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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@JamesStevens

I have worked in the vertebrate pest industry for over 11 years and am on the practical, on the ground implementation of AI animal control systems.

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@steventay
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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
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University of California & California Academy of Sciences

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@dka32
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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
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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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Description	Activity	Replies	Groups	Updated
Tech Tutors: How do I use AI to fight wildlife crime?	Hi Wildlabbers, We're getting ready for tomorrow's episode with Tech Tutor Lily Xu, who'll talk to us about how machine...		AI for Conservation, Protected Area Management Tools, Wildlife Crime	3 years 11 months ago
Which are major open challenges that AI can help to solve in nature conservation ?	Looks good, but what is the added value compared to other examples as Obsidentify and Plantnet?	+13	AI for Conservation	3 years 11 months ago
AI/ML Engineer Job at Dryad	https://www.dryad.netJob description"Dryad is an environmental IoT startup based in Berlin-Brandenburg. Our mission is to develop a large-...		AI for Conservation	3 years 11 months ago
Open positions in ML & conservation/climate sci	Deep Learning Engineer at Pachama - https://jobs.lever.co/pachama/81716dd9-8019-4916-add2-fcfaae426331 Embedded Software Engineer...		AI for Conservation	3 years 11 months ago
Tech Tutors: How do I get started with Wildlife Insights?	Hi everyone, We're excited to welcome Nicole Flores to Tech Tutors to walk us through getting started with Wildlife Insights! ...		AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Data management and processing tools	4 years ago
Tech Tutors: How do I get started with Megadetector?	Hi all, We're excited to welcome Siyu Yang to Tech Tutors to chat about getting started with Megadetector! For all you AI...		AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Data management and processing tools	4 years ago
PhDs (or MSc) in tech + nature conservation ?	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...		AI for Conservation	4 years 2 months ago
Looking for animal emotions data for ML	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...		AI for Conservation	4 years 4 months ago
Allen Coral Atlas - using machine learning to map coral reefs	The Atlas Coral Atlas combines high-resolution, seamless satellite imagery mosiacs, image processing techniques, machine learning, and...		AI for Conservation	4 years 5 months ago
Looking help with camera trapping for Jaguars: Software for species ID and database building	Sure thing, I'll email you directly.		AI for Conservation	4 years 5 months ago
Tech Tutors: How do I strategically allocate drones for conservation?	Hi Wildlabbers, This week is the last episode of Tech Tutors Season 2! Elizabeth Bondi tackled the question "How do I...		AI for Conservation, Drones	4 years 6 months ago
Transparency, AI, and Machine Learning Conservation Impacts	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...		AI for Conservation	4 years 6 months ago

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