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Dear <<First Name>>,
Welcome to your April WILDLABS Community Digest!
Since our last digest, the world around us has rapidly changed due to COVID-19, and the conservation world is carrying on in the digital realm with boundless enthusiasm and energy. At WILDLABS, we've created an online space for the conservation tech community to come together virtually, something that is now more important than ever!
In keeping with the spirit of digital connection, WILDLABS is prepping to launch a new series of short, livestreamed video sessions focusing on the “How-To” questions of conservation tech! Featuring a rotating variety of tech topics and conservation themes, this tutorial series will provide quick, practical, and interactive answers to questions like “how do I repair my hardware in the field?”, “how do I get started training my first machine learning model?”, "how do I launch my own citizen science platform to analyze my new data?", or “what do all these settings on my new camera trap system do?” We'll have more details and a schedule of talks available soon, but first, we need your help shaping this series! Start by commenting in this thread on our community forum with the tech questions you’d like answered, DIY projects you're interested in trying, or tools and themes you’d like to learn more about.
Would you like to lead one of our first livestreams? Fill out our Presenter Sign-Up sheet to tell us more about your presentation idea. Don't have an exact topic narrowed down for presentation yet? That's okay! Just tell us your area of expertise and when you're available, and we'll figure out what questions you can help us answer.
Until next time, stay safe, stay healthy, and stay connected!
See you in the community,
The WILDLABS Team
(Header Image: You've probably heard whale calls before, but do you know what manatees sound like? Researchers are just starting to categorize and recognize all the ways that manatees communicate, and you can help! Manatee Chat offers citizen scientists the chance to analyze audio data to classify various manatee calls and sounds. Learn more about Manatee Chat and other citizen science projects in Enter the Zooniverse)
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A taste of what our community is discussing now. To see all live conversations in the community, visit the Explore tab of your dashboard.
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- Drones for GIS Best Practice Document Adrian Hughes shared this comprehensive guide from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds of best practice advice regarding all aspects of drone usage in field work. This document covers drone hardware, software, mapping (including GPS, terrain types, GSD, etc.), applications (mapping nest sites, 3D and vegetation analysis, etc.), data management, and more. Start a conversation with Adrian about your organisation's best practices for drones. (Be the first to reply)
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Help collate list of Ecology/Conservation Data Sets for grad students Stephanie O'Donnell popped into the forum to share this opportunity found on Twitter for researchers to help researchers and grad students whose field studies have been impacted by COVID-19 shutdowns. Jesse Alston first shared this spreadsheet on Twitter, asking for help gathering private and open data sources that others can use while unable to gather new data of their own. Do you have research data that could help others right now? (Be the first to answer)
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Success recording bees using AudioMoth Andrew Lewis shared his recent success recording and identifying bees with an Audiomoth. Using his BEESWAX7 buzz identification and counting program, Andrew was able to identify and count four types of bees: Pratorum, Terrestris, Mellifera, and Haemorrhoa. Dan Abelow has expressed interest in collaborating using BEESWAX7 in the comments. (1 reply)
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Mobile App for Illegal Ivory Sales Sue Orloff posted 2018 and 2019 summary reports on how the Biologists without Borders mobile app "i of the Elephant" has positively impacted the fight against illegal ivory sales. As a result of this app's data, there were six prosecutions of illegal ivory sellers, including the U.S's fourth biggest online illegal ivory trader. Sue also shared how this app is allowing them to collaborate with National Whistleblowers Center, Department of Homeland Security, The Humane Society, and #WildEye. Additionally, Sue is looking for leads from our community on new promotion opportunities to raise further awareness for this app. (Be the first to reply)
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Con X Tech Prize: Funding for early-stage conservation tech ideas Tom Quigley invited community members to submit a project for the Con X Tech Prize, a competition to propose and develop prototypes for a grand prize of $20,000. This year's theme is Behavior Change, which means the submissions can focus on a wide range of major conservation issues through the development of technologies, ventures, products, or tools. You can read more about the Con X Tech Prize and corresponding Ideathon down below in the Events and Funding sections of this digest, and respond to Tom in the forum with questions and ideas. (Be the first to reply)
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- Minimising habitat impact of trawling gear Dan Steadman posted in the Marine Conservation group this month looking for information on technology solutions that can prevent damage caused by fisheries to seafloor ecosystems. He is particularly looking for leads on solutions that reduce or entirely eliminate the contact of the gear with the seafloor, and would like to discuss the impacts of trawling in the tropics by fisheries which are harvesting shrimp. Do you know of any technological innovations that Dan can look into? (Be the first to answer
