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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@jdomingo
| He/Him

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
| Dr

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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@Chavoux

Stellenbosch University & The Cape Leopard Trust

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Description	Activity	Replies	Groups	Updated
🌊 FathomVerse mobile game debuts new features to help gamers participate in ocean exploration	Play FathomVerse: App Store \| Google Play Join the Community: Discord \| Instagram \| TikTok \| LinkedInStay up-to-date: ...		Marine Conservation, AI for Conservation, Citizen Science	1 month 3 weeks ago
WILDLABS AWARDS 2024 - BumbleBuzz: automatic recognition of bumblebee species and behaviour from their buzzing sounds	Really looking forward to following this project. I'm very curious how you'll be able to tease out different species, particularly among species that feature a variety of worker...		Acoustics, AI for Conservation	1 month 3 weeks ago
Ai agents for conservation	I am interested in the use of Large Language Models (LLMs) for conservation, specifically in how they can be improved with Retrieval-...		AI for Conservation	1 month 3 weeks ago
Nature Tech Unconference - Anyone attending?	Yep see you on friday	+3	Geospatial, Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Citizen Science, Community Base, Data management and processing tools, Emerging Tech, Open Source Solutions, Protected Area Management Tools	1 month 3 weeks ago
Generative AI for simulating landscapes before and after restoration activities	Yep we are working on it 1/ segment 2/remote unwanted ecosytem3/get local potential habitat4/generate5/add to picture		Geospatial, AI for Conservation, Data management and processing tools, Open Source Solutions, Software Development	1 month 3 weeks ago
United Nations Open Source Principles	All sound, would be nice if there were only 5, though!		AI for Conservation, Citizen Science, Data management and processing tools, Emerging Tech, Ethics of Conservation Tech, Funding and Finance, Geospatial, Open Source Solutions, Software Development	1 month 4 weeks ago
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 Conflict	2 months 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	2 months ago
ICCB 2025 – Let’s Connect!	Hi everyone, I’m excited to become a member of Wild Lab! I’m currently working on my master’s thesis, focusing on dormouse conservation. My research explores the behavioral...		AI for Conservation, Animal Movement, Camera Traps, Citizen Science, Community Base, Data management and processing tools, Early Career, Geospatial	2 months 1 week ago
Sea turtle Bioacoustics Project	That's amazing thanks so much!		Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Data management and processing tools, Early Career	2 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	2 months 2 weeks 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	2 months 2 weeks ago

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