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!
- @ryanhuang
- | He/Him/His
Conservation scientist based in Pretoria, South Africa
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 6 Groups
- @jsstamn
- | She/her
PhD student at the University of Mississippi; research interests include predator/prey dynamics, particularly the landscape of fear in relation to species conservation. Rookie at using arduino
- 0 Resources
- 4 Discussions
- 5 Groups
Neuroscientist & engineer looking for a data/R&D role in conservation.
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 17 Groups
I am a research scientist from the AI for Good Lab at Microsoft, working on AI applications in environmental science and ecology, including camera traps, bioacoustics, and overhead imagery.
- 1 Resources
- 7 Discussions
- 1 Groups
An Environmental sciences and Management graduate from SUA, passionate and eager to drive change to the Environment, making World a better place for present and future generations.
- 4 Resources
- 35 Discussions
- 14 Groups
- @hyodopenguin
- | she/her
I am currently a rising junior at UC Berkeley studying data science. I hope to apply data with biodiversity, especially by utilizing camera traps for species classification. People in conservation tech are truly living my dream careers, and I can't wait to get even more inspired!
- 0 Resources
- 5 Discussions
- 23 Groups
- @AngelikaNocon
- | she/her
I am a Nonprofit Relations Manager at Tech To The Rescue - a global platform connecting nonprofit organizations with tech companies.
- 0 Resources
- 3 Discussions
- 4 Groups
- @Slater
- | he/him
I am the Conservation Science Director at HawkWatch International, where I've worked since 2006. My work focuses mainly on conservation and research of Golden Eagles, including nesting, tracking, and winter ecology.
- 0 Resources
- 2 Discussions
- 4 Groups
Mobile developer w/ a passion for nature and conservation
- 0 Resources
- 16 Discussions
- 6 Groups
I'm a researcher in aquatic sciences, studying connections between fish biology and endocrine systems that govern growth and reproduction, contributing to fisheries management, conservation efforts and aquaculture innovations.
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 5 Groups
- @christinebarry
- | she/her
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 2 Groups
- 0 Resources
- 1 Discussions
- 4 Groups
Link
Silva et al - - R package to train convolutional neural networks & employ them to classify sounds - sound event classification pipeline, from annotating recordings to automating trained networks - case...
1 September 2022
Article
This is the first in a series by David Thau on the promise and challenges to using AI and machine learning to create a planetary environmental management system.
31 August 2022
Article
Mara Predators Hackathon
Alessandro Mazzi
APPLY NOW! The Sovereign Nature Initiative has partnered with the Kenya Wildlife Trust to experiment with emerging technologies to support their predators' conservation work.Challenges will focus on:1. Lion...
30 August 2022
Careers
Research Associate in Conservation Ecology at QUT
Carly Batist
This project is part of the Conservation AI Network. We aim to help threatened species & manage invasive species using leading edge analytics and artificial intelligence algorithms. The primary purpose of the...
29 August 2022
Careers
Conservation Technology Research Internship
Meredith Palmer
Boost cons tech capacity at an international NGO! Fauna & Flora International is offering a paid three-month internship to consolidate and share best practices for the application of emerging hardware and software...
26 August 2022
Careers
Postdoc in the application of AI for wildlife conservation & management
Tim R. Hofmeester
The Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies (WFE), SLU, Umeå, is looking for a postdoc with strong interests in wildlife conservation technology.
26 August 2022
Article
Ceres Wild Rhino application
Kim Lane
An update on Ceres Tags products that are being used in conservation
22 August 2022
Careers
Lead Software Engineer for ARISE
Chantal Huijbers
Job opening at ARISE, an innovative program in the Netherlands to build a digital infrastructure for biodiversity data and services
19 August 2022
Careers
Lead Software Engineer, Wildlife Insights
Nicole Flores
Are you creative, love new challenges and have experience developing software? The Wildlife Insights team is hiring! Join a diverse team of ecologists, data scientists, engineers and machine learning experts to protect...
10 August 2022
Careers
The Marine Robotics and Remote Sensing (MaRRS) Lab at Duke University seeks a highly motivated UAS pilot and geospatial analyst to support the ongoing development of new and existing research and conservation programs,...
10 August 2022
Link
Hi folks! I built out a human-in-the-loop annotation platform for Felidae Conservation Fund, a SF-Bay Area nonprofit last Fall using MegaDetector. I'm looking for feedback from this amazing community around areas of...
10 August 2022
Careers
The Marine Robotics and Remote Sensing (MaRRS) Lab at Duke University seeks a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher to support the ongoing development of new and existing research and conservation programs, both...
10 August 2022
June 2025
event
Nalini
July 2025
October 2025
event
Lacey Hughey and 3 more
May 2023
73 Products
Recently updated products
16 Products
Recently updated products
| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hi everyone! We were so delighted to have Adrien along to our June Variety Hour to share more about the Nocturnal Bird Migration project. If you missed it, you can catch up with... |
|
AI for Conservation | 1 year 10 months ago | |
| During Andrew's talk in our June Variety hour (see here), @dmorris put out a call in the chat that might be relevant to our marine and ai... |
|
AI for Conservation, Marine Conservation | 1 year 10 months ago | |
| During Andrew's talk, @dmorris put out a call in the chat that might be relevant to folks catching up on the video, so I'll drop it here too: Re: Andrew's fish work... part... |
|
AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Drones, Marine Conservation | 1 year 10 months ago | |
| Thanks, @pvlun,@pvlun we are going to try it to develop a model for feral cat and rat detection in camera trap. |
|
AI for Conservation | 1 year 10 months ago | |
| A new COST action has been announced which will focus on the use of computer vision for monitoring insects.InsectAI will run for 4 years... |
|
AI for Conservation, Autonomous Camera Traps for Insects, Camera Traps | 1 year 10 months ago | |
| Carly, that would be great! Thanks! I work with soundscapes and love the work of Rainforest Connection! I'll send you an email (@CUNY) to coordinate! |
|
Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Drones, eDNA & Genomics, Emerging Tech, Geospatial | 1 year 11 months ago | |
| Hi Donya! You might check out the Conservation Tech Directory to see what projects/organizations/tools best align with your interests and skills. |
|
Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Drones | 2 years ago | |
| Hey everyone, I am super excited to share two announcements with the Community!🏆🌍 Our flagship Data4Good project - Mbaza AI... |
|
AI for Conservation, Camera Traps | 2 years ago | |
| That sounds like a really neat project! Do fish get re-caught often enough that individual ID is useful? Is sample bias (more data from popular spots) an issue? |
|
AI for Conservation, Citizen Science, Software Development | 2 years ago | |
| Hi everybody 👋🏽,I'm a UX designer, and I design interfaces and improve user experiences/flows. I would love to contribute to conservation... |
|
AI for Conservation, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Emerging Tech, Human-Wildlife Conflict | 2 years ago | |
| greetings! i sent you a PM regarding this, feel free to contact me however is most convenient for you - regards,chris |
|
Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Climate Change, East Africa Community, Wildlife Crime | 2 years 1 month ago | |
| I'm looking for any recommendations for any entry level/internship remote roles/companies in the United States that are focused in... |
|
AI for Conservation, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Early Career, Geospatial | 2 years 1 month ago |
