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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@PiaHoff

Working in relation to ecosystem services

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@jdomingo
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I am an enthusiast for nature, technology development, biodiversity conservation and nature inspired design. I posses a technical and environmental background, and I am looking to explore the potential that advance technology has to empower the field of nature conservation.

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@och3k
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@RafaelCampos

CIBIO-InBio

I am a PhD student working on wolf bioacoustics. I am combining Audiomoths and Deep Learning into more efficient wolf monitoring protocols. My main field of interest is population ecology.

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@nadyam
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Michigan State University

Conservation geneticist at Michigan State University. Co-founder of iCatch. Solving problems in monitoring, traceability, and enforcement through rapid species identification tech.

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@HayleyWhyte

Passionate advocate for nature and experienced communicator, looking to explore opportunities to leverage technology in wildlife and marine conservation

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@nlubcker
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Results-Driven R&D Project Manager | Data scientist | I'm a versatile professional with 10 years of global experience in conservation and research.

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@mariahmeek
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Michigan State University

Dr. Mariah Meek is the PI and co-founder of iCatch, an Associate Professor at Michigan State University, and the Director of Research at The Wilderness Society.

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@Alex.S
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MSc Marine Biologist and Data Scientist, Co-Founder and CSO & CTO of Galene Pathways

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@lgovs

PhD candidate studying the ethics of tech in human-animal interactions.

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@Hansa
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@valeria
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Studio Pixel

AI integration architect, AI product manager. I've built the front-end of this website 😁

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Description	Activity	Groups	Updated
Tech Tutors: How do I get started with Wildlife Insights?	Hi everyone, We're excited to welcome Nicole Flores to Tech Tutors to walk us through getting started with Wildlife Insights! ...	AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Data management and processing tools	3 years 9 months ago
Tech Tutors: How do I get started with Megadetector?	Hi all, We're excited to welcome Siyu Yang to Tech Tutors to chat about getting started with Megadetector! For all you AI...	AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Data management and processing tools	3 years 10 months ago
PhDs (or MSc) in tech + nature conservation ?	You should join the Key Conservation app, which connects people and NGO's for specific needs, whether funding, time, or skills (programming included). Organizations can list...	AI for Conservation	3 years 11 months ago
Looking for animal emotions data for ML	Thank you VERY much for that, Carly. I really appreciate it. I have only heard of the bear research project and was not aware of the others. This is very helpful. FYI: Most...	AI for Conservation	4 years 1 month ago
Allen Coral Atlas - using machine learning to map coral reefs	The Atlas Coral Atlas combines high-resolution, seamless satellite imagery mosiacs, image processing techniques, machine learning, and...	AI for Conservation	4 years 2 months ago
Looking help with camera trapping for Jaguars: Software for species ID and database building	Sure thing, I'll email you directly.	AI for Conservation	4 years 2 months ago
Tech Tutors: How do I strategically allocate drones for conservation?	Hi Wildlabbers, This week is the last episode of Tech Tutors Season 2! Elizabeth Bondi tackled the question "How do I...	AI for Conservation, Drones	4 years 3 months ago
Transparency, AI, and Machine Learning Conservation Impacts	Thanks Carly, These are great ideas. The movebank recommendation reminds me of some work from Save the Elephants that used its transparency to exonerate an elephant that had...	AI for Conservation	4 years 3 months ago
Windows explorer video thumbnails	This works very well, and can remove the movie strip icons from the edges of the thumbnails, which obscure animals just coming into the frame. https://icaros.en.softonic...	AI for Conservation	4 years 3 months ago
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 3 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 3 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 3 months ago

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