AI for Conservation

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Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used in the field to analyse information collected by wildlife conservationists, from camera trap and satellite images to audio recordings. AI can learn how to identify which photos out of thousands contain rare species; or pinpoint an animal call out of hours of field recordings - hugely reducing the manual labour required to collect vital conservation data.

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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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@nsitoula

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@Thorondor
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AI engineering working on cutting edge AI research and product for detecting objects. Big wildlife and conservation enthusiast and amateur wildlife photographer.

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@beaverdome

finding ecological solutions using sound and conservation tech

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@lmwall

Currently a data scientist in industry working on mechanistic models of risk, previously worked on modeling coral reefs. I am interested in the potential for emerging technologies and new ideas to help us solve environmental crises.

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@philine

Fauna & Flora

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@OakAlice
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PhD researcher standardising machine learning approaches for behaviour classification in free-roaming wild animals.

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@Kasi
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Game Rangers International

Kasi Amor Kalande is a young conservationist with experience in elephant movement research, GIS, and conservation technology.

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@Manahil_ijaz
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I’m a nature enthusiast who loves exploring wildlife and ecosystems. Through my research in ecology, I channel this passion into protecting and preserving biodiversity.

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@Kari

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@Doris0511
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Founder of Life on Purpose Detroit, we work with Detroit Youth to learn about technology and conservation.

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I'm a conservationist working in the Vulture conservation space in South Africa with a huge passion for technology.

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Computer Scientist

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Description	Activity	Replies	Groups	Updated
New project: Using bioacoustic monitoring to assess effects of rubber agroforestry systems on wildlife in Thailand	WildMon, Terra Genesis, The VF Foundation, Thaksin University, and the Wanakaset Symbiosis Network have teamed up on a new project in...		Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Community Base	10 months 1 week ago
Support no-code custom AI for camera trap images by filling out this survey	Do you use camera traps? If so, we'd love if you could take five minutes to fill out this survey: tinyurl.com/zambasurveyWith our WILDLABS...		AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Data management and processing tools, Software Development, Open Source Solutions	10 months 2 weeks ago
Building a biodiversity startup focused on getting landowners to use native plants	I'm not affiliated, I just happened across it... not sure who is actually leading it.		Software Development, Early Career, AI for Conservation, Citizen Science, Climate Change, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Funding and Finance	10 months 2 weeks ago
AI and its environmental issues	Great and difficult question Lisa! I think, yes, we are adding to the problem. We have been already when ML was introduced as a solution to big data problems, and perhaps we have...		AI for Conservation	10 months 3 weeks ago
Conservation tech in Human Wildlife Conflict	Odor based methods would be interesting. Provided they didn't need to be replenished too often.We find varied stimulus prevents habituation.	+6	AI for Conservation, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Emerging Tech, Human-Wildlife Coexistence	10 months 3 weeks ago
AI & Illegal Wildlife Trade	Thank you John.		AI for Conservation	10 months 3 weeks ago
New paper and datasets on Raspberry Pi-based AI-powered camera traps for wildlife monitoring	Hello everyone!Check out our new paper on "Reliable and efficient integration of AI into camera traps for smart wildlife monitoring." We...		AI for Conservation	11 months ago
Camera trap function in heat waves	Hi Karen,Yeah the discharge curves of lithium cells tend to be very stable for a long time and then drop sharply at the end. Akiba and Brett's advice below re: condensation...		Camera Traps, AI for Conservation	11 months 1 week ago
Global model for Livestock detection in airborne imagery - Data, Applications, and Needs	Hi @benweinstein !Surely a general detector might be very useful for detecting objects in aerial imagery! Maybe something similar to what MegaDetector does in camera trap images,...		AI for Conservation, Open Source Solutions, Protected Area Management Tools, Drones, Geospatial	11 months 1 week ago
Spatiotemporal species distribution modeling	Thank you!!		AI for Conservation	11 months 2 weeks ago
efficient methods for labeling clusters of fish in images for segmentation purposes	Agreed. I have recently begun using SegmentAnything as a replacement for Detectron and have been very pleased. However, for a fish school I don't know how well it would do out of...		Data management and processing tools, AI for Conservation	1 year ago
How do drones help agriculture?	@DibblexLesalon looks like a great question for your team at Expert Drones Africa :)		AI for Conservation	1 year ago

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