FEdA Conference

  • Date: 09.-11.11.2022

European conference for the conservation of biodiversity

Biowawi
The "wartbiter" can be heard in biodiverse meadows with tall grasses. Photo by Moritz Paysan.

BioWaWi's Citizen Science project was presented online (from 1:03:02) at the European Biodiversity Conservation Conference "Biodiversity and Human Well-Being - Europe's Role in Shaping Our Future" (Organized by FEdA - BMBF Research Initiative on Biodiversity Conservation) and received a great response!

Titled "BioWaWi-Citizen Science: Monitoring Biodiversity by Use of Crowd-Sourced Sound Data", the presentation is also available online (link:FEdA_Biodiversity - YouTube).

Dr. Gisela Wachinger and Wiebke Hebermehl (DIALOGIK gGmbH, Germany) together with Dr. Flavia Digiacomo (Project Coordination BioWaWi) and Dr. Lisa Gill (Cooperation Partner Dawn Chorus) prepared and presented the talk.

The key messages of the talk are:

  1. Habitat monitoring is not possible with conventional methods: too slow, too scattered. Sound files seem to be a new and better representation of biodiversity in relation to land use.
  2. The combination of Citizen Science (global participation of people with local knowledge) and AI-based Big Data processing has the potential to take habitat monitoring to a new level, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
  3. Crowd-sourced sound monitoring for biodiversity could be the solution for government agencies, policy makers, and educators to raise environmental awareness, identify endangered habitats, and protect biodiversity.