Automatic detection for bioacoustic research: a practical guide from and for biologists and computer scientists
Biological reviews/Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, vol. 100, pp. 620–646
Abstract
Recent years have seen a dramatic rise in the use of passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) for biological and ecological applications, and a corresponding increase in the volume of data generated. However, data sets are often becoming so sizable that analysing them manually is increasingly burdensome and unrealistic. Fortunately, we have also seen a corresponding rise in computing power and the capability of machine learning algorithms, which offer the possibility of performing some of the analysis required for PAM automatically. Nonetheless, the field of automatic detection of acoustic events is still in its infancy in biology and ecology. In this review, we examine the trends in bioacoustic PAM applications, and their implications for the burgeoning amount of data that needs to be analysed. We explore the different methods of machine learning and other tools for scanning, analysing, and extracting acoustic events automatically from large volumes of recordings. We then provide a step-by-step practical guide for using automatic detection in bioacoustics. One of the biggest challenges for the greater use of automatic detection in bioacoustics is that there is often a gulf in expertise between the biological sciences and the field of machine learning and computer science. Therefore, this review first presents an overview of the requirements for automatic detection in bioacoustics, intended to familiarise those from a computer science background with the needs of the bioacoustics community, followed by an introduction to the key elements of machine learning and artificial intelligence that a biologist needs to understand to incorporate automatic detection into their research. We then provide a practical guide to building an automatic detection pipeline for bioacoustic data, and conclude with a discussion of possible future directions in this field.
Authors 22
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Affiliation as printed
Girton College and Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Huntingdon Road Cambridge CB3 0JG UK
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Affiliation as printed
Behavioural Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Anglia Ruskin University East Road Cambridge CB1 1PT UK
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Affiliation as printed
Computing Informatics and Applications Research Group, School of Computing and Information Sciences Anglia Ruskin University East Road Cambridge CB1 1PT UK
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Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Affiliation as printed
Pattern Recognition Lab, Department of Computer Science Friedrich‐Alexander‐Universität Erlangen‐Nürnberg Erlangen 91058 Germany
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université de Toulon · Aix-Marseille Université
Affiliation as printed
Université de Toulon, Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LIS, ILCB, CS 60584 Toulon 83041 CEDEX 9 France
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université de Toulon · Aix-Marseille Université
Affiliation as printed
Université de Toulon, Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LIS, ILCB, CS 60584 Toulon 83041 CEDEX 9 France
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Cornell University · Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Affiliation as printed
K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics, Cornell Lab of Ornithology Cornell University 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca New York 14850 USA
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Affiliation as printed
Biology Department Carthage College 2001 Alford Park Dr, 68 David A Straz Jr Kenosha Wisconsin 53140 USA
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African Institute for Mathematical Sciences · Stellenbosch University · African Institute for Mathematical Sciences · AIMS Research and Innovation Centre
Affiliation as printed
African Institute for Mathematical Sciences 7 Melrose Road, Muizenberg Cape Town 7441 South Africa
African Institute for Mathematical Sciences ‐ Research and Innovation Centre District Gasabo, Secteur Kacyiru, Cellule Kamatamu, Rue KG590 ST No 1 Kigali Rwanda
Stellenbosch University Jan Celliers Road Stellenbosch 7600 South Africa
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Affiliation as printed
Centre of Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus Exeter TR10 9FE UK
Wildlife Conservation Research Unit Recanati‐Kaplan Centre Tubney House, Abingdon Road Tubney Abingdon OX13 5QL UK
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Computer Science University of Oxford Parks Road Oxford OX1 3QD UK
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Affiliation as printed
University of Oviedo Mieres Principality of Asturias 33600 Spain
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université de Toulon · Aix-Marseille Université
Affiliation as printed
Université de Toulon, Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LIS, ILCB, CS 60584 Toulon 83041 CEDEX 9 France
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Affiliation as printed
Behavioural Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Anglia Ruskin University East Road Cambridge CB1 1PT UK
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Affiliation as printed
Behavioural Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Anglia Ruskin University East Road Cambridge CB1 1PT UK
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Affiliation as printed
School of Natural Sciences, University of Lincoln Joseph Banks Laboratories Beevor Street Lincoln Lincolnshire LN5 7TS UK
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Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University)
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Environment Education and Research Pune Bharati Vidyapeeth Educational Campus Satara Road Pune Maharashtra 411 043 India
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science Charles University Prague 128 44 Czech Republic
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Affiliation as printed
Institute of Zoology Zoological Society of London Outer Circle London NW1 4RY UK
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Dan Stowell Aachen
Naturalis Biodiversity Center · Tilburg University
Affiliation as printed
Naturalis Biodiversity Center Darwinweg 2 Leiden 2333 CR The Netherlands
Tilburg University Tilburg The Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Behavioural Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Anglia Ruskin University East Road Cambridge CB1 1PT UK
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Jacob Charles Dunn corresponding
University of Vienna · University of Cambridge · Anglia Ruskin University
Affiliation as printed
Behavioural Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Anglia Ruskin University East Road Cambridge CB1 1PT UK
Department of Archaeology University of Cambridge Downing Street Cambridge CB2 3DZ UK
Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology University of Vienna, University Biology Building (UBB) Djerassiplatiz 1 Vienna 1030 Austria
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