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
| 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!

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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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@christinebarry
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Description	Activity	Replies	Groups	Updated
Subject: “Baa-bridge” – AI Sheep Stress Reduction, Seeking Genius Input!	I'm sure others here can comment better than I on models for classifying animal sounds, but from an ML pint of view, a key concern is getting enough data. 10 recordings does not...		AI for Conservation, Animal Movement, Human-Wildlife Coexistence	4 months 4 weeks ago
Seeking Ornithologist Expertise on Quelea Bird Behavior	Hi WILDLABS Community,I’m Simon Juma from Kenya, working on a project to track and manage Red-billed Quelea birds, which...		AI for Conservation, Sensors	4 months 4 weeks ago
Sea turtle Bioacoustics Project	That's amazing thanks so much!		Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Data management and processing tools, Early Career	5 months 1 week ago
What are open source solutions anyway?	Thanks again for the interesting discussion everyone! Just a note that while I touched on it in my opening post above, there were still questions in this thread about what...	+28	Open Source Solutions, AI for Conservation, Ethics of Conservation Tech, Software Development	5 months 1 week ago
Definitions for open source software & hardware and why they're important	Thanks @VAR1 great insights! Funny you mentioned the honey thing, @hikinghack said the same in response on the GOSH forum. I think the point I'm trying to make with the vegan...		Open Source Solutions, AI for Conservation, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Ethics of Conservation Tech, Geospatial, Software Development	5 months 1 week ago
What is your favourite social media these days?	Linkedin mainly. iNaturalist and eBird ofc but these are more communities than real social networks. But, and this is a real advice, a good RSS feed reader with all your...	+5	AI for Conservation, Community Base	5 months 2 weeks ago
Career Move: Defence AI to Conservation AI	Hi Maureen, thanks a lot for this. Seemed more or less perfect so I applied :)Also didn't realise there was a slack community so I'll be scanning that too...		AI for Conservation	5 months 2 weeks ago
Animal Detect - 3 spots available to test phase	Hey everyone,On Monday, we are starting the test phase of our first MVP version!We are looking for a limited number of testers and still...		AI for Conservation	5 months 2 weeks ago
The 100KB Challenge!	Hi Dan, Not right now but I can envision many uses. A key problem in RS is data streams for validation and training of ML models, its really not yet a solved problem. Any...		Emerging Tech, AI for Conservation, Animal Movement, Build Your Own Data Logger Community, Camera Traps, Connectivity, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Data management and processing tools, Geospatial, Sensors	5 months 3 weeks ago
Switch to Conservation IT	Thanks @eugenegalaxy . Much appreciated and I will go through this thoroughly!		AI for Conservation	5 months 3 weeks ago
Building the perfect camera trap (Guide)	Hey Bob, thanks for the kind words! Your articles on Winterberry Wildlife have really been a big inspiration for me! There are extremely limited numbers of articles on trial...		AI for Conservation, Camera Traps	5 months 3 weeks ago
Free tool to generate your spirit animal	This is probably the most realistic one I've seen made by this tool (stable-difussion v1.5)		AI for Conservation	5 months 3 weeks ago

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