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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@amklovrza
| she / her

Hello! My name is Anabelle Marques Klovrza and I am a Ph.D. student at Dawson's lab. I am studying community assembly of island-like environments, and in trying to connect it with the vulnerability and fragility of the ecosystem.

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@Giu.Appel
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Brazilian biologist, PhD in Ecology and 10 yrs of experience in the Amazon with bat bioacoustics

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@Dominik
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PhD Student on bio- and ecoacoustics at the University of Freiburg (GER)

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@Janane.S.S

I am nature lover and now lost the tolerance to just be an admirer watching its destruction. Hence joining this crew to contribute my supportive work much lesser than a penny worth

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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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Description	Activity	Replies	Groups	Updated
Crowdsourcing individual ID for pop dyn?	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 3 months ago
Looking to contribute	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 Coexistence	2 years 3 months ago
Congo Basin activity?	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 3 months ago
Looking for entry level remote role in GIS/environmental analysis in the United States	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 3 months ago
Call for survey participants (AI/ML practitioners)	Hi everyone! and thanks @StephODonnell for the invite :)I’m a software engineer working on MLOps, and currently studying for a part-time...		AI for Conservation, Open Source Solutions	2 years 4 months ago
Who's going to ESA in Portland this year?	Indeed, I'll be there too! I like to meet new conservation friends with morning runs, so I will likely organize a couple of runs, maybe one right near the conference, and...		Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Autonomous Camera Traps for Insects, Camera Traps, Geospatial	2 years 4 months ago
Computer Vision Competitions on Natural-World datasets	Hi everyone! The Fine Grained Visual Categorization Workshop (FGVC) is hosting its 10th rendition at CVPR this June in Vancouver. A huge...		AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Marine Conservation	2 years 4 months ago
Rhino horns in medicine	Hi everyone,I'm new here :)I'm doing my thesis of biology bachelor about Rhino poaching. I wanted to ask here if yu have some articles...		AI for Conservation, Ending Wildlife Trafficking Online, Human-Wildlife Coexistence, Wildlife Crime	2 years 4 months ago
Updates about Arbimon for Ecoacoustics - free, cloud based analytical tool	Yes please reach out with any questions on acoustic monitoring, Arbimon, RFCx, etc.!		Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Data management and processing tools	2 years 4 months ago
Computer Science student looking to work for wildlife	I couldn't agree more with both of these comments tom! I'm reading hundreds (literally hundreds) of applications for open WILDLABS roles at the moment, and the ones that stand out...	+2	AI for Conservation, Drones, Early Career, Sensors	2 years 5 months ago
Underwater Fish Datasets from the Mediterranean	We have made available our underwater videos on YouTube as a playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnhVZKKy8WkZKriCIV6r7upWhHNVrU_7L It's about 1.113 short video...	+2	AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Data management and processing tools, Marine Conservation	2 years 5 months ago
Elephant Recognition	Hi Steph, This should be a simple project. Recently I came across a website with a sample video I am not sure whether it was from the wild Labs website. Where a camera is...		AI for Conservation, Camera Traps	2 years 5 months ago

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