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Protocols for IDing big batches of camera trap data Michelle Moeller visited the Camera Traps forum to ask for advice on helping her team of interns analyse camera trap data effectively and minimise biases. Community members shared their experiences with Michelle, including the process of automating the identification and digital storage of images including specific animals. Andy Wood also shared his undergrad team's workflow for training in identification and checking each other's work methodically. (5 replies)
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Audiograms- what range can species hear at? Isla Duporge is seeking information from our Acoustic Monitoring group about the auditory ranges of various species. Although she has found one resource thus far, she needs more comprehensive information for her project. If you've got data that may help Isla, drop into our forum to share a link. (Be the first to answer)
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Recommendations for low cost & versatile cons tech teaching/training supplies? Dan Zevin shares that the Fung Fellowship at UC Berkeley has a little money left over from this academic year that must be spent ASAP, and they'd like to use it to assemble some supplies for our soon-to-be-launched Conservation + Technology undergraduate program (more info in thread). Thus, they'd appreciate your suggestions on what you think would be valuable and VERSATILE tools for teaching, training, and experimenting for undergraduate students new to this space (conservation & tech), especially if they are low cost items (<$200 US). (1 reply)
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Sound Loop Device Eric Younberg has posted in our sensors group because he needs to create something to play a sound loop 24/7 for at least 4 weeks solar powered. He's currently working with solar powered speakers and an mp3 player hooked up to solar panel, but the mp3 players quit recharging after a few days. Any ideas for a device he could buy or build? He's hoping to keep cost under $300 as he will need up to a dozen of these devices. (1 reply)
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Guidelines or Protocols for Camera Trapping Monitoring of Eurasian Otters? Naomi Terriere has posted in our camera trapping group to ask for advice about camera trapping protocals for monitoring eurasian otters. Do you have experience in this area? (Be the first to reply)
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Has anyone used Cornell's Swift recorder? If you've used Cornell's Swift Recorder, Daniella Teixeira would love to chat. In particular, she's interested to hear people's experiences with battery life. It's supposed to be substantially longer than any other recorder she's tried. The seem like a pretty good option all round but she'd love to talk to someone who's used them. (1 reply)
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- A community response to help support the Australian bushfire crisis Alasdair Davies shared a new update regarding how the WILDLABS community can collaborate to address urgent ecological issues caused by the recent Australian bushfires. Alasdair proposes for the community to begin developing the ideas discussed in the forum by applying for the Australian government's Wildlife and Habitat Bushfire Recovery Program grant, which will provide between $100k - $1m funding for projects focusing on the "immediate survival and long-term recovery and resilience for fire-affected Australian animals, plants, ecological communities and other natural assets and their cultural values for Indigenous Australians." Contact Alasdair in the forum to let him know you are interested in participating. (33 replies)
- Able to Provide Movement Detection Software For Live Feed Video Jessi H. is currently working with a company specializing in surveillance technology to provide movement detection software to wildlife organisations. She explains that this defense-level technology is "automated target detection software (moving target indication (MTI) system) that operates on existing ground control stations (GCS) (or MCS if onboard a plane or helicopter)". If your project could benefit from access to this software, Jessie would love to hear from you. (5 replies)
- Conservation Technology Event - UK, late 2020 Remi Rowan Friedman is planning a pilot conservation technology event, planned to take place in London in late 2020, and she has asked community members for input on shaping this event. This event will focus on both those at the forefront of technology, and those who are outside of the conservation tech field and want to enter the community. If you are interested in helping Remi shape what this event will look like and what should be included, she has provided a link to add your contact information. (Be the first to respond to Remi)
Looking for a long term real time tracking technology for monitoring big game in South Africa Wildlife Tracking group user Sneages asked for help collecting location data from large sets of animals back in 2016, and this conversation is still active in 2020. Several community members have stopped in within the past year to discuss their own challenges and share advice regarding VHF tracking using drones to acquire a high point, the pros and cons of iridium satellite connections, and integrating LoRaWAN radios into Horizon biologging tags. Sophie Maxwell also gathered a detailed list of tracking options used to monitor rhinos in the field, and a wide variety of emerging solutions coming out of the space technology sector. (10 replies)
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WILDLABS Community Survey: Add your questions
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We're gearing up for our 2020 WILDLABS community survey, and we'd like your help in shaping this year's questions. The aims of our annual surveys are two-fold: to understand how you all are using and valuing WILDLABS, and to collect your perspectives as both users and developers of conservation tech to contribute to a State of Conservation Technology report that we're developing.
