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!
- @ColleenEarthScape
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- @Alawa
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Passionate wildlife and biodiversity conservationist
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- @CourtneyShuert
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I am a behavioural ecologist and eco-physiologist interested in individual differences in marine mammals and other predators
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- @mattaudette
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Software Tester and Test Automator at Wildlife Protection Solutions
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- @Rutwik
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- @williams
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I am a conservationist specializing in endangered species, particularly vultures. As the Endangered Species Conservation Coordinator/Co-Founder at Biota Conservation Hub Foundation (BiotaCHF), I have conducted extensive research/conservation of vultures and other water birds.
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- @ARobillard
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A conservation data scientist and field ecologist with broad interest in the application of machine learning and population genetics to the conservation of threatened species. Alex has conducted field studies throughout central and south America, the Caribbean, and North America.
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- @Joynyamshangi
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MSc in AI for Sustainable Development at UCL
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- @aniyaz533
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A keen willdlife biologist looking forward to work on Otters ecology in Himalayan landscape
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I'm a computer engineer with a master's degree in Artificial Intelligence, I love nature and wildlife
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Article
Congratulations to Zoohackathon winners, team ODINN!
Zoological Society London (ZSL)
Following the UK Government’s landmark announcement of plans to introduce a complete ban on the domestic trade in ivory, it was fitting that a new machine learning product designed to tackle the supply end of this...
6 December 2017
Article
FIT Cheetahs
Larissa Slaney
A new research project is looking to investigate whether technology combined with the ancient skills and knowledge of Namibian trackers can help save cheetahs from extinction. Called FIT Cheetahs, the research project...
4 December 2017
Article
With Arctic sea ice disappearing, can advanced sensor technologies provide insights into an ecosystem on the brink?
30 November 2017
Article
HWC Tech Challenge Update: Meet the Judges
WILDLABS Team
Our panel of international experts has been hard at work reviewing the 47 proposals we recieved for innovative technological tools to address human wildlife conflict. The panelists have systematically been assessing the...
20 October 2017
Article
DAS: A Scaleable Solution For Protected Area Management
WILDLABS Team
The Domain Awareness System (DAS) is a revolution in monitoring technology, creating real-time awareness of protected areas assets. This technology has the potential to completely change standard monitoring procedures...
26 September 2017
Article
Frustrated by the limitations of the tools that were available for managing large camera trap data sets, Heidi Hendry and Chris Mann set out to develop something that met their needs, and thus, Camelot was born. In...
7 July 2017
Funding
The European Space Agency is calling for Kick-Start ideas to leverage space technology for wildlife protection. Three main topics of interest have been identified: 1) Wildlife monitoring, tracking and inventory, 2)...
5 July 2017
Article
Trialing Audiomoth to detect the hidden threats under the canopies of Belize
Andrew Hill and 1 more
Its been a busy couple of months for the Open Acoustic Devices team. They've just returned back from Belize where they have been trialling the new AudioMoth design for gunshot detection. Find out what they've been up to...
27 June 2017
Article
Machine learning, meet the ocean
Kate Wing
There is a revolution coming in conservation. Advances in conservation technology are generating more data than ever before on what lives where, who eats who, and what’s disappearing and how fast, but it still requires...
10 May 2017
Article
15 Risks and Opportunities for Global Conservation
WILDLABS Team
Researchers have identified 15 emerging risks and opportunities for species and ecosystems around the world in a recent horizon scanning exercise.
31 March 2017
Funding
Conservation Leadership Programme 2017 Award
WILDLABS Admin
The Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) is a training and capacity building programme that targets individuals from developing countries who are early in their conservation career and demonstrate leadership...
21 November 2016
Article
FishFace is a new application under development by The Nature Conservancy in partnership with Refind Technologies. Similar to facial recognition software used to identify people, FishFace uses artificial intelligence to...
