Acoustic sensors enable efficient and non-invasive monitoring of a wide range of species, including many that are difficult to monitor in other ways. Although they were initially limited in application scope largely due to cost and hardware constraints, the development of low-cost, open-source models like the Audiomoth in recent years has increased access immensely and opened up new avenues of research. For example, some teams are using them to identify illicit human activities through the detection of associated sounds, like gunshots, vehicles, or chainsaws (e.g. OpenEars).
With this relatively novel dimension of wildlife monitoring rapidly advancing in both marine and terrestrial systems, it is crucial that we identify and share information about the utility and constraints of these sensors to inform efforts. A recent study identified advancements in hardware and machine learning applications, as well as early development of acoustic biodiversity indicators, as factors facilitating progress in the field. In terms of limitations, the authors highlight insufficient reference sound libraries, a lack of open-source audio processing tools, and a need for standardization of survey and analysis protocols. They also stress the importance of collaboration in moving forward, which is precisely what this group will aim to facilitate.
If you're new to acoustic monitoring and want to get up to speed on the basics, check out these beginner's resources and conversations from across the WILDLABS platform:
Three Resources for Beginners:
- Listening to Nature: The Emerging Field of Bioacoustics, Adam Welz
- Ecoacoustics and Biodiversity Monitoring, RSEC Journal
- Monitoring Ecosystems through Sound: The Present and Future of Passive Acoustics, Ella Browning and Rory Gibb
Three Forum Threads for Beginners:
- AudioMoth user guide | Tessa Rhinehart
- Audiomoth and Natterjack Monitoring (UK) | Stuart Newson
- Help with analysing bat recordings from Audiomoth | Carlos Abrahams
Three Tutorials for Beginners:
- "How do I perform automated recordings of bird assemblages?" | Carlos Abrahams, Tech Tutors
- "How do I scale up acoustic surveys with Audiomoths and automated processing?" | Tessa Rhinehart, Tech Tutors
- Acoustic Monitoring | David Watson, Ruby Lee, Andy Hill, and Dimitri Ponirakis, Virtual Meetups
Want to know more about acoustic monitoring and learn from experts in the WILDLABS community? Jump into the discussion in our Acoustic Monitoring group!
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Article
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Do you have photos and videos of your conservation tech work? We want to include them in a conservation technology showcase video
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TBC is looking for an applicant to lead on the design, analysis and reporting of data from a wide range of innovative bat population monitoring surveys with a particular focus on passive acoustic monitoring, undertake...
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Full-time 3 year postdoctoral fellowship in Escondido, CA
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Catch up on the conservation tech discussions and events that happened during World Wildlife Day 2024!
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| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hi guys, interesting discussion. As you may have read, we are developing an elephant-detector (to avoid HWC's). The technology we are using (neural networks) can... |
|
Acoustics | 6 years 11 months ago | |
| Hi Bhavesh - thanks a lot. WildLabs doesn't allow me to upload .wav files - can I email you or get them to you another way? They are small - 2 seconds each. You... |
|
Acoustics | 7 years 1 month ago | |
| sorry, double entry |
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Acoustics | 7 years 6 months ago | |
| Hello Courtney My turn to apologies for delay. Your study sounds very interesting and potentially a valuable technique for future in-situ research. Seems it could indeed fit... |
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Acoustics | 7 years 8 months ago | |
| Great survey idea, Rory! I am completing it for my organization now so you should see another form input shortly. |
|
Acoustics | 7 years 10 months ago | |
| For those who are interested in this thread, Arik has posted his new prototype in a new thread, where the discussion has continued. |
+8
|
Acoustics | 7 years 11 months ago | |
| Hi Tiago, Thank you for sharing this paper and contributing your experience to the thread. Blantant self promotion, as you put it, is more than welcome when the work... |
+4
|
Acoustics | 8 years 1 month ago | |
| The Elephant Listening Project at the University of Cornell is looking a Postdoctoral research to study forest elephants in central Africa using a combination of field... |
|
Acoustics | 8 years 3 months ago | |
| Like many scientists, I am addicted to learning as much information about my field as possible. That being said - does anyone have any... |
|
Acoustics | 8 years 3 months ago | |
| Excerpted from an article available via Alberta Farm Press (opens in new window). "A University of Alberta... |
|
Acoustics | 8 years 3 months ago | |
| This special issue of Ecological Informatics, entitled Ecological Acoustics, is a great overview of the applicatoins of acoustic... |
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Acoustics | 8 years 5 months ago |
Which market-available microphones, accelerometers and GIS sensors for dogs / pets ?
