These New Technologies Could Transform Wildlife Conservation
March 22nd, 2022
Via The Hill, a look at how artificial intelligence, environmental DNA and networked sensors are among the technologies with the highest potential to improve wildlife conservation:
Published last December by conservation technology network WILDLABS, together with a group of non-profit and academic partners, the report is the first of its kind to provide a holistic assessment of the state of conservation technology.
The researchers surveyed 248 conservationists, technologists and academics across 37 countries over the 11 most commonly used conservation technologies, including camera traps, biologgers, acoustic monitoring and remote sensings.
Although it’s estimated that about 8.7 million species populate our planet, 86 percent of all species on land and 91 percent in the oceans are yet to be discovered. Multiple scientific studies suggest that if no action is taken, as many as half of all species could go extinct by the end of the century.
Traditional methods for tracking biodiversity, such as camera traps, which connect digital cameras to an infrared sensor to capture images and videos of animals moving past the sensor, or aerial surveys can be labor-intensive and costly. The technologies highlighted by the research could help reduce the time and resources required to detect wildlife, while increasing the effectiveness of conservation efforts.
Combining AI and citizen science to improve wildlife identification
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used to analyze large amounts of conservation data, such as camera trap, satellite and drone images or audio and video recordings, and improve wildlife identification and monitoring. The non-profit Wild Me created a cloud-based platform Wildbook, which uses computer vision and deep learning algorithms to scan millions of crowdsourced wildlife images to identify species and individual animals based on their unique patterns, including stripes, spots or other defining physical features such as scars.
Photos are added to the cloud by scientists and other volunteers, or are sourced from social media, and over time, the information about each species will grow as more citizen scientists and researchers contribute to the image catalogue. The aggregated data helps inform conservation actions, while the public can follow their favorite animals in the cloud.
Wildbook was started off to improve the tracking of whale sharks which was previously done by attaching plastic tags to the animals that had often never resurfaced. The platform has since grown into a vast database of various different species, including sea turtles, manta rays, sharks, whales, dolphins, big cats, giraffes and zebras.
In partnership with Microsoft’s AI for Earth initiative, Wildbook is hosted on its cloud computing service, Azure and is made available as an open-source software to encourage others to adopt this non-invasive method of species tracking.
A facial recognition tool for wildlife
The BearID Project is developing a facial recognition software that can be applied to camera trap imagery to identify and monitor brown bears, and inform subsequent conservation measures. This is especially important because camera traps are currently unable to consistently recognize individual bears due to the lack of unique natural markings for certain species.
So far, the team of biologists and software engineers have developed an AI system using personal photographs of brown bears from British Columbia, Canada and Katmai National Park, Alaska, which was able to recognize 132 individual bears with an 84 percent accuracy. While the camera trap system is currently under development, the project is already working with indigenous nations in Canada to implement the new tool within bear research and monitoring programs. The ultimate goal is to expand the scope of the facial recognition software to eventually apply to other threatened species.
Using AI to combat wildlife trafficking
AI can also help boost anti-poaching efforts. The software Protection Assistant for Wildlife Security (PAWS) takes in past poaching records and the geographic data of the protected area to predict poachers’ future behavior, and design poaching risk maps and optimal patrol routes for rangers.
During the first month of its field tests in the Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary in Cambodia, the area identified as most suitable for the reintroduction of tigers in Southeast Asia, PAWS has helped rangers double the amount of snares detected and removed during their patrols.
PAWS has since been integrated with the open-source Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART), which is already used by rangers in over 1,000 protected areas to log data collected during patrols. The integrated tool is currently available to national parks as a beta feature, and has been tested across Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Kenya, Malaysia, Mozambique and Zambia to generate poaching risk maps to assist with patrols.
Plans for the future include connecting the software to remote sensing tools such as satellites or drones to reduce the need for humans to enter the data, and expanding the scope of PAWS to predict other forms of environmental crime, including illegal logging or fishing.