10 November 2016
June 2025
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Stephanie O'Donnell
73 Products
Recently updated products
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| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hi everyone, We're excited to welcome Nicole Flores to Tech Tutors to walk us through getting started with Wildlife Insights! ... |
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AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Data management and processing tools | 3 years 9 months ago | |
| Hi all, We're excited to welcome Siyu Yang to Tech Tutors to chat about getting started with Megadetector! For all you AI... |
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AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Data management and processing tools | 3 years 10 months ago | |
| You should join the Key Conservation app, which connects people and NGO's for specific needs, whether funding, time, or skills (programming included). Organizations can list... |
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AI for Conservation | 3 years 11 months ago | |
| Thank you VERY much for that, Carly. I really appreciate it. I have only heard of the bear research project and was not aware of the others. This is very helpful. FYI: Most... |
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AI for Conservation | 4 years 1 month ago | |
| The Atlas Coral Atlas combines high-resolution, seamless satellite imagery mosiacs, image processing techniques, machine learning, and... |
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AI for Conservation | 4 years 2 months ago | |
| Sure thing, I'll email you directly. |
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AI for Conservation | 4 years 2 months ago | |
| Hi Wildlabbers, This week is the last episode of Tech Tutors Season 2! Elizabeth Bondi tackled the question "How do I... |
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AI for Conservation, Drones | 4 years 3 months ago | |
| Thanks Carly, These are great ideas. The movebank recommendation reminds me of some work from Save the Elephants that used its transparency to exonerate an elephant that had... |
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AI for Conservation | 4 years 3 months ago | |
| This works very well, and can remove the movie strip icons from the edges of the thumbnails, which obscure animals just coming into the frame. https://icaros.en.softonic... |
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AI for Conservation | 4 years 3 months ago | |
| Dan's comments about the need for technologists and conservationists to manage and share (properly annotated) data struck a chord with me, it was right at the end of the... |
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AI for Conservation, Data management and processing tools | 4 years 3 months ago | |
| Hi Alex, that sounds great! Feel free to email me at luisa.teixeira@vizzuality.com, that may be simpler. |
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AI for Conservation | 4 years 3 months ago | |
| Hi. Just watched the Youtube version (I'm in the unable to watch live hemisphere) and wanted to say that was a great talk. I wish it could have gone for another hour. I liked... |
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AI for Conservation, Camera Traps | 4 years 3 months ago |
Seafood fund seeks ideas for innovation projects up to £250k
11 February 2020 12:00am
WILDLABS Virtual Meetup Recording: Acoustic Monitoring
WILDLABS Team
5 February 2020 12:00am
AI for camera trap public data
17 December 2019 9:20pm
A New Cloud Platform Unveils the Most Diverse Camera Trap Database in the World
17 December 2019 12:00am
[ARCHIVED] Workshop on Deep Learning Methods and Appliocations for Animal Re-Identification
25 November 2019 6:24pm
WACV2020 AI for Animal Re-ID: Deep Learning Methods and Applications for Animal Re-Identification
25 November 2019 12:00am
WILDLABS Virtual Meetup Recording: Drones
WILDLABS Team
9 November 2019 12:00am
Camera Trapping: Incredibly Useful Resources List
5 November 2019 12:00am
Who wants to learn Python? Courses to get you started coding
2 May 2016 3:13pm
1 March 2019 9:20am
Hello everyone what are you wating for..
All US, UK, India users can enroll courses from Intellipaat (the largest IT trainng company)
check some of thier superb training list:
29 October 2019 4:52pm
Chuck's Python for Everyone course is available these days at www.py4e.com, and he's also created a course called Web Apps for Everyone www.wa4e.com. Both excellent resources, and he's a strong proponent for (and creator of) open source educational tools in general.
Lucy
Plant-Powered Camera Trap Breakthrough
15 October 2019 12:00am
Using Artificial Intelligence to Track Birds’ Dark-of-Night Migrations
9 October 2019 12:00am
Camera Trap Technology Symposium (Recordings): Bringing Developers and Users Together
2 September 2019 12:00am
ICCB 2019: 5 Key Discussions about the Future of Conservation Tech
21 August 2019 12:00am
Conservation biologists find new applications for AI tools
5 August 2019 2:57pm
Automated Identification of Indonesian Rhinos
27 July 2019 12:00am
[ARCHIVED] Position: UI/UX Machine Learning Engineer
8 July 2019 11:27pm
[ARCHIVED] Position: Senior Computer Vision Research Engineer
8 July 2019 10:42pm
Hello buzzing World!
7 July 2019 6:55pm
ML at the Edge
28 June 2019 8:16am
Meetup: Machine Learning/AI on Earth Observation Data (23 July, London)
21 June 2019 12:00am
New open data site for fisheries
10 June 2019 7:17pm
Workshop & Challenges on Computer Vision for Wildlife Conservation (CVWC) at ICCV 2019
5 June 2019 6:51am
Technology companies, FCO, and conservation NGOs come together to scale technology solutions to end wildlife crime
4 June 2019 12:00am
AI for Earth Innovation Grant (extended)
4 June 2019 12:00am
CogX Festival of AI and Emerging Technology - free tickets for WILDLABS members
16 May 2019 12:12pm
28 May 2019 12:02pm
UPDATE: We've had quite a few members emailing us for tickets, so I'm looking forward to meeting everyone in person! We've now been allocated some extra tickets, so if you are interested you're in luck, there is still a chance to come along.
3 June 2019 4:53pm
Are there any free tickets left for CogX?
I am on anthony.peake@agiledatum.com
3 June 2019 5:04pm
yep! Drop me an email at stephanie.odonnell@wildlabs.net and I'll get you a link.
Steph
How machine learning can help fight illegal wildlife trade on social media
31 May 2019 12:00am
GWP Webinar Recording: Using SMART at scale for effective wildlife protection
21 May 2019 12:00am
WILDLABS TECH HUB Showcase
WILDLABS Team
17 May 2019 12:00am
Meet the WILDLABS TECH HUB Winners
13 May 2019 12:00am
Huge appetite for data trusts, according to new ODI research
15 April 2019 12:00am
31 August 2017 9:06am
A couple of years ago I completed the Coursera course Programming for Everybody (Getting Started with Python) with Charles Severance. I found it really well paced and well taught. He's a very personable tutor, and has also written a free book Python for Everybody, available as a PDF.
I found the Coursera course on R Programming with Roger Peng to be more difficult to follow, but I'm not sure whether that was down to the teaching style or the language itself. For R, I'd definitely recommend the best place to get started is swirl - Learn R, in R!
Happy coding