7 September 2023 3:21pm
7 December 2023 7:03am
Hi Luigi!
It is not the coordinates but the information from the "pulse per second" from the GPS which is used for the time sync.
Have a look at
17 December 2023 3:02pm
I am not an acoustics person but train and deploy canines in the field. Are you looking for something that records sniff rate and patterns? For GPS I just use a Garmin collar system Altha 100. There is a Conservation Canine group that might be worth asking your question in.
Call for Interview Subjects: Conservation Bioacoustics Methods
14 December 2023 8:47pm
15 December 2023 12:19pm
Happy to help Samuel, will send a message
15 December 2023 3:46pm
I'd love to!
16 December 2023 9:43am
Thank you Stefan! Will follow up with your email shortly.
Low-cost hydrophone - Invitation to tender
15 December 2023 9:28pm
Sustainable land managment
15 December 2023 3:38pm
Geospatial data training and education for conservation
15 December 2023 3:20pm
Sharing our startup's webpage, featuring information about our services and products.
We are open for new partnership, collaboration R&D project in the field of GIS data analysis.
Services – Drone Training, Workshops, & Education | Drone Design Lab
Become an expert in the drone industry with Drone Design Lab. We offer resources, training, and mentorship to help you grow your knowledge and skills.
DRONE DESIGN LAB - The Geospatial Educational Platform
Conservation of Kikuyu Escarpment Forest
1 December 2023 12:38pm
Deploying Song Meters in Nigeria
24 November 2023 9:01am
28 November 2023 3:08pm
Hi Joan,
Sounds like a great project! I would recommend having a look at some of the nice review literature and guidelines that are out there, like -
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/368683386_Good_practice_guidelines_for_long-term_ecoacoustic_monitoring_in_the_UK
- https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/69/1/15/5193506 (Terrestrial Passive Acoustic Monitoring: Review and Perspectives)
- https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rse2.227 (Optimizing tropical forest bird surveys using passive acoustic monitoring and high temporal resolution sampling)
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/brv.12890 (Acoustic indices as proxies for biodiversity: a meta-analysis)
- https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/2041-210X.14194 (Using acoustic indices in ecology: Guidance on study design, analyses and interpretation)
And some specific to nocturnal birds:
- https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f720/4b65248c2d9335dc0b70d1ac3b748145398e.pdf (In the still of the night: revisiting Eastern Whip-poor-will surveys with passive acoustic monitoring)
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-023-02642-7 (Passive acoustic monitoring in difficult terrains: the case of the Principe Scops-Owl)
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01650521.2021.1933699 (Passive acoustic monitoring of the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum) over a complete annual cycle: seasonality and monitoring recommendations)
- https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.05.22.541336v1.abstract (Nighthawk: acoustic monitoring of nocturnal bird migration in the Americas)
And a study on bird acoustic monitoring in Nigeria:
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X20312115 (Passive acoustic monitoring gives new insight into year-round duetting behaviour of a tropical songbird)
In terms of processing and analyzing the data, I work for Rainforest Connection which maintains Arbimon - a free, no-code ecoacoustic analysis platform to help automate species detection and classification within soundscapes. If you're interested, you can get started with our support docs!
There are also a number of stats packages for analyzing soundscape data (seewave, monitoR, warbleR in R; and OpenSoundscape, scikit-maad in Python).
AWMS Conference 2023
New book: Sound Identification of Terrestrial mammals
17 November 2023 1:55pm
Flying with li-ion batteries
15 November 2023 8:24pm
16 November 2023 2:26am
The 18650s should be packed in discrete holders to separate them and prevent them from shorting. I've taken up to 50 on a plane before. 100 might be a tall ask since most planes have limitations on total Amp Hours you can bring.
Good luck.
16 November 2023 4:01pm
Thanks Akiba, good to know you had no problems with those, and those cases look good. Having read a bit more, it actually seems that in theory there is no limit to the number of batteries you can bring, as long as each is <100Wh. Seems like I'll be testing that theory...
PhD Opportunity - Marine Bioacoustics and Behaviour Lab
16 November 2023 2:13pm
PhD Opportunity - Real-time acoustic monitoring of insect pollinators and their behaviours
16 November 2023 12:48pm
Software Engineer at Rainforest Connection & Arbimon
14 November 2023 12:30am
Seeking AudioMoth in SF Bay Area
6 November 2023 8:48pm
7 November 2023 9:10pm
I have an AudioMoth that they are welcome to. I'm down in Moss Beach (just north of Half Moon Bay).