If you'd like to help shape this year's survey, drop into the conversation and tell us: what are you most curious about finding out from the conservation tech community? And what is one question you think we should all be considering? These can be about WILDLABS or about conservation tech in general. Anything goes!
We're also considering setting up a community call to share the results from the 2019 survey and discuss the 2020 survey. Would this be of interest to anyone? Let us know!
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To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day this April 22nd, our friends at FieldKit are giving away 50 of their open source sensor stations! FieldKit believes that everyone, regardless of financial resources, should have access to friendly, reliable, low-cost tools to monitor and advocate for the world around them. If you want to be among the first to use FieldKit, apply now and let them know how your citizen science project, classroom, nonprofit organisation, field research project, or environmental advocacy efforts could benefit from a brand-new WaterKit or WeatherKit.
Apply by May 22nd at midnight PT for your chance to take home one of 50 FieldKits!
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Applications are now open for a second round of the £10 million UK Seafood Innovation Fund to transform the future landscape of the seafood industry. Apply now. |
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The Esri Conservation Program is accepting applications for grant assistance to access its ArcGIS Solutions for Protected Area Management Application, a system aimed at making conservation area management more efficient. Apply now. |
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National Geographic is now accepting proposals for Early Career Grants. For those just starting out in the world of conservation and environmental field studies, these awards offer the opportunity to receive funding from a prestigious and globally respected institution for projects lasting under one calendar year and not exceeding $10,000. Apply now.
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Con X Tech Prize
Conservation X Labs's annual competition, the Con X Tech Prize, is now open for submissions. 20 teams will win $3,500 grants to develop their first prototypes, and the winning team will be awarded the grand prize of $20,000 for their solution addressing behavior change in a way that will positively impact conservation. Enter by May 4
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Are you the founder of a startup working to address the impacts of climate change, plastic pollution, habitat destruction, overfishing, and human activities on the world's ocean ecosystems? The SOA Ocean Solutions Accelerator program, taking place virtually this year, offers support, opportunities for professional development and executive training, and valuable exposure and mentorship experiences for participants, and funding for those who successfully complete the program. Apply by May 11
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Fisheries Innovation Fund
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Fisheries Innovation Fund is now accepting proposals for the 2020 Electronic Monitoring and Reporting Grant Program. This grant program supports NOAA's sustainable fishery goals and will fund proposals for technological solutions that improve fishery monitoring. Submit your proposal by July 1.
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Community Call Update: Rainforest XPRIZE
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Our second WILDLABS Community Call took place on April 1st to continue the discussion started by Ben Tregenna in our Data Science group, in which he suggested the idea of submitting a collaborative entry to the $10m Rainforest X-PRIZE. In this call, were were joined by representatives from the Rainforest X-PRIZE team, who answered questions about the prize, and together brainstormed ideas and agreed next steps for forming a team for the prize. The zoom recording along with full notes from the call and all relevant links can be found here.
If you're interested in joining one of our project teams and participating in a collaborative entry, take a minute to submit this Google Form with details about your skill set and what you'd like to contribute to our project. This will help us coordinate our efforts and identify which teams need members with certain areas of expertise - we'll share all this info with the team so we're all on the same page.
We will host a follow-up call once the X-Prize panel has released their updated guidelines for entries. We'll post the call registration details in the discussion here once the follow-up is scheduled.
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UPDATE: Due to COVID-19 impacting events worldwide, please check in with all event pages linked below for the latest information about in-person meetings, alternative arrangements, postponements, and cancellations.
