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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I aim to transition my career towards conservation technology after gaining two years of experience in the tech industry.
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Conservation X Labs & Wild Me
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Master and PhD student in the Postgraduate Program in Animal Biology. She works mainly in Landscape Ecology with an emphasis on bioacoustics and interactions between primates.
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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.
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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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Building Sustainable Support with Edge Impulse
Ellie Warren
Today, we're chatting with our WILDLABS Fellowship: On the Edge partners at Edge Impulse about how conservation tech funding and support can be more sustainable, and why reimagining how fellowships make an impact is so...
13 August 2021
Article
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
Article
Wildlife Insights Launches
Zoological Society London (ZSL)
Wildlife Insights is excited to announce the public release of their new platform! Read on to learn about all the useful features you'll find on Wildlife Insights, and check out WILDLABS' Tech Tutors episode with...
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BearID Featured: Artificial Intelligence & Other New Technology In Bear Research
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Our friends at BearID joined an EXPLORE.org live chat to discuss their work identifying the bears of Katmai National Park with powerful AI technology. Watch the full panel event below, or here on EXPLORE.org's Youtube...
1 July 2021
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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...
23 April 2021
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New Papers: Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation
Zoological Society London (ZSL)
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
Community Announcement
Whether you spent the last year working in the field, lab, at home, or virtually, the WILDLABS community's conservation tech achievements were on full display in our annual #Tech4Wildlife Photo Challenge! Relive our...
25 March 2021
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Building Experts Into AI
Whale Seeker
In this article from Whale Seeker, you'll read about how human expertise plays a role in building strong AI algorithms and achieving accurate wildlife identification results, as well as the ethics of using AI in these...
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Kaggle Competition: iWildcam 2021 - FGVC8
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| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| This is probably seen a bit as "self-branding" which I hope is alright, otherwise please let me know! I have spent the past few months... |
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AI for Conservation | 3 months 2 weeks ago | |
| We are putting together a special issue in the journal Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology and are welcoming (review) papers on the use of AI in bird research. https://www.... |
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AI for Conservation, Software Development, Citizen Science, Data management and processing tools | 3 months 2 weeks ago | |
| Hi Adrien,Submissions are open for the special addition. Please email David Ehlers Smith - david.ehlers.smith@birdlife.org.za for more details. We are also soliciting reviewers.... |
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AI for Conservation | 3 months 2 weeks ago | |
| Hello everyone!During my master thesis in engineering (past autumn), I developed Machine Learning for anti-poaching. As such, I recorded a... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Data management and processing tools | 3 months 2 weeks ago | |
| Hey everyone! We’re Deep Voice Foundation, a non-profit using AI to help conserve marine wildlife. We develop acoustic... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation | 3 months 3 weeks ago | |
| Hello everyone. My name is Bilal. I recently graduated with a degree in bioengineering and hold a bachelor's degree in computer science,... |
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AI for Conservation, Animal Movement, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Marine Conservation | 4 months 1 week ago | |
| Hey, please find here a dataset about nocturnal bird calls in Europe |
+5
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Software Development | 4 months 1 week ago | |
| Hi Simon,We (Reneco International Wildlife Consultants) have an ongoing collaboration with a local University (Abu Dhabi, UAE) for developing AI tools (cameratrap/drone... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Animal Movement, Camera Traps, Citizen Science, Connectivity, Drones, Early Career, eDNA & Genomics, Marine Conservation, Protected Area Management Tools, Sensors | 4 months 1 week ago | |
| @HeinrichS there’s still time for you or anyone else to make a funding submission to the wildlabs 2025 grants ❤️❤️❤️I haven't applied for wildlabs funding, but I would love for... |
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Human-Wildlife Conflict, AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Emerging Tech | 4 months 1 week ago | |
| thanks kristy! super helpful list. |
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Data management and processing tools, AI for Conservation | 4 months 2 weeks ago | |
| And I see now they can walk vertically up walls like Spider-Man. |
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Camera Traps, AI for Conservation | 4 months 2 weeks ago | |
| Thank you for the comments. My team will be glad to have this added to the inventory. |
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AI for Conservation | 4 months 2 weeks ago |