8 November 2023 10:28pm
You're awesome Tim, thank you! However, we ordered another from GroupGets yesterday and it's arriving tomorrow, so we (should) be good to go : ) Now if I can only get LabMaker to reimburse me for the one that didn't arrive, that would fix everything. Unfortunately they've been incredibly slow to reply ....sigh
Replacement (cheaper) foam mic covers
23 October 2023 3:35pm
3 November 2023 3:04pm
Hi! I got these ones from Amazon. Also, I was tired of creatures eating them so I created a shield using window mesh screen 
6 November 2023 9:31am
Hi - thanks for your reply. I've been thinking along the same lines though unsure where I'd purchase 'acoustic foam' from. I've made 'dead cats' before for some of my active monitoring mics and that material is not too difficult to source but the only acoustic foam I've come across is the type for deadening sound in studio etc. - the exact opposite of what I want!! The search continues ....!
6 November 2023 9:33am
Brilliant - thank you.! Great idea about the screen too - I'm replacing some of them monthly so may try that myself. Have you found any issues with the mesh generating any tones with wind?
Digital Signals Processing - free online textbook
31 October 2023 1:50pm
I just discovered this freely available book on digital signal processing and love the fact that it is“…intended for students … who may not have much mathematical or engineering training.” Seems like a great resource for bioacoustics, biologing etc!
Searching for researchers working in Africa
25 September 2023 1:57am
20 October 2023 7:45pm
Hi Andrew,
Rainforest Connection (RFCx) has projects in a couple different countries in that region, and also working with agroforestry systems to monitor biodiversity using acoustic monitoring! You can read more about that project (Kenya) here: https://rfcx.org/blog/monitoring-biodiversity-in-kenyan-agroforestry-parcels. We've also got a project working with small-scale cacao farmers in Colombia to monitor biodiversity in their cacao plots. For some background, RFCx is a non-profit focused using sound and AI to monitor biodiversity and detect threats, and we also manage the Arbimon acoustic analysis platform.
I'd be happy to talk through ideas further if you'd like, feel free to reach out! [email protected]
All the best,
Carly
21 October 2023 12:13am
HI Andrew,
I am replying to the "elsewhere". I am based in Aus but travel and work in the Arts/ Science field of field recording, often with scientists. I have been acoustic monitoring a peri-urban site in Victoria with a local council. The subject is a wetland, transferring from farmland to a wetland public space that is now surrounded and impacted by urban infrastructure. I was lucky enough to get sounds before, during and after CoVid lockdowns so we can hear a stark comparison of anthropogenic sound.
I'd love to chat further about this and other work I do if this fits your collaboration criteria.
Best,
Vicki
31 October 2023 1:56am
Hi Vicki,
I've sent you a private message.
Ecoacoustic Bird Survey White Paper
30 October 2023 3:48pm
PAM workflow and file question
27 October 2023 3:50pm
29 October 2023 10:59am
Like this:
ffmpeg -i input.wav -f segment -segment_time 60 -c copy output%03d.wav
30 October 2023 1:17pm
Thank you!
30 October 2023 1:17pm
Thank you!
In case you missed it... (no.2)
27 October 2023 1:20pm
Acoustic Monitoring Specialist
26 October 2023 7:32pm
5 Trailblazing Wildlife Monitoring Tech Solutions across East Africa. What Monitoring Technologies are you using?
25 October 2023 12:40pm
Soundscapes and deep learning enable tracking biodiversity recovery in tropical forests
20 October 2023 3:38pm
New paper in Nature Communications from Jörg Müller et al. using BAR-LT recorders and CNNs to track biodiversity recovery. Study shows that #soundscapes 🎙🎶 and deep learning are powerful tools for tracking biodiversity recovery in tropical forests
PhD Opportunity: YELLOWHAMMER - Individual acoustic monitoring to study song culture evolutionwithin and between dialect areas
20 October 2023 12:54pm
PhD Opportunity: Distributed sound source localisation and separation for wireless microphone networks consisting of two-microphone nodes
20 October 2023 12:47pm
PhD Opportunity: 'FLOATERS' position at Bioacoustic AI Doctoral Network
20 October 2023 12:36pm
Is there a good resource for learning bird calls?
20 October 2023 12:13pm
20 October 2023 12:19pm
Some of the recommendations Kylie has been getting:
eBird is also a great resource. Can help narrow downs species based on sightings in your area and has links to profiles of all species.
