Species recognition shifts into auto with neural networks
People love camera traps. Placed in the middle of a forest or savanna, their motion sensors trigger a photo when an animal or person passes by. They allow us to…
Conservation Technology News
Wildtech provides news and information on how the conservation community can better leverage technology. We are a non-profit initiative.
There’s now an app for mapping seagrass, the oceans’ great carbon sink
The launch of an online crowdsourcing database for seagrass hopes to breathe new life into efforts to conserve the underwater flowering plants, which act as both important habitats for marine…
Mongabay discusses technology’s role in conservation at Seattle event [VIDEO]
Last month, Seattle Audubon hosted a panel discussion featuring Mongabay staff and colleagues about the ever-growing applications of technology for conservation. Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett A. Butler moderated the…
Innovative ideas sought for new conservation tech prize
Transforming a new idea into a working product or service takes time, money, and know-how, and the process can be intimidating for beginning inventors. The non-profit Conservation X Labs (CXL)…
New technology leads to the arrest of eight people suspected of trafficking wildlife parts
A multinational search in May resulted in the arrest of eight men, including three government officials, for allegedly smuggling pangolin scales and elephant tusks, according to Freeland, a Bangkok-based anti-trafficking…
A global coral reef monitoring system is coming soon
Coral reef conservation efforts will soon get a major boost with a global monitoring system that will detect physical changes in coral cover at high resolution on a daily basis,…
Can cryptocurrencies save Indonesia’s carbon forests? (commentary)
Blockchain technology is already connecting buyers and sellers around the world, even if they don’t trust each other. It’s cutting through bureaucracy and bypassing corrupt governments, all with just a…
This tiny camera aims to catch poachers — before they kill
If it wasn’t for the hidden camera, the poachers might have escaped undetected. A few minutes past midnight on Jan. 19, a camera positioned at an obscure location inside the…
Global Forest Watch offers mapping and data visualization fellowships
Global Forest Watch and the World Resources Institute have launched a new fellowship for individuals working to reduce deforestation within 23 countries in South America, Central Africa, and Southeast Asia.…
Scientists tackling conservation problems turn to artificial intelligence
New technologies are generating far more information than ever before to help scientists assess and predict the health and behavior of species and ecosystems, as well as the threats they…
Online network seeks to boost international collaboration against wildlife trafficking in Central Africa
Five countries that are home to some of the most iconic and threatened animal species in the world have joined forces in a high-tech collaboration to improve wildlife law enforcement.…
Kenyan reserve’s tourism monitoring app builds revenue and transparency
Nature reserves frequently operate with scarce resources, relying on revenue from tourism or donations for their survival. When managers of the Mara Triangle portion of Kenya’s renowned Maasai Mara National…
Vibrations from elephant calls and movements reflect distinct behaviors, study says
The well-known trumpeting call of an elephant indicates anger or alarm. The more common but less familiar rumbles are a range of low-frequency sounds that elephants use to communicate different…
Noisy reefs help young fish find their home
Fish talk. They boom, buzz, croak, and chatter. They even create a dawn chorus similar to birds. Shrimp vocalize too, by snapping and popping. A reef’s soundscape—the variety of sounds…
Audio: Seabird secrets revealed by bioacoustics in New Zealand
On today’s episode: the sounds of Buller’s shearwaters in New Zealand’s Poor Knights Islands. Listen here: Our guest today is Megan Friesen, a behavioral ecologist who is currently working with…
One-stop shop for digital global maps launched
How does a country’s per capita Gross Domestic Product relate to its forest or biodiversity intactness? Where do areas of deposits of minerals or fossil fuels coincide with the singular…
Cities worldwide use photo app technology to compete in nature observation challenge
This coming weekend, nature lovers from cities around the globe will have a chance to test their species identification skills in a global competition. The third-annual City Nature Challenge takes place April…
Scientists discover carbon ‘fingerprint’ in tree rings
As they grow, trees and other plants take carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the atmosphere and, through photosynthesis, use it to build their tissues by converting it to a type…
eDNA may offer an early warning signal for deadly frog pathogen
When Colleen Kamoroff and her graduate advisor Caren Goldberg collected water samples to look for the DNA of non-native fish species, they could not have guessed the potential importance of…
Understanding bird behavior key to developing risk reduction technologies
Years of studying birds and their relationship with their environment taught John Swaddle, professor of biology at the College of William & Mary, the importance of understanding animals’ instincts and…
