BioDCASE: Using data challenges to make community advances in computational bioacoustics

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Computational bioacoustics has seen significant advances in recent decades. However, the rate of insights from automated analysis of bioacoustic audio lags behind our rate of collecting the data – due to key capacity constraints in data annotation and bioacoustic algorithm development. Gaps in analysis methodology persist: not because they are intractable, but because of resource limitations in the bioacoustics community. To bridge these gaps, we advocate the open science method of data challenges, structured as public contests. We conducted a bioacoustics data challenge named BioDCASE, within the format of an existing event (DCASE). In this work we report on the procedures needed to select and then conduct useful bioacoustics data challenges. We consider aspects of task design such as dataset curation, annotation, and evaluation metrics. We report the three tasks included in BioDCASE 2025 and the resulting progress made. Based on this we make recommendations for open community initiatives in computational bioacoustics.

Authors 21

1. Dan Stowell corresponding Aachen Naturalis Biodiversity Center

   Naturalis Biodiversity Center · Tilburg University

   Affiliation as printed

   Naturalis Biodiversity Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands

   Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands

2. Ester Vidaña-Vila

   Universitat Ramon Llull

   Affiliation as printed

   Human-Environment Research (HER), La Salle - Ramon Llull University, Barcelona, Spain

3. Inês Nolasco

   Queen Mary University of London

   Affiliation as printed

   Earth Species Project

   Queen Mary University of London, London, UK

4. Ben McEwen

   Tilburg University

   Affiliation as printed

   Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands

5. Lucie Jean-Labadye

   Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Sorbonne Université · Laboratoire des Sciences et Techniques de l’Information de la Communication et de la Connaissance · IMT Atlantique

   Affiliation as printed

   ENSTA, Lab-STICC, CNRS UMR 6285, Brest, France

   IMT Atlantique, Lab-STICC, CNRS UMR 6285, Brest, France

   Sorbonne Université (Paris, FR)

6. Yasmine Benhamadi

   École Centrale de Nantes · Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Laboratoire des Sciences du Numérique de Nantes · Nantes Université

   Affiliation as printed

   Nantes Université, École Centrale Nantes, CNRS, LS2N, UMR 6004, F-44000 Nantes, France

7. Gabriel Dubus

   Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle · Éco-Anthropologie

   Affiliation as printed

   UMR7206 Eco-Anthropologie, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, France

8. Benjamin Hoffman
   Affiliation as printed

   Earth Species Project

9. Pavel Linhart

   Aarhus University · University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice

   Affiliation as printed

   Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

   University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

10. Ilaria Morandi

    University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice

    Affiliation as printed

    University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

11. Dorian Cazau

    Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Laboratoire des Sciences et Techniques de l’Information de la Communication et de la Connaissance

    Affiliation as printed

    ENSTA, Lab-STICC, CNRS UMR 6285, Brest, France

12. Brian Miller

    Australian Antarctic Division

    Affiliation as printed

    Australian Antarctic Division

13. Elena Schall

    Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung

    Affiliation as printed

    Alfred-Wegener-Institute

14. Clea Parcerisas

    Flanders Marine Institute · Ghent University

    Affiliation as printed

    Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), Ghent University

15. Anatole Gros-Martial

    Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé

    Affiliation as printed

    Centre d’Études Biologiques de Chizé, CNRS

16. Ilyass Moummad

    Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies du numérique · Université de Montpellier · Laboratoire d'Informatique, de Robotique et de Microélectronique de Montpellier

    Affiliation as printed

    Inria, LIRMM, Université de Montpellier

17. Pierre-Yves Raumer

    Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université Paris Sciences et Lettres · École Normale Supérieure - PSL · Laboratoire de Géologie de l’École Normale Supérieure

    Affiliation as printed

    Laboratoire de Géologie, CNRS - École Normale Supérieure - PSL University

18. Ellen L. White

    University of Southampton

    Affiliation as printed

    University of Southampton

19. Paul Robert White

    University of Southampton

    Affiliation as printed

    University of Southampton

20. Paul Nguyen Hong Duc

    Curtin University

    Affiliation as printed

    Centre for Marine Science and Technology, Curtin University

21. Vincent Lostanlen

    École Centrale de Nantes · Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Laboratoire des Sciences du Numérique de Nantes · Nantes Université

    Affiliation as printed

    Nantes Université, École Centrale Nantes, CNRS, LS2N, UMR 6004, F-44000 Nantes, France