Biodiversity in airborne noise: Acoustic wildlife monitoring at Vienna’s Breitenlee

Description

Each animal species communicates in a specific frequency range, and thus has its own acoustic niche for communicating in a targeted manner. It can therefore be expected that in an ecosystem with high biodiversity the entire frequency range is filled with animal sounds: insects produce sounds in high frequencies, birds sing in medium frequencies and mammals vocalize in lower frequency ranges (with the exception of bats).

Ecoacoustics studies the acoustic interactions between living beings and their environment in order to draw conclusions about the general state of an ecosystem. Acoustic monitoring has proven to be a valuable tool in the recording and monitoring of biodiversity, as it is a non-invasive method of collecting information about animal populations. In the area of ​​bird song in particular, it enables precise recording of species diversity, behavior and spatial distribution. In addition, acoustic monitoring can be used to monitor the calling activity of amphibians and insects, which provides important insights into ecological processes and the state of habitats.

Acoustic monitoring is based on the recording and analysis of animal sounds using audio recordings and their subsequent evaluation by specialized software or experts. By using modern technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, acoustic monitoring can be made more efficient by enabling automated detection and classification of animal sounds . This facilitates rapid data evaluation and helps to analyze large amounts of acoustic data, which is essential for monitoring animal populations in different habitats.

The integration of machine learning offers the additional advantage of continuously improving detection accuracy and flexibility in adapting to different acoustic environments and species. This allows acoustic monitoring to enable even more precise and reliable recording of biodiversity, which in turn supports informed decisions in the field of nature conservation and ecological research. By collecting high-quality acoustic data, nature conservation organizations and authorities can take effective measures to protect endangered species and their habitats.

The main objective of this research project is to carry out a robust and reliable acoustic monitoring procedure at the Breitenlee marshalling yard in Vienna as part of a preliminary study. The following specific objectives are to be achieved:

• Recording the calling activity of birds, mammals, amphibians and insects: The continuous recording of animal calls at selected points enables a comprehensive picture of the fauna activity at the marshalling yard to be obtained.
• Evaluation of the technical possibilities for recording species diversity, frequency and spatial distribution.
• Evaluation of the suitability of acoustic monitoring for longer-term biodiversity monitoring programs. This would enable a follow-up project to detect long-term changes, e.g. in the bird population, or to document the occurrence of cryptic or endangered animal species.
• Evaluation of existing species recognition methods: Challenges are analyzed and development potential is defined.

This should be a preparation project for a long-term project.

General Information

Funding: funding program "Kleinvorhaben für Klima & Umwelt", City of Vienna

Duration: 2024