8 Surprising Ways Technology Is Preserving Endangered Species
Technology is helping wildlife conservationists around the world track endangered species, protect them from poaching and preserve their habitats. It can also predict points where humans and animals will clash, allowing conservationists to proactively intervene before the problem even arises.
Using GPS, researchers can monitor herds of bison or tigers moving through their natural habitats to spot any dangerous areas. Other technologies include an alarm system from the Zoological Society of London that sounded when poachers entered protected areas.
1. Artificial Intelligence
A huge challenge facing wildlife conservationists is gathering extensive and accurate data on endangered animals. AI can help with this task by processing images, video and audio files from cameras and drones to spot specific species.
AI-enabled security cameras can also detect poachers and hunters. Washington State University researchers used neural networks to analyze 650 camera trap images in an effort to measure Canada lynx populations in the wild.
Other nonprofits, such as WildTrack, use drones to count animal populations without disturbing them by imaging cryptic evidence, such as footprints. This information helps conservationists take action against wildlife traffickers and other threats. Long-term data can also allow conservationists to predict how climate change and other human activities might affect a species' habitat. This foresight is essential to preventing biodiversity loss. Achieving this goal requires the collaboration of many groups and a variety of technology, including drones and AI.
2. Blockchain
While blockchain is usually associated with cryptocurrencies, this immutable ledger can make conservation efforts more transparent. It helps ensure that funds reach the right people and reduces corruption.
For example, the nonprofit Wild Funds Tomorrow is using blockchain to raise money to connect wildlife habitats in Africa. The project’s goal is to allow elephants, lions and other species to move freely between two protected areas.
Other projects have used blockchain to verify the authenticity of wildlife images and videos. Gramener, for example, uses an AI-based solution to identify penguins in drone images of Antarctica, making it easier for researchers to track the species’ populations. In addition, blockchain can be used to monitor and record wildlife activity in real time. This information can be shared across different organizations and governments to inform data-driven decisions. This includes tracking the movements of endangered animals and identifying poaching activities.
3. GPS Tracking
The ability to follow wildlife in real time enables conservationists to respond faster to any dangers. For example, when a cheetah gets stuck in a poacher’s snare or is sick, they can quickly send out an emergency team to rescue it before it’s too late.
GPS tracking also broadens scientists’ scope of animal movement. This knowledge can help us understand species movements and habitat use in different conditions, which is important for addressing climate change impacts on animals.
For instance, Ocean Alliance’s rat-eradication program in the Galapagos Islands uses GPS-enabled drones to drop poisoned rats at precise locations, preventing high-severity fire and protecting natural ecosystems for years to come. Similarly, a high-tech stereo camera system allows researchers to study sharks without disturbing them. This is a significant step in improving our understanding of these incredible creatures.
4. Facial Recognition
Facial recognition is a powerful tool that can be used in many different ways. It can help companies identify customers and send them targeted ads. It can also be used by law enforcement agencies to find missing persons and track criminals. And it can even be used to unlock your phone.
Researchers can use facial recognition technology to monitor wildlife over long periods of time. This can save them time and money by eliminating the need to rely on soft identifiers such as body size or skin color.
However, many people have concerns about the way facial recognition is being used. A previous Pew Research Center study found that 47% of Americans say they think the government will go too far regulating facial recognition technology. This could include limiting the ability of police to access face recognition databases.
5. Pattern Recognition
Pattern recognition is the automated process of identifying and recognizing patterns in data. It can be used in a wide variety of applications like medical diagnosis, image processing, and computer vision. It is also used in information security to monitor computer networks for suspicious activity.
Observing some species can be difficult without causing undue stress, but high-tech solutions are making it easier to get the data needed. For example, a pair of ecologists designed an underwater drone that can detect shark movements to help with conservation efforts.
Similarly, smartphone apps like iNaturalist and Wildbook allow people to contribute effortlessly to wildlife preservation by sharing photos of plants and animals to generate valuable data. Using computer vision, these apps can even identify unique animal markings, like whisker spots, and facilitate tracking populations. This helps curb wildlife trafficking, which is a major problem in endangered species conservation.
6. Elephant Listening Project
Deep in the rainforests of Central Africa, forest elephants trumpet and rumble with a natural symphony. Their sounds can be heard for miles around—and by listening to the calls, scientists are eavesdropping on these endangered mammals to protect them and their forests.
Specifically, McKown and the Cornell University lab that she runs, Conservation Metrics, have started analyzing acoustic data to help track elephants and keep an ear out for poaching. They do this by creating spectrograms, which are ghostly pictures of the sound waves that show up in recorded audio.
The team's acoustic sensors record the sounds of forest animals and poachers, which are then analyzed by artificial intelligence algorithms. The hope is that one day, the system will be able to process the information directly in African forests—without the recordings needing to be gathered, sent, and analyzed at Cornell.
7. 3D Printing
3D printing is transforming the medical world, but it’s also making its way into animal conservation. This technology is allowing injured animals to live full lives with prosthetics.
It can be used to make deceptively real replicas of rare fossils or bones, which are useful for research and teaching. Researchers can also use it to create exemplary models for experiments, eliminating the need to rely on museum-preserved specimens.
The same technology is being used to print limbs for injured or disabled wildlife, as well as artificial hearts for patients with heart disease. In addition, drones are being used to monitor wildlife, identify poachers from the sky, and drop supplies to teams working in remote or inaccessible areas. They can even collect samples of whales and dolphins’ boogers for analysis (as seen in this video). This is helping to prevent species from being caught and killed for their body parts.
8. Smartphone Apps
The smartphones in your pocket are transforming into conservation warriors. Apps like iNaturalist allow users to report wildlife sightings, document environmental changes and participate in species identification. They help scientists collect vast amounts of data that would be impossible to gather otherwise.
For instance, a project known as Footprint Identification Technology can identify individual species, their ages and even the sex of animals from photographs of footprints. This eliminates the need to disturb the animal by physically approaching it, which can lead to disease transmission and disrupt their natural behaviour.
Apps can also report wildlife poaching activity in real time, protecting endangered species and reducing illegal trade. They can also alert the authorities to dangerous conditions, such as a flood or a landslide, and help wildlife escape to safety. This is especially useful in remote areas, such as Papua New Guinea’s rainforest.