— David Parker (@pedionomus) October 20, 2023
Thanks! The trouble I’m having is narrowing it down based on calls - I know the tiny birds of the area, but can’t get eyes on them. So after somewhere I can go to hear a list of “what noises does a yellow rumped thornbill make” without listening to 15 min YouTube 😂
— Dr. Kylie Soanes (@kyliesoanes) October 20, 2023
I usually go listen to the calls for the potential suspects on Pizzey and Knight on my phone…
— Erika Roper 🦜🥔 (@_erikaroper) October 20, 2023
I start with Pizzey & Knight but it’s not comprehensive for call variations. Morcombe and also Stewart are good backups (if you’re keen enough to have them all :)
— Leo (@leo_qbn) October 20, 2023
Anyone know how Merlin is progressing with Australian birds?
I have found that, but it’s all I have so I make do 😅
— Erika Roper 🦜🥔 (@_erikaroper) October 20, 2023
20 October 2023 12:21pm
A few more!
Yes i use the Merlin app however i dont recommend using it too much as the males get agitated a bit (around breeding nesting)
— Simon Cotter (@SimonCotter62) October 19, 2023
For sure—there’s a few apps that are ideal for this, including the Michael Morcombe and David Stewart’s e-guide ($30)
— David M Watson (@D0CT0R_Dave) October 19, 2023
Also Pizzey and Knight’s birds of Australia has a digital edition with calls that you can check and compare ($50)
— David M Watson (@D0CT0R_Dave) October 19, 2023
Failing all that, if you have internet connection where you are then Graeme Chapman’s website has a terrific library of bird calls - I often refer to it: https://t.co/Metmy9VUxU
— Harry Saddler (@MondayStory) October 19, 2023
Xeno Canto is also an incredible website for bird calls, but not very mobile friendly.
The online calls help but still a learning a challenge. So many different calls by the same bird, regional variations, age variations and more mimics than lyrebirds and magpies. Tips like the Australian Raven and Little Raven are distinguished by final notes are good
— Ian Thompson (@IanThom186000) October 19, 2023
Everyone has answered while I was on the bike, so I'm just repeating. I use Morcombe first, YouTube second and xeno canto if I'm really stuck
— Bird Michael From Twitt℮r (@wtb_Michael) October 19, 2023
Try Merlin App by Cornell University. Can take a recording and it gives you options to narrow the search
— Jason Mingo (@jason_mingo) October 19, 2023
I am keen to try this one myself:https://t.co/CQy0CuKC5I
— Matt Furlong @[email protected] (@matticus_flinch) October 20, 2023
https://t.co/QlY0lmGQSF is my go-to
— The Bird Emergency - Grant the Bird Nerd (@birdemergency) October 19, 2023
Arbimon - Jobs are not working
11 October 2023 8:31am
12 October 2023 11:23am
Pinging @carlybatist!
12 October 2023 4:22pm
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks so much for notifying us about this! We have a support page here and you can contact our user support team directly by clicking the green 'question mark' icon in the bottom right corner of the Arbimon page. We can absolutely look on the backend to see what is stalling your jobs, we'll just need a bit more information (e.g., project name, job type, playlist size, etc.) to do diagnostics. I can reach out to you directly for that info - what's a good email for you?
16 October 2023 8:10am
Hi, thanks so much for getting back. You can reach me at [email protected]
Peruvian Bird Audio Dataset Questions
29 September 2023 3:39am
3 October 2023 10:47pm
Hi Sean!
Wanted to just mention that Arbimon, Rainforest Connection's ecoacoustic platform, has a number of projects in Peru (here, here, & others, if you search by keyword 'peru'). We have some existing CNNs for that region (mostly from Ecuador & Brazil, but there is likely species overlap). Do feel free to DM me here or email me ([email protected]) and I'm happy to talk about collaborating!
-Carly
3 October 2023 10:50pm
Also tagging @NickGardner who works on a similar project! (detecting birds from audio in Peruvian flooded forests)
8 October 2023 4:49pm
Interesting!
Hi Sean, sounds like an excellent project. Definitely talk with the Arbimon folks! As @carlybatist said, I am working with birds in the Peruvian Amazon, but in Loreto. Definitely would like to hear more about your project. As for this labelling issue here, definitely looks like an error. I have not used this dataset, now I'm curious. To be honest, some questionable labelling in that file in general. Bounding boxes can be very subjective...
6 December 2023 2:03pm
good to know that GPS coordinates can be used to sync the time.
Does GPS resolution allow to a desired time resolution (e.g. seconds) ? Does choice of time resolution significantly depends on the physiology of the animal (e.g. time of re-action to stimuli, hence less than a second) or for most animal communication and animal behaviour is it enough above a second?