Sampling environmental DNA for biodiversity monitoring
Environmental DNA (eDNA), meanwhile, enables conservationists to collect biodiversity data by extracting DNA from environmental samples, such as water, soil, snow or even air. All living organisms leave traces of their DNA in their environments through their feces, skin or hair, amongst others.
A single sample might carry the genetic code of tens or even hundreds of species, and can provide a detailed snapshot of an entire ecosystem. A recent study has revealed that eDNA could offer a more efficient and cost-effective method for the large-scale monitoring of terrestrial biodiversity. In the study, eDNA sampling detected 25 percent more terrestrial mammal species compared to camera traps, and for half of the cost.
eDNA can also help examine the impact of climate change, detect invisible threats such as viruses or bacteria, and assess the overall health of an ecosystem, which can be used to make the case for greater protection for the area.
NatureMetrics, for instance, partnered with the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative to use eDNA to assess the biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems, providing crucial data from a previously understudied region to inform rehabilitation and restoration work.
Increasing connectivity for better conservation outcomes
By enabling camera traps, tracking devices and other conservation hardware to connect online, networked sensors can offer a more comprehensive picture of animal behavior and provide instant alerts about imminent threats, aiding monitoring and patrolling efforts.
FieldKit and the Arribada Initiative aim to make the technology more accessible by developing low-cost, open-source sensor systems, while Smart Parks and Sensing Clues focus on using networked sensors to optimize protected area monitoring and management.
Most national parks don’t have basic internet or cellphone coverage as national telecommunications networks don’t typically extend to these protected areas. To provide low-power, long-range connectivity, Smart Parks deploys a range of sensors, including gate sensors, alarm systems, and animal, vehicle and people trackers, which run autonomously on solar power, consume little energy and are connected to a secure private network situated in the park itself.
The networked sensors track a wide range of information, and are able to detect human intrusions which can support anti-poaching efforts, or animal breakouts from the protected area into the community which could help preempt human-wildlife conflict.
The data is made available in or near real time in a web application, and can help inform operational decisions related to park management, wildlife conservation and local community protection, and could even be applied to ensure ranger and tourist safety.
Smart Parks technology has been deployed in protected areas around the world, and has helped contribute to the conservation of many endangered species, including orangutans, rhinos and elephants.
Gaming wildlife protection
Although it was not covered by the WILDLABS survey, games can also serve as a valuable tool to activate audiences with critical conservation issues, especially among a younger and more tech-savvy generation. Internet of Elephants, for example, develops a range of gaming and digital experiences based on scientific data to engage people who might not have otherwise held an interest in wildlife conservation.
Its products include Wildeverse, an augmented reality mobile game where players go on conservation missions in the jungle and learn how to keep apes safe, or Unseen Empire, which has turned one of the largest camera trap studies into a gaming experience. Players review real-life camera trap imagery to identify various wildlife species, and in the process learn more about the devastating impact of deforestation, poaching and other human developments on endangered wildlife, including the elusive clouded leopards.
Reducing inequalities in conservation tech
Besides highlighting the most promising tech innovations, the WILDLABS report has also identified some of the key challenges facing the conservation technology ecosystem, including competition for limited funding, duplication of efforts and insufficient capacity-building.
Importantly, the research revealed that financial and technical barriers might disproportionately affect women and people in developing countries.
“Many of the most critical conservation hotspots are also areas that are currently receiving the least support in terms of local tech capacity building,” shared Talia Speaker, WILDLABS Research Lead at WWF and co-author of the report.
Speaker warned about the problematic nature of “parachute science” which involves scientists and conservationists from high-income countries providing temporary support in developing nations and leaving after the project is finished, with no investment in local capacity-building. Without empowering local communities to use and develop conservation technologies themselves, the effectiveness and long-term sustainability of these solutions are put at risk.
To address these challenges, “the findings of this research are already feeding into a variety of WILDLABS programs,” added Speaker. “These range from fellowships that bridge the technology and conservation sectors to targeted community and capacity-building in regions like East Africa and Southeast Asia with high potential for conservation tech impact but historically limited resources for engagement with the field.”
