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	Replies	Groups	Updated
Thesis Collaboration	Hi Simon,We (Reneco International Wildlife Consultants) have an ongoing collaboration with a local University (Abu Dhabi, UAE) for developing AI tools (cameratrap/drone...		Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Animal Movement, Camera Traps, Citizen Science, Connectivity, Drones, Early Career, eDNA & Genomics, Marine Conservation, Protected Area Management Tools, Sensors	7 months ago
State of the art thermal imaging core and the zoo	@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...		Human-Wildlife Coexistence, AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Emerging Tech	7 months ago
Which LLMs are most valuable for coding/debugging?	thanks kristy! super helpful list.		Data management and processing tools, AI for Conservation	7 months 1 week ago
What the mice get up to at night	And I see now they can walk vertically up walls like Spider-Man.		Camera Traps, AI for Conservation	7 months 1 week ago
Ai for soil nutrient analysis	Thank you for the comments. My team will be glad to have this added to the inventory.		AI for Conservation	7 months 1 week ago
Pytorch Wildlife v5 detection in thermal	I added plain old motion detection because megadetector v5 was not working well with the smaller rat images and in thermal.This works really well: Also, I can see...		AI for Conservation, Camera Traps	7 months 2 weeks ago
Birdweather Puc use as a passive sensor	Hello WalterThanks for your input. I have achieved better results with the puc when hooking it up to a powerbank. Have got them set up to "recording only", and GPS to low power...		Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Citizen Science, Sensors	7 months 4 weeks ago
Christmas wish list	great, this security cameras might be interesting for monitoring crop development and maybe other bigger pests like boars or some other herbivorous animals that could eventually...		AI for Conservation, Camera Traps	8 months ago
Tracking orangutans	In a recent call with researchers in Thailand. They have mentioned that they use passive chip readers to log data about chipped animals as they pass by.	+12	AI for Conservation, Animal Movement	8 months ago
Mirror images - to annotate or not?	Seems like we should include some rotations in our image augmentations as the real world can be seen a bit tilted - as this cropped corner view from our fisheye at the zoo shows.	+13	AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Data management and processing tools	8 months 1 week ago
Conservation Data Strategist?	Bird Monitoring Data Exchange is a standard often used for birds data.	+4	AI for Conservation, Data management and processing tools, Emerging Tech	8 months 2 weeks ago
"AI for Conservation" Starter Pack on BlueSky	Hey everyone!As you might have heard, BlueSky is on hype now, with millions of users migrating to it from X. Including the scientific world...		AI for Conservation	8 months 3 weeks ago

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