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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Ecological Consultant focussing on the use of UAV and GIS to advance applied ecological reasearch

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My main interest is in the application of geospatial technology for ecology and conservation

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Brad has worked in sea turtle conservation & ecotourism for 20+ years. He is the lead writer of Sea Turtle Research and Conservation and co-author of the Worldwide Travel Guide to Sea Turtles. He has won the President's Award from the International Sea Turtle Society.

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I'm Zoe, an ecologist at the intersection of SaaS, conservation, and community science. I build programs and advance projects that accelerate solutions to our most urgent climate and conservation challenges.

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Software Engineer with 10+ years of experience in application design, development, testing and deployment. Highly experienced in Health Care, Life Science and BigData projects. Artificial Intelligence researcher (NLP, Computer Vision) with experience in Wildlife Conservation.

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San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

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Artificial Intelligence and Environmental Science Researcher

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PhD Candidate at University College London. Research and develop wireless sensor networks for biodiversity monitoring. Currently working on a software package for AI bioacoustics classifiers on edge device.

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Description	Activity	Replies	Groups	Updated
Tech Tutors: How do How do I launch machine learning projects using MLOps?	Dan's comments about the need for technologists and conservationists to manage and share (properly annotated) data struck a chord with me, it was right at the end of the...		AI for Conservation, Data management and processing tools	4 years 6 months ago
Seeking interviewees - AI in Conservation & nonprofits	Hi Alex, that sounds great! Feel free to email me at luisa.teixeira@vizzuality.com, that may be simpler.		AI for Conservation	4 years 6 months ago
Tech Tutors: How do I start a Tech4Wildlife collaboration?	Hi. Just watched the Youtube version (I'm in the unable to watch live hemisphere) and wanted to say that was a great talk. I wish it could have gone for another hour. I liked...		AI for Conservation, Camera Traps	4 years 6 months ago
Eurasian Otter Workshop to highlight Conservation Planning, Threats, and Research Advances for Monitoring Otter Populations	The IUCN Otter Specialist Group is hosting a Virtual Eurasian Otter Workshop on 26-28.February.2021. There will be invited talks and...		AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, eDNA & Genomics	4 years 6 months ago
X-Prize for Rainforests	I know I'm very late, but I only discovered this recently. Is your team still active/accepting new members?	+24	AI for Conservation	4 years 7 months ago
Tech Tutors: How do I use pattern matching analysis to label acoustic data with RFCxArbimon?	Hi @pmnguyen1224 , thanks for reaching out and checking out the system! We would love to help ensure that you're able to get pattern matching to work for...		Acoustics, AI for Conservation	4 years 7 months ago
Realtime video analysis using ML on Raspberry PI	Hi Andrew, Yo need to train a lightweight DNN model for bird flocks which can then be deployed on Raspberry Pi. For initial starters, you can look into the below tutorial:...		AI for Conservation	4 years 8 months ago
Google unveils search engine for open data	This is great, thanks for sharing.		AI for Conservation	4 years 9 months ago
Get To Know FIT!	Dear Zoe, I wonder whether FIT would be good for species-level (rather than individual level) identification of small mammals. We use track tunnels to get prints of dormice (3...		AI for Conservation, Emerging Tech	4 years 9 months ago
Upcoming AI for Conservation Events and Webinars	AI for Climate Forum: Lightning Talks Bonnie Lei, Microsoft AI for Earth - 4pm GMT, October 30 Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/...		AI for Conservation	4 years 9 months ago
Tech Tutors: How do I train my first machine learning model?	Hi Wildlabbers, Just popping in to share this very cool primer for beginners to embedded machine learning from our tutor Daniel Situnayake! If you're interested in...		AI for Conservation, Camera Traps	4 years 10 months ago
Monitoring Otters using FIT: Challenges and Discoveries!	Hi Ellie, thanks for your interest. So I have two possible explanations why the camera traps I used did not release, even though I found otter droppings directly in front of my...		AI for Conservation, Animal Movement	4 years 11 months ago

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