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Read More »Using Data From Space To Develop A Global View Of Animal Movements
March 21st, 2022
Via Yale News, an article on how data from space unveil a global view of animals on the move:
A global team of researchers, including Yale scientists, is using advanced tagging to track the movement of individual animals across the world, an ambitious research project that is opening a new frontier in efforts to monitor biodiversity change and pinpoint areas for conservation intervention.
For the project, individual animals from 15 species worldwide were tagged with lightweight sensors that transmit data to the International Space Station, which then transmits the information to a single system for integration and interpretation. Since late 2021, the new technology has captured the movements of hundreds of small animals, such as blackbirds, artic terns, and even bats. Eventually they hope to track many species of reptiles, mammals, and insects.
The first findings are described March 8 in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution.
“For the first time, we are able to have a finger on the pulse of life worldwide,” said Walter Jetz, lead author of the study, co-director of the Max Planck-Yale Center for Biodiversity Movement and Global Change (MPYC), and a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and of the environment at Yale. “This now operational technology blazes the trail for a biological earth observation with animal sensors.”
Given the low cost and small tag size researchers hope to scale the effort to thousands of species and deliver data about animal lives globally in real time, said Jetz.
The project is called ICARUS or International Cooperation for Animal Research Using Space, a collaboration of international scientists led by the Max Planck Society.
The effort relies upon trained volunteers to place the miniature sensors, which weigh less than one-tenth of an ounce, on individual animals. The sensors not only record GPS data but can also supply other information on conditions experienced by animals, such as temperature.
Data from the sensors are collected from the International Space Station and then transmitted to computers on the ground. While most of the species tagged so far are birds, future tagging could include many species of land animals, researchers say.
“Rather than globe-orbiting sensors capturing images of the planet’s surface for subsequent interpretation, animals, through countless individual movement decisions, seek out their preferred conditions, sensing the quality and health of ecosystems in real time,” said Martin Wikelski, co-director of MPYC, research director at the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior in Germany, and originator of ICARUS.
For instance, scientists will not only be able to identify areas essential for survival of the animals, but identify areas where biodiversity may be threatened by human encroachment or poaching when anticipated migration routes are blocked.
With the technology now in place, the Max Planck-Yale Center is currently raising funds to purchase more sensors, which cost about $300 each, support researchers worldwide to use and scale up the system, train volunteers, and integrate information sharing platforms. The group is also negotiating with NASA and the German space agencies to place new data collection devices on satellites.
“The dream is an ongoing cohort of say 100,000 animal sentinels that help us humans measure, understand, and mitigate our changes to this planet,” Jetz said.
Movements across space and environments, home ranges and migration corridors from these new data can be explored at the website https://animallives.org, an initiative of the international Max Planck-Yale Center for Biodiversity Movement and Global Change (MPYC).
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Read More »Detecting Wildlife Crime in Real Time
March 7th, 2022
Via Medium, an article on three innovations that deliver real-time data to official combatting wildlife crime:
Wildlife crime is a multifaceted threat. It not only endangers thousands of species, it also threatens global security and robs vulnerable populations of income and food sources. Driven by consumer demand and corruption, wildlife crime is enabled by complex, hard-to-monitor transit routes and weak on-site species detection at border crossings.
Such complex challenges require innovative solutions. In 2016, through the Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge, USAID and partners awarded prize funding and technical assistance to 16 innovators developing technology to tackle the illegal wildlife trade. More than five years later, see what they have achieved in this story map.
Three of the prize winners — the Zoological Society of London, the University of Technology Sydney, and the University of Leicester — created affordable, accessible, and scalable products that deliver real-time data to authorities who combat wildlife crime. Read on to learn more about these innovations.
Catching Poachers in Real Time
Wildlife patrols often struggle to monitor vast and remote protected areas with limited technology and information on the activity of poachers. The Zoological Society of London, an international conservation organization, is developing a technology that combines motion-sensing cameras with military-grade sensors that can detect lightweight metal. The goal is to overcome a shortcoming of traditional motion detection systems, which cannot discern between animals passing by and poachers armed with weapons. The Instant Detect 2.0 could save wildlife patrols time and resources by quickly locating likely threats.