- POSTPONED TO January 2021: IUCN World Conservation Congress. Held once every four years, the IUCN World Conservation Congress brings together several thousand leaders and decision-makers from government, civil society, indigenous peoples, business, and academia, with the goal of conserving the environment and harnessing the solutions nature offers to global challenges.
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The Seventh Workshop on Fine-Grained Visual Categorization. June 19. USA: Taking place in Seattle, WA, this workshop will focus on the work happening on the spectrum between object recognition and recognition of individuals, and will cover topics such as novel datasets and data collection strategies, machine teaching, product recognition, and animal biometrics and camera traps.
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CAPSULE. June 20-21. USA: CAPSULE is the world’s largest Hackathon for conservation, and is taking place in Austin, Texas this year. You are invited to submit your best challenge so it can be ‘hacked’ by event participants. The event that aims to solve challenges at the intersections of the Environment + Health, Art, Education, Cities, Food, or Energy. Project submission will open on January 27, and remain open until April 15 2020.
- Flying High - Drones for Ecology and Land Management. July 23. England: CIEEM is hosting a course covering the potential to use drones in ecology and land management. This session is ideal for beginners with no previous experience using drones, and may also be useful for those with previous drone experience looking to learn new ways for incorporating drones into land management work. The focus will be on producing habitat maps with orthomosaic images. Registration is open now.
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Animal Movement Analysis summer school September 7-18. Germany: This programme is offered as a two-week professional training course targeting students, researchers, and conservation practitioners who are interested in animal tracking or have already collected animal tracking data, and want to learn how to analyze these data sets.
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The 7th International Bio-Logging Science Symposium October 11-16. USA: The International Bio-Logging Society's 7th International Bio-Logging Science Symposium is now accepting abstract and workshop submissions for their annual event taking place in Honolulu, Hawaii. This symposium will bring together researchers using animal-borne technologies of all kinds to discuss the latest innovations and research using radio telemetry, sensors, satellite tracking, and more. Registration to attend the symposium is also now open. Workshop submissions close April 17, abstract submissions close May 1 2020.
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11th International Conference on Ecological Informatics (ICEI 2020). November 17-21. India: CEI 2020 has an open call for special session proposals in their upcoming conference, which will be held at the Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management – Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Call for special session proposals close 30 April 2020.
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Late 2020. UK: A pilot Conservation Technology event is being planned for late 2020 in London, aiming to bring together a wide range of expertise to discuss, present and workshop things happening at the forefront of conservation technology. To stay updated with what's happening and for opportunities to input into the shape of the event, there is a signup link in the post.
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Virtual Workshop Recording: Running Engaging Events on Zoom
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Our first-ever WILDLABS virtual workshop about maximizing engagement and productivity in virtual events is now available to watch.
We started by sharing lessons learned from the process we've developed for our Virtual Meetup Series and then were joined by some excellent additional speakers who are experts at handling different sized groups and purposes - small team meetings, formal AGMs, and a full conference moving online with a week's notice.
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Career and Degree Opportunities
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Are you recruiting? Email community@wildlabs.net to get your position in front of our community.
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UPDATE: Due to COVID-19 impacting workplaces worldwide, some organizations may be changing their job openings and recruitment policies temporarily. Contact the HR department of these organizations for details on any changes regarding recruitment.
- Internships studying animal behavior at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute are now open to candidates. This opportunity will allow the interns to gain experience collecting and analyzing data on endangered species, and will also involve camera traps, GPS, and accelerometers. Applications accepted on a rolling basis for spring, summer, fall, and winter.
- Heriot Watt University offers a funded PhD opportunity studying the impacts of human activities on marine mammals throughout three different UK regions. Focusing on mapping and assessing these human effects, this PhD student will analyze large spatial datasets, explore how cumulative effect maps can be integrated into longterm work in the region, and identify how policymakers, scientists, and others can incorporate an understanding of human effects on marine mammals into their own work. Closes May 5.
- Norwegian University of Life Sciences seeks qualified candidates for a 2.5-year Postdoctoral position analysing and interpreting data collected from camera trap sites across the tropics. As part of “Empty Forests and Extinction Filters”, a project funded by the Research Council of Norway, this postdoc researcher will focus on animal distribution and the impact of human activities and other crucial threats to tropical ecosystems and species occurrence. Closes May 18.
