04: AI & Biodiversity Conservation in Asia

In this episode, Eleanor Slade & VV Robin discuss how technologies like AI have the potential to support conservation practices, yet challenges (data availability & financing) remain to realise some of these aspirations.

On one hand, technology has facilitated public interest in nature. Using digital tools & apps, people can access info about diverse species & improve their understanding of their environments. On the other, the potential benefits of technology must not distract resources away from basic foundational research. AI can help in monitoring & processing large amounts of data, but investments are needed to ensure the next generation's familiarity with basic sciences & knowledge.

With years of data collection, we're also at the point where we need to approach biodiversity data more thoughtfully-how much data do we really need? Would smaller datasets captured over shorter durations lead to the same kind of results? How do we minimise resource wastage? Eleanor & Robin discuss some of these key issues, situated in their unique practice areas in Singapore, Malaysia & India.

You can read the transcript for this episode ⁠here.

Speakers

Eleanor Slade 

Eleanor is an Associate Professor at the Tropical Ecology & Entomology Lab at the Asian School of the Environment at Nanyan Technological University. Her research focuses on the challenges & opportunities associated with conservation, management, & restoration of tropical forests & human-modified landscapes. She's worked in the rainforests & oil palm plantations of Singapore, Malaysia, Sumatra, Philippines, Belize, & Brazil, & the woodlands & agricultural systems of Finland & the UK.

She's currently also working on the AMBER project that's testing the use of automated camera & audio systems, combined with AI to deliver more standardised monitoring of insects, bats & birds; aiming to deploy a network of 40 biodiversity monitoring units over the next 2 years.

Social Media: @eleslade.bsky.social / @teelab.bsky.social

VV Robin 

Robin is an Associate Professor at the Indian Institute of Science, Education, & Research  (IISER) Tirupati. His work focuses on patterns & processes in ecology, behavioural ecology, biogeography & evolutionary ecology. He's interested in conservation initiatives involving multiple stakeholders & in collaborative research initiatives. He & his team use tools like bioacoustics, phylogenetics & population genetics, along with Remote Sensing & GIS to understand the relationship of birds with their habitats. Five years ago, he initiated a project to understand why birds found in some Western Ghats habitats didn't appear in others. It took him two years to analyse avian sound recordings collected over a year. He is of the opinion that AI could've helped him analyse this data in a year. His geography of work is the Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats & peninsular areas of India.

Show Notes

Warning of 'ecological Armageddon' after dramatic plunge in insect numbers

Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in the UK

The Alan Turing Institute

AMBER: Unveiling AMBER: A Glimpse into Biodiversity Monitoring in Singapore using