“Before, you had no idea what was triggering that alert, if it was 10 poachers or someone walking by with a machete,” said Sam Seccombe, technical project manager for the Zoological Society of London’s Monitoring and Technology Programme.
With this wireless, battery-operated, and camouflaged device, data collected through the cameras and motion-detecting sensors would automatically be transferred to secure cloud storage for sharing among authorities.
Since winning the Tech Challenge, the Zoological Society of London has worked to refine its product to make it accessible and affordable to those who need it most. Despite delays in field testing due to COVID-19, the product is scheduled to be deployed by the end of this year. In the future, the team hopes to add artificial intelligence for even faster image processing and greater accuracy in detecting specific species. They are currently assessing different business models to lower the price for consumers and encourage uptake of the product.
Identifying Illegal Wildlife Meat at Border Crossings
While the Zoological Society of London’s innovation aimed to help authorities catch poachers in protected areas, the University of Technology Sydney saw the need for detection at another juncture for wildlife crime: border crossings. With illegal wildlife often hidden in legal shipments, enforcement authorities, even those with sniffer dogs, struggle to rapidly distinguish legally-traded wildlife meat from illegal wildlife meat, highlighting a need for on-site species identification.
Thus, a team at the University of Technology Sydney developed a portable, electronic “nose” that customs officials can use to smell “fingerprints” of trafficked wildlife and wildlife parts. With four rounds of prototypes completed, the nose’s new sensor has shown high identification reliability in testing and the team is nearing commercialization.
The original schematic drawing for the University of Technology Sydney’s electronic ‘nose.’ / University of Technology Sydney
Once on the market, the portable “nose” will enable authorities to rapidly identify and confiscate illegal wildlife products, and quickly build evidence to prosecute offenders — without the need for laboratory analysis or the expertise required to operate similar equipment.Through the Tech Challenge’s networking opportunities, the university developed a partnership with the Australia National Museum to use the technology in addressing the illegal reptile trade. The University of Technology Sydney team is developing a business plan and will seek additional support to scale-up the electronic nose.
“The Tech Challenge has led to a lot of really good collaborations with people that we might not necessarily have crossed paths with otherwise,” said Maiken Ueland, deputy director of the The Australian Facility for Taphonomic Experimental Research and ARC DECRA fellow at the University of Technology Sydney.
Automating DNA-Based Species Identification
Another innovation that benefited from support through the Tech Challenge and could transform how authorities respond to wildlife crime is the MinION DNA sequencer. Recognizing that enforcement authorities are unable to run rapid, field-level DNA-based species identification to use as evidence of a crime, a team at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom built the sequencer to analyze wildlife samples on the spot and deliver results in one hour, avoiding expensive equipment and lengthy testing processes.
“We can pretty much identify any vertebrate species.” said Dr. Jon Wetton, co-director of the Alec Jeffreys Forensic Genomics Unit at the University of Leicester.
MinION can fully automate DNA sequencing and species identification at the crime scene, providing authorities with evidence that would allow them to detain and arrest traffickers on the spot.
The Leicester team is using their handheld technology in the lab to identify the origins of traded birds of prey and determine if they are legally captive-bred or illegally poached from the wild in the United Kingdom and destined for the Middle East. They are still testing accuracy of the field-based tool. In the meantime, the MinION also enabled the first DNA sequencing in space on the International Space Station.
Harnessing Technology to Empower People and Fight Wildlife Crime
These three Tech Challenge winners showcase the potential for technology to transform wildlife crime detection and enforcement. By delivering information to authorities on the spot, these innovations would allow authorities to address crimes in real-time and build an evidence base to prosecute offenders. However, they also illustrate the challenges of developing a technology that is accurate, affordable, and scalable.
As demonstrated through the Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge, USAID is committed to supporting innovative approaches to combat wildlife crime, including empowering people with technology that allows them to work more efficiently and effectively.
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