity Sector Map, developed in partnership with the Nature Tech Collective!
1 April 2025
Funding
$3 millions of funding for NGO in Brazil using AI for conservation / $ 3 milhões em financiamento para ONGs no Brasil que usam IA para conservação!
1 April 2025
Funding
Multiple grants
Frank van der Most
I have been a bit distracted the past months by my move from Costa Rica to Spain ( all went well, thank you, I just miss the rain forest and the Ticos ) and have to catch up on funding calls. Because I still have little...
28 March 2025
Funding
AI Weather Quest
Alex Rood
The AI Weather Quest, organised by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), is an ambitious international competition designed to harness artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in...
25 March 2025
InsectSet459 - the first large-scale open dataset of insect sounds, featuring 26,399 audio clips from 459 species of Orthoptera and Cicadidae.
24 March 2025
June 2025
event
Maximilian Sittinger
event
Nalini
July 2025
October 2025
event
Lacey Hughey and 3 more
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| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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| Hi everyone! My name is Leah Govia and I am a PhD candidate at the University of Guelph, Canada. My research explores what people... |
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Ethics of Conservation Tech, Conservation Tech Training and Education, AI for Conservation | 1 year 3 months ago | |
| Hi Danilo. you seem very passionate about this initiative which is a good start.It is an interesting coincidence that I am starting another project for the coral reefs in the... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Animal Movement, Camera Traps, Citizen Science, Climate Change, Community Base, Connectivity, Drones, Emerging Tech, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Open Source Solutions, Sensors, Software Development, Wildlife Crime, Funding and Finance | 1 year 4 months ago | |
| Am working on similar AI challenge at the moment. Hoping to translate my workflow to wolves in future if needed. We all are little overstretched but it there is no pressing... |
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Camera Traps, AI for Conservation, Build Your Own Data Logger Community, Data management and processing tools, Marine Conservation, Protected Area Management Tools, Geospatial | 1 year 4 months ago | |
| I would recommend going with Ubiquity 2.4Ghz devices which have performed relatively well in dense foliage of the California Redwood forests. It took a lot of tweaking to... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Connectivity, Open Source Solutions | 1 year 4 months ago | |
| Very nice video in the link you posted btw:Here is another less artistic one: |
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Camera Traps, AI for Conservation | 1 year 4 months ago | |
| I'm also here for this. This is my first comment... I've been lurking for a while.I have 20 years of professional knowledge in design, with the bulk of that being software design... |
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AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Data management and processing tools, Software Development | 1 year 4 months ago | |
| Hi folks! Happy 2024 and thanks in advance for your patience in case I over-used tags. If you’re using any form of natural language... |
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AI for Conservation, Citizen Science, Climate Change, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Data management and processing tools, Early Career, East Africa Community, Emerging Tech, Ending Wildlife Trafficking Online, Ethics of Conservation Tech, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Open Source Solutions, Software Development, Wildlife Crime, Women in Conservation Tech Programme (WiCT) | 1 year 4 months ago | |
| BTW. I found out that the Jetson Orin NX 16GB module is drawing around 20W when running continuous inference, processing streams from 6x cameras at 6 fps.I'll try and find out... |
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AI for Conservation | 1 year 5 months ago | |
| If you are considering an external microphone and a towed system, then you would also be in a position to consider a raspberry pi with an external microphone with sbts-aru.... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Marine Conservation, Sustainable Fishing Challenges | 1 year 5 months ago | |
| @dmorris joined Variety Hour to give us 'a bunch of lightning talks inside a lightning talk'. Check out the recording to get a whirlwind... |
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AI for Conservation, Drones, Geospatial | 1 year 5 months ago | |
| Also, take a look at TrapTagger. It has integration with WildMe. |
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AI for Conservation, Camera Traps | 1 year 5 months ago | |
| We are writing a methodology to measure Biodiversity density in habitats.Examining lots of different options but very keen to hear from... |
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AI for Conservation | 1 year 6 months ago |
Global Forest Watch Small Grants Fund
1 June 2022 4:19pm
Post-doc in Multi-Sensor Fusion for Animal Biomechanics
1 June 2022 9:56am
UKAN+ Monitoring UK Biodiversity Symposium 15-16th June
31 May 2022 2:58pm
WILDLABS Virtual Meetup: Future Questions & Tools in Movement Ecology
24 May 2022 10:10pm
A comprehensive review on biodiversity information portals
9 May 2022 3:16pm
Executive Director - The Eric & Wendy Schmidt Center for Data Science & Environment, UC Berkeley
9 May 2022 10:13am
CV4Ecology Summer School
3 May 2022 6:13pm
WILDLABS Virtual Meetups Season Four: Tracking Progress
29 April 2022 9:57am
News: The Latest in Conservation Tech (March 24)
24 March 2022 12:00am
Apply now: Women in Conservation Technology Programme, Kenya
8 March 2022 12:00am
BirdCLEF 2022 Kaggle Challenge
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
2 March 2022 12:00am
Introducing the WILDLABS On the Edge Fellows
10 February 2022 12:00am
WILDLABS Fellowships & Awards: Matchmaking between tech and conservation
28 January 2022 3:22pm
Deep Learning for Marine Ecology and Conservation
20 December 2021 12:00am
AI for Conservation Office Hours: are you interested?
8 October 2021 12:00pm
14 December 2021 2:47pm
We've now wrapped our first run of AI for Conservation Office Hours and you can read my review of how it went and lessons learned here.
Given the overall success of the programme, we're excited to announce that in early spring next year we will be coordinating a second round - so keep an eye out for further updates in the new year on the application and sign-up process.
Also, we'd love to know whether you'd be interested in having a 1:1 so comment below and tell us what conservation tech challenge you would like to cover or how a session could help you in your conservation work.
Many thanks,
Lucas
AI for Conservation Office Hours: 2021 Review
14 December 2021 12:00am
Low-cost underwater camera trapping and deep learning
30 November 2021 12:00am
The race to save California's rarest butterflies
29 November 2021 12:00am
Environmental Data Justice
26 November 2021 12:00am
Technical Difficulties: The Promise and Pitfalls of Machine Learning for Conservation
Sara Beery
and 1 more
23 November 2021 12:00am
Caiman: Images as Sources of Intelligence
18 November 2021 12:00am
Try our open-source automatic camera trap detection/labeling tool!
12 November 2021 8:39pm
Opportunity: GEO-Microsoft Planetary Computer Programme
4 November 2021 12:00am
EarthRanger Announces Inaugural Conservation Tech Award Recipients
3 November 2021 12:00am
Opportunity: PhD or Postdoctoral Research Fellowships - Chinstrap penguin biologging
1 November 2021 12:00am
Using IoT and Machine Learning to help protect Kenya's Rivers
21 October 2021 12:00am
Tech Tutors: How do I analyze large acoustic datasets using PAMGuard?
14 October 2021 3:42pm
How do I analyze large acoustic datasets using PAMGuard?
7 October 2021 12:00am
Call for Papers: Special Issue on Computer Vision Approach for Animal Tracking and Modeling
20 September 2021 12:00am
Tech Tutors: How do I use AI to fight wildlife crime?
1 September 2021 10:59pm
25 October 2021 4:13pm
Hi Wildlabbers!
We're now going ahead with a small pilot of around ten 1:1 office hour sessions with Microsoft AI for Earth specialists. More details coming very soon.
For the time being sign-ups are now closed, but thank you to everyone who has been interested. We will keep you updated on how the 1:1s go and whether there will be further sessions to sign up for later in the year.
Cheers,
Lucas