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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@jamie_mac

Sea Mammal Research Unit Univ' St Andrews

I work in marine bioacoustics with a focus on the conservation of marine mammals. Most of the time I'm developing and using passive acoustic technology to study the underwater behaviour of dolphins and porpoises. I'm also a keen developer on the PAMGuard project.

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@Yemisi

BirdLife International

I deliver policy and advocacy components of cross-regional projects and initiatives concerning international site-based conservation, including through international mechanisms such as the Ramsar Convention, Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and World Heritage Convention.

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@billoxbury
| he/him

Mathematician and data/AI scientist, interested in environmental applications; wildlife photographer and volunteer.

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@TheDataEnthusiastic
| He/Him

Hi, I'm pursuing Master's in Data Science. And I want work help protect nature and wildlife.

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@Felipe-Spina

World Wide Fund for Nature/ World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

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@Alejandro
| He

This climate crisis does not have to be a story of loss but rather a story of redemption, rebirth, and change. My paintings capture the spiritual nature, the grounding energy of our shared existence with the natural world. AML-ART.COM

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@jodirowley
| she/her

Conservation biologist obsessed with frogs

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@Nahun

Sound art and design

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@apcxs
| He, his, them

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@Ann_Wambui

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@denizgoek

I am a Geoscientist interested in using geospatial data science to contribute to solutions of today’s environmental challenges. I mostly worked with land surafce temperature data from satellites and drones to study how high mountain landscapes respond to climate change.

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@Helga_Kuechly
| she/her

World Wide Fund for Nature/ World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

I am a Geo-ecologist, who loves to use GIS, remote sensing, citizen science and knowledge transfer to shape for a better future for nature - We are part of nature, so let's act like it!

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Description	Activity	Replies	Groups	Updated
MegaDetector V6 and Pytorch-Wildlife V1.1.0 !	Hi Zhongqi! We are finalizing our modelling work over the next couple of weeks and can make our work availabile for your team. Our objective is to create small (<500k...		AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Software Development	8 months 3 weeks ago
Mass Detection of Wildlife Snares Using Airborne Synthetic Radar	Hats off to your team for this absolute game-changing technology! We rescue stray and wild animals in Taiwan, and the bulk of our work is saving animals maimed by wire snares...	+37	AI for Conservation, Drones, Emerging Tech, Human-Wildlife Coexistence, Wildlife Crime	8 months 3 weeks ago
Instant Detect 2.0 and related cost	There's quite a few diy or prototype solutions described online and in literature - but it seems none of these have made it to market yet as generally available fully usable...		AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Human-Wildlife Coexistence, Sensors	8 months 3 weeks ago
AI Animal Identification Models	As others have said, pretty much all image models at least start with general-subject datasets ("car," "bird," "person", etc.) and have to be refined to work with more precision...	+20	AI for Conservation, Camera Traps	9 months ago
+1 Q&A - AI for Conservation Office Hours 2025	This is a thread for anyone who has questions about AI for Conservation Office Hours 2025.We're once again teaming up with Dan Morris from...		Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Community Base, Geospatial	9 months ago
What new languages, tools, and frameworks are you excited about?	One thing I love about software is that in an ever-changing landscape of languages, frameworks, and tools, you can never stop learning....		Software Development, AI for Conservation	9 months ago
Looking for feedback & testers for Animal Detect platform	Hi Eugene!Interesting project!I already signed up to test it!Cheers,Lars		AI for Conservation, Camera Traps	9 months 1 week ago
What AI object detectors really see	I am certainly a somewhat vertical thing with a lump on top, so I get it...		AI for Conservation	9 months 2 weeks ago
Getting a Software Job in Conservation	Hi all! I wanted to open a discussion on a topic that I've been thinking about ever since I entered the job market-- how to get a...		Software Development, AI for Conservation, Early Career, Open Source Solutions	9 months 3 weeks ago
Training datasets for counting Grey Seals in UAV imagery	That's great, thanks Lars!		AI for Conservation	9 months 3 weeks ago
PolarBearWatchdog! Advancing Arctic Safety with an AI-driven Polar Bear Detection System	I did a short presentation on our work with the polar bear alarm in the Wildlabs Variety Hour October 30th.It can be found here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr2Q8bUJZ8U...		Human-Wildlife Coexistence, AI for Conservation	9 months 3 weeks ago
Wildlife data from autonomous vehicles	Comma.ai would be your best bet. Not sure if it's officially open source but was started by a noteable hacker with an open source ethos. Could try reaching out to them.		AI for Conservation	10 months ago

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