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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@ryanhuang
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Conservation scientist based in Pretoria, South Africa

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@jsstamn
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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

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@mkm4884

Neuroscientist & engineer looking for a data/R&D role in conservation.

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@zhongqimiao

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.

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@loveness

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.

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@hyodopenguin
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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!

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@AngelikaNocon
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I am a Nonprofit Relations Manager at Tech To The Rescue - a global platform connecting nonprofit organizations with tech companies.

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@Slater
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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.

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@philmitchell

Mobile developer w/ a passion for nature and conservation

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@charlz_wild

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.

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Description	Activity	Groups	Updated
BES Guide to Reproducible Code	In case you missed it, last year the British Ecological Society published A Guide to Reproducible Code in Ecology and Evolution...	AI for Conservation	7 years 4 months ago
Automated video count of migratory birds	Hey Steffen, I know you've had a student working on this challenge for the past year - how is this project progressing? If you (or your student) have a moment,...	AI for Conservation	7 years 9 months ago
[ARCHIVED] Fish identification computer vision competition	Hi Kate, It's really exciting to hear that you've now launched the challenge, congratulations on getting to this point! It's going to be interesting to...	AI for Conservation	7 years 10 months ago
The Greenhouse 2017: Planet Saving Technology Series (Syd, Australia)	If you're interested, you can check out the live recordings from past events (links below take you to the videos): August: The Blockchain The Blockchain's potential...	AI for Conservation	7 years 10 months ago
Deep Learning Project Repository	Hypraptive and Brown Bear Research Network collaboration to develop a deep learning, brown bear face identification system: BearID Project. [Disclosure: I am a member of...	AI for Conservation	7 years 11 months ago
MIT's SLOOP: machine learning (ML) animal image recognition	It looks like they haven't updated for a couple of years do you know if it is still active or are they changing to a different system like tensor flow?	AI for Conservation	7 years 11 months ago
Pairing Scientists and Citizen Scientists with AI Assistants	Here' s a press release we put out today talking about how we're using a deep convolutional neural network to find and curate whale...	AI for Conservation	8 years 2 months ago
Acoustics for Human-Wildlife Conflict Prevention, Anti-poaching, and more	For those interested: in the acoustics channel I have posted news on our sound event recognition sensor, using conv-net: https://...	AI for Conservation	8 years 3 months ago
Welch Labs - Learning to see	Ah! Thanks for posting this Tom. It's such a well designed, simple to understand video series, and the backing track is utterly delightful. Given the...	AI for Conservation	8 years 4 months ago
Tracking megafauna with satellite imagery	Hello all, I'm looking at using a combination of machine learning and satellite imagery to identify and count individual animals,...	AI for Conservation	8 years 10 months ago
Digitising powerlines in bird migratory pathways	We are working on the identification of the threats along the flyway of the Egyptian vulture, endangered vutlure species migrating from...	AI for Conservation	9 years 2 months ago
Computer Vision to Identify Individual Animals	Hi Jason, Thanks for sharing this demo, it's interesting to see the fluke id process in action. Is this part of the flukebook project? How do you see the project...	AI for Conservation	9 years 2 months ago

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