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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Hello! My name is Anabelle Marques Klovrza and I am a Ph.D. student at Dawson's lab. I am studying community assembly of island-like environments, and in trying to connect it with the vulnerability and fragility of the ecosystem.
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I am nature lover and now lost the tolerance to just be an admirer watching its destruction. Hence joining this crew to contribute my supportive work much lesser than a penny worth
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Article
This article explores the use of IoT and Machine Learning Technologies in Ewaso Nyiro River, Kenya - which serves several communities as well as wildlife in Olpejeta Conservancy and Lewa Conservancy, among others. Data...
21 October 2021
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The International Journal of Computer Vision is calling for papers on Computer Vision Approach for Animal Tracking and Modeling. Visit the Springer website for further details and submission guidelines.
20 September 2021
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In this thought piece from Whale Seeker, Malcolm Kennedy considers the strengths of weaknesses of citizen science and AI, both used to analyze large amounts of conservation data, and discusses the importance of data...
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13 August 2021
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To celebrate our newly-lauched WILDLABS Fellowship: On the Edge, I spoke with the Edge Impulse team about why uniting the conservation and tech worlds to make funding, tools, training, and support accessible and...
9 August 2021
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Wildlife Insights Launches
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New Papers: Methods in Ecology and Evolution
British Ecological Society
A new issue of Methods in Ecology and Evolution from the British Ecological Society is now available for download. In this issue, WILDLABS readers will enjoy research involving conservation dogs and non-invasive...
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New Papers: Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation
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ZSL's Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation journal has released new research for early view before inclusion in an issue. See the full list of recent open access research papers on RSEC.
22 April 2021
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| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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| Play FathomVerse: App Store | Google Play Join the Community: Discord | Instagram | TikTok | LinkedInStay up-to-date: ... |
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Marine Conservation, AI for Conservation, Citizen Science | 1 month 4 weeks ago | |
| Really looking forward to following this project. I'm very curious how you'll be able to tease out different species, particularly among species that feature a variety of worker... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation | 1 month 4 weeks ago | |
| I am interested in the use of Large Language Models (LLMs) for conservation, specifically in how they can be improved with Retrieval-... |
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AI for Conservation | 1 month 4 weeks ago | |
| Yep see you on friday |
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Geospatial, Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Citizen Science, Community Base, Data management and processing tools, Emerging Tech, Open Source Solutions, Protected Area Management Tools | 1 month 4 weeks ago | |
| Yep we are working on it 1/ segment 2/remote unwanted ecosytem3/get local potential habitat4/generate5/add to picture |
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Geospatial, AI for Conservation, Data management and processing tools, Open Source Solutions, Software Development | 1 month 4 weeks ago | |
| All sound, would be nice if there were only 5, though! |
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AI for Conservation, Citizen Science, Data management and processing tools, Emerging Tech, Ethics of Conservation Tech, Funding and Finance, Geospatial, Open Source Solutions, Software Development | 1 month 4 weeks ago | |
| I'm sure others here can comment better than I on models for classifying animal sounds, but from an ML pint of view, a key concern is getting enough data. 10 recordings does not... |
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AI for Conservation, Animal Movement, Human-Wildlife Conflict | 2 months ago | |
| Hi WILDLABS Community,I’m Simon Juma from Kenya, working on a project to track and manage Red-billed Quelea birds, which... |
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AI for Conservation, Sensors | 2 months ago | |
| Hi everyone, I’m excited to become a member of Wild Lab! I’m currently working on my master’s thesis, focusing on dormouse conservation. My research explores the behavioral... |
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AI for Conservation, Animal Movement, Camera Traps, Citizen Science, Community Base, Data management and processing tools, Early Career, Geospatial | 2 months 1 week ago | |
| That's amazing thanks so much! |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Data management and processing tools, Early Career | 2 months 2 weeks ago | |
| Thanks again for the interesting discussion everyone! Just a note that while I touched on it in my opening post above, there were still questions in this thread about what... |
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Open Source Solutions, AI for Conservation, Ethics of Conservation Tech, Software Development | 2 months 2 weeks ago | |
| Thanks @VAR1 great insights! Funny you mentioned the honey thing, @hikinghack said the same in response on the GOSH forum. I think the point I'm trying to make with the vegan... |
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Open Source Solutions, AI for Conservation, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Ethics of Conservation Tech, Geospatial, Software Development | 2 months 2 weeks ago |
