Audiomnia - Bioacoustics Map
The Problem
Despite our best efforts, counting and tracking animal populations remains somewhat elusive. This problem yields conservation and policy implications quickly, since decisions need to be made Luckily, many of them make noise and by studying the properties of these sounds, we can learn much about the location, behavior, and health of the animals.
Our Proposal
Data repositories, along with open tooling to analyze and subset the data, are critically important for modern scientific research. While repositories exist for many earth sciences such as hydrology[1] and bathymetry[2], no such tooling exists for bioacoustics, the study of animal sounds. We propose to complete Audiomnia, a map that collects sounds from online repositories[3][4] and displays them in a way to allow subsetting and analysis. 1. http://data.cuahsi.org 2. https://www.gebco.net/ 3. http://macaulaylibrary.org/ 4. http://xeno-canto.org/
We Assume that...
More open bioacoustic data exists than we think and/or know of
By aggregating bioacoustic data, we arm scientists and researchers with greater ability to test their hypothesis and form new ones
A tool like this could be the foundation of the a larger "big and open" data endeavor in the bioacoustics field in particular.
Constraints to Overcome
The biggest barrier we will address will be the audio engineering and analytis involved in creating metadata around the audio itself - something that doesn't exist yet. Understanding that will allow bioacoustic researchers to answer questions like these more accurately: Where do species overlap, in temporal and frequency spay? Where will anthropogenic noise create the most interference?
Current Work
We wish to create a free and open data repository for bioacoustic data that will become a platform for future research and innovation in this space.
Current Needs
While the project team can handle development, much time will be spend in demos and user interviews gathering needs. The project needs to be as agile as possible in gathering and implementing feedback from subject matter experts.