- Norwegian University of Life Sciences seeks qualified candidates for a 3-year PhD scholarship position evaluating data collected from camera trap sites across the tropics. As part of “Empty Forests and Extinction Filters”, a project funded by the Research Council of Norway, this PhD candidate will focus on animal activity patterns across multiple sites and regions, allowing for a better understanding of how humans impact animal behavior. Closes May 20.
- The University of Tasmania is now accepting applications for a PhD opportunity to work on the development of hyperspectral imaging sensors for a stratospheric drone platform. This project will focus on the assessment/analysis of aspects of sensor integration, fusion with GNSS/IMU position and attitude data, georeferencing, data storage and transmission, and environmental impacts on sensor data quality. Closes May 31st or until filled.
- Point Blue Conservation Science is offering an internship at the Palomarin Field Station. This opportunity is ideal for postbaccalaureate applicants who would like to build their knowledge of common fieldwork skills such as territory mapping, bird banding, and nest monitoring, as well as research-based data management and interpretation skills which are essential for a career in conservation technology. Applications accepted year-round for seasonal positions.
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Visit the People tab of your Dashboard to discover who is a part of our community
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Rebecca Chen
Soon-to-be graduate from the MSc programme in Applied Ethology and Animal Biology at Linköping University, Sweden.
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Conservation biologist focusing on developing passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) as a tool for improving the design and evaluation of wildlife and law enforcement monitoring in protected areas.
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Laura Molles
Interested in animal behaviour (especially acoustic communication) and conservation.
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Catch up on the latest case studies, community content, and original WILDLABS articles.
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Trapped inside during the COVID-19 quarantine and looking to engage with conservation science without leaving your desk? Citizen science projects like those on Zooniverse offer a great opportunity to impact scientific research, learn more about how your fellow researchers are using technology like camera traps and bioacoustic sensors in the field, and fight boredom. This WILDLABS original article features updates from some exciting Zooniverse projects and community members, and will help you get started as a citizen scientist.
Read more >>
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In this blog post, Founding TinyML Engineer Daniel Situnayake from Edge Impulse discusses how his incredibly small machine learning model system can be used to automatically sort audio data from the field, and he provides a helpful tutorial for getting started with your own machine learning project in a matter of minutes!
Read more >>
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The fourth and final event in Season 3 of the WILDLABS Virtual Meetup Series is now available to watch, along with notes that highlight key takeaways from the talks and discussion. In the meetup, speakers David Watson, Andrew Hill, Ruby Lee, and Dimitri Ponirakis shared their work in short presentations followed by lively open discussion and community exchange.
Read more >>
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PandaSat aims to exploring and expanding low-cost tracking solutions using miniaturised satellite tracking technologies to fight the Illegal Wildlife Trade. With the support of the WILDLABS Tech Hub programme, PandaSat refined their business plan, and they are now planning their pilot project tracking endangered grey parrots rescued from the illegal pet market.
Read more >>
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Poreprint is a project utilizing artificial intelligence to search the City of London Police Fingerprint Bureau's fingerprint database to improve the forensic understanding and prosecution of those involved in the illegal ivory and pangolin markets. With the support of the WILDLABS Tech Hub programme, Director of Forensic Services Tracy Alexander developed new digital branding and content, allowing this project to reach new audiences and organisations.
Read more >>
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Coming soon to the WILDLABS blog: More in our Tech Hub series, more citizen science features, case studies and interviews from FIT, Xerius Tracking, Wildeverse, KEY Conservation, and Hack the Poacher, a behind-the-scenes look at California Condor conservation fieldwork, and an in-depth exploration of how technology has changed wildlife research in Antarctica since the historic Terra Nova expedition.
Stay tuned!
Want to create content with us? Email your ideas for case studies, interviews, articles, video tutorials, and more to ellie.warren@wildlabs.net
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#Tech4Wildlife can be tricky. Sometimes it takes a village to find the right tool for a task in conservation. With WILDLABS, we're working to grow that village. Download our Community Review to learn more.
Download now >>
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