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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@steventay
| TAY

Dynamique ET PROACTIF, JE SUIS PASSIONNÉ PAR LA PROTECTION DE L'ENVIRONNEMENT, LE TOURISME RESPONSABLE ET LA CONSERVATION DES ÉCOSYSTÈMES.

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@diego_ellis_soto
| he/him

University of California & California Academy of Sciences

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@dka32
| He

I am a highly motivated individual with a background in Natural Resources Management. I am a conservationist who desire to make an impact in the field of conservation using technology.

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@David_Hill

Retired Engineer / UAV interests / Photographer

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@ColleenEarthScape
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@Alawa
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Passionate wildlife and biodiversity conservationist

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@maxi9293

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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
| He/Him

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
| He/Him

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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Description	Activity	Groups	Updated
Bringing BearID to Ecuador	@bluevalhalla thanks for sharing the awesome video, sounds like a great project!	AI for Conservation	1 year ago
Looking for interview participants for research on AI Conservation & the CBD	Hi everyone, I am conducting a research project as part of my MSc in Environment and Development at the London School of Economics. I...	Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Autonomous Camera Traps for Insects, Ethics of Conservation Tech	1 year ago
Move BON Development: Follow up discussion	@cmwainaina please take a look	Animal Movement, AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Connectivity, Data management and processing tools, East Africa Community, Emerging Tech, Ethics of Conservation Tech, Human-Wildlife Coexistence, Marine Conservation, Protected Area Management Tools, Geospatial, Sensors, Software Development	1 year ago
Tutorial: Interactive movement pattern analysis with Firetail	Glad to announce that a new tutorial is available on Firetail:	AI for Conservation, Animal Movement	1 year 1 month ago
Question About Interpolation	The use of synthetic training data such as interpolated sequence values is common, but fraught with the issue of your synthetic signal generating features that are not true to...	Data management and processing tools, AI for Conservation	1 year 1 month ago
Conservation Technology for Human-Wildlife Conflict in Non-Protected Areas: Advice on Generating Evidence	In that case, you might want to keep an eye on the project from @Lars_Holst_Hansen	Camera Traps, AI for Conservation, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Early Career, Human-Wildlife Coexistence, Protected Area Management Tools	1 year 2 months ago
AI Identification Models on Thermal Data	No worries! I'll be trying the other one to see how it works. Thank you for your help!	AI for Conservation	1 year 2 months ago
VIHAR-2024 deadline extension, June 30th (Interspeech satellite event)	Fantastic!!	Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Animal Movement, Build Your Own Data Logger Community, Community Base, Early Career, Ethics of Conservation Tech, Marine Conservation, Open Source Solutions	1 year 2 months ago
Recruiting for a paid study on Explainable AI & bird identification	Hi everyone! I’m sending some information for a paid user study about Explainable AI and bird identification that may be of interest:Our...	AI for Conservation, Citizen Science	1 year 2 months ago
AI & Gamified Citizen Science	This is so cool! I am 1000% going to see if they want to come talk about it at Variety Hou!	AI for Conservation, Citizen Science	1 year 3 months ago
Drop-deployed HydroMoth	Hi Sol,If the maximum depth is 30m, it would be worth experimenting with HydroMoth in this application especially if the deployment time is short. As Matt says, the air-filed case...	Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Data management and processing tools, Emerging Tech, Sustainable Fishing Challenges	1 year 3 months ago
AI-enabled image query system	Online citizen science platforms like iNaturalist and Macaulay Library contain a wealth of images but are hard to search using text. We are...	AI for Conservation, Citizen Science	1 year 3 months ago

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