Gray Wolves (Canis lupus) are British Columbia’s most ecologically significant terrestrial predator, and after decades of bounties and poisoning, they have made a recent comeback. Despite their ecological importance, little is known about the Gray Wolf population in southern BC, and abundance estimates are needed to inform long-term conservation. Our research will use passive acoustic monitoring to determine the number of wolves (and wolf packs) in the area and whether their populations are growing or declining. Data will support indigenous-led conservation via a larger body of habitat restoration led by the First Nations to increase carbon sequestration in the watershed. Importantly, this project will also be used to strengthen indigenous youth education.
Equipment Awarded: Song Meter Minis, Accessories, Kaleidoscope Pro
Bumblebees are important pollinators of wild, ornamental, and crop plant communities worldwide, and they’re in decline. Traditional methods for monitoring bumblebees (visual counting and sweep-netting) and associated ecosystem services are labor intensive and limit our ability to monitor over large areas and long periods. Our project will assess the potential for artificial intelligence to identify bumblebee species—and their behavior—based on their buzzes. We will deploy acoustic recorders in Scotland and France to capture buzzing sounds emitted by bumblebees and develop Machine Learning algorithms to understand better the extent of bumblebees’ decline in species distribution and population trends.
Equipment Awarded: Song Meter Minis, Accessories
The Critically Endangered Great Green Macaw (Ara ambiguus) is a magnificent, raucous bird that nests in the tropical forests of Central and South America. Fewer than 1,000 adults remain in the wild due to poaching, habitat loss from cattle ranching and palm oil cultivation, and capture for the domestic pet trade. With this project, we strive to halt the decline of the Great Green Macaw in partnership with an east-Panamanian indigenous community. We will use human observation and passive acoustic monitoring to study the macaw's behavior and determine the placement of man-made nesting sites to support local breeding populations. If successful, our project could be scaled and implemented to support other critically endangered species.
Equipment Awarded: Song Meter Minis, Song Meter Micros, Kaleidoscope Pro
In recent decades, the erosion of biodiversity has accelerated. Indeed, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species continues to grow and confirm the decline of wildlife worldwide. The Congolese islands of Idjwi and Tchegera are home to large populations of bats and birds and a stopover point for many migratory birds. Using acoustic and ultrasonic monitoring, we will document the presence and abundance of bat and bird species on these islands for the very first time. Data will enable us to benchmark and understand the effects of climate change on populations over time and encourage public authorities and local decision-makers to confer reserve status on these environments through clear, sustainable, and inclusive proposals.
Equipment Awarded: Song Meter Mini Bats, Accessories, Kaleidoscope Pro, Echo Meter Touch 2 PRO
Lar Gibbons sing duets with their partners in the morning to strengthen their bond and mark their territory. With multiple Song Meter Mini recorders and Kaleidoscope Pro analysis software, Dr. Aini Hasanah Abd Mutalib will use Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) protocol to determine the distance and occurrence of these small apes throughout Malaysia’s Kenyir landscape.
Beaver reintroduction in the United Kingdom has also introduced habitat modifications as a result of dammed waterways and felled trees. MRes student Rachel Blount will use Kaleidoscope Pro analysis software to determine how different bat species are affected by these environmental changes.
While multiple uninhabited islands have been deemed ideal environments for the endangered West Indies Boa to repopulate, colonies of Black Rats in these locations pose a threat to their survival. To ensure rodents don’t recover from eradication procedures, researcher Lindsey Zarecky and her team will use Song Meter Mini Bat detectors to survey the islands for rats’ ultrasonic vocalizations and keep track of their numbers.
Australasian bitterns (Botaurus poiciloptilus) are cryptic, shy, and well-camouflaged birds considered a good indicator species for wetland health; however, their population is estimated to number between 250 to 1,000 individuals. Researcher Fathima Zohara Rafi will use Song Meter Mini Bat recorders and Kaleidoscope Pro analysis software to passively monitor this IUCN-listed species and better understand the potential relationship between vocalization rate and water levels. These data will have applications for other wetland/waterbirds that vocalize.
Balancing human needs for natural resources with biodiversity conservation is one of the greatest challenges of our time. This study will examine the functional diversity and multitrophic interactions of birds, bats, and arthropods in Italian olive agroforestry systems, which are increasingly threatened by monoculture and related diseases. Researcher Tara Hanf-Dressler will use Song Meter Mini Bat recorders to record birds and bats to better understand how their functional diversity depends on local agricultural management and the wider landscape structure—and how these factors can influence associated ecosystem services.
Gorilla chest beating is one of the best-known animal vocalizations, yet we don’t fully understand why they do it. Alice Michel is using Song Meter Mini Recorders to study lowland gorillas in Republic of the Congo to determine whether chest beating acts as a form of long-distance communication between males — and what it could mean.
As interactions between parakeets and farmers increase, farmers are turning to lethal bird control to prevent damage to their crops. Javier Godoy is several Song Meter Micro Recorders and Kaleidoscope Pro to help determine which crops the parakeets are targeting and how to help farmers mitigate damage without killing the birds.
Maria Mas Navarro is leading a citizen-science project to track the migratory routes of the Nathusius’ pipistrelle bat across Catalonia using and Echo Meter Touch 2 and Kaleidoscope Pro; where the development of wind farms poses a threat to the health of the species’ population.
In Scottsbluff, Nebraska, Girl Scout Ambassador Abby Harveson will use Echo Meter Touch 2 (Android) and Echo Meter Touch 2 PRO (iOS) bat detectors to educate the public about bats, conduct a citizen science project, and promote bat conservation.
Aditi Subba at the Nature Conservation and Study Centre (NCSC) will use Song Meter Mini Bat recorders and Kaleidoscope Pro Analysis Software to promote the conservation of fruit-eating bats among the Chepang community in Nepal.
Dr. Christine Steiner São Bernardo at Instituto Ecótono (IEco) will use Song Meter Mini acoustic recorders and Kaleidoscope Pro Analysis Software to monitor the Groves’ Titi monkey – a recently discovered, critically endangered species in Mato Grosso, Brazil.
As a member of the Virginia Master Naturalists’ Banshee Reeks Chapter, Dr. Bruce Kimmel will use Kaleidoscope Pro Analysis Software to identify local bat species, further conservation efforts, provide data to the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat), and engage citizen scientists in a bat monitoring project.
As Conservation Director of the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, Dr. Vikash Tatayah will use Kaleidoscope Pro Analysis Software to study the Bambou Mountains’ native bird population, which includes several rare species that were reintroduced after vanishing from the region.
Varsha Rai at the Small Mammals Conservation and Research Foundation (SMCRF) in Nepal, will use Song Meter Mini Bat recorders and Echo Meter Touch 2 PRO (iOS) bat detectors to study the diversity, distribution, and ecology of bat species along the Tamakoshi River Corridor.
Stockholm University Ph.D. student Heather Wood will use her Song Meter ultrasonic bat recorders along with newly granted SMM-U2 microphones and external power cables to establish three new permanent bat monitoring stations in northern Sweden, which will be used to research long-term trends in bat activity.
Wildlife Acoustics, Inc.
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