Short Wave What Does A Healthy Rainforest Sound Like? (encore)
Dec 10, 2021
Sarab Sethi, a postdoctoral researcher at Imperial College London, specializes in using sound and AI to assess ecosystem health. He discusses how soundscapes of tropical rainforests offer insights into biodiversity and environmental changes. The conversation highlights an innovative acoustic monitoring network in Borneo that uses solar-powered audio recorders to track wildlife vocalizations and detect human-related noises. This approach not only enhances traditional monitoring but also helps predict ecological shifts, making sound a powerful tool for conservation.
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Sarab's Rainforest Experience
- Sarab Sethi, a city-dweller, experienced the cacophony of a Borneo rainforest at night.
- Unaccustomed to the sounds, he initially felt overwhelmed.
Need for Automated Monitoring
- Traditional ecosystem health monitoring, like bird point counts, is thorough but tedious.
- Sethi's team sought a more efficient, automated method using technology.
Analyzing Rainforest Sounds
- Sethi's team collected 17,000 hours of audio data from the Borneo rainforest.
- They used Google's AudioSet and machine learning to analyze the vast dataset.