Wildlife Conservation Science

Bioacoustics is changing the way researchers study wildlife, offering new insights into the behaviors and environments of animals through the sounds they make. A podcast mini-series, Wild Frequencies, embarks on an auditory journey across India, where researchers harness the power of sound to unlock the mysteries of wildlife. In the first episode, series producers Shreya Dasgupta and Kartik Chandramouli explore how researchers use bioacoustics to find and count elusive animals. By capturing and analyzing sounds, they are able to locate species that are difficult to observe directly: https://mongabay.cc/u262vw The second episode delves into animal behavior, examining how the sounds animals make—from the calls of large mammals to the buzzing of insects—reveal important information about their activities and interactions: https://mongabay.cc/XN6b8N The final episode investigates how bioacoustics can help us understand the impact of human-altered landscapes on wildlife. By listening to the sounds of animals and their environments, researchers can track changes in populations and behaviors, offering a new perspective on conservation: https://mongabay.cc/UaRz0z As researchers increasingly tune into these wild frequencies, they find themselves at the frontier of a new era, where every chirp, growl, and rustle has a story to tell, a behavior to document, and a secret to unveil. Bioacoustics, though still in its infancy, is poised to offer a richer, more nuanced understanding of the living world and our place within it. Photos: 1) Seema Lokhandwala records elephant calls at Kaziranga National Park. Image by Vijay Bedi. 2) Manjari Jain ascending the forest canopy in Kudremukh to study the crickets in 2007. Image by Natasha Mhatre. 3) A sarus crane pair performs a duet in the presence of an interloper. Image by K.S. Gopi Sundar. 4) An AudioMoth recorder installed in Valparai, Tamil Nadu. Image by Vijay Ramesh. 5) (Top) Release call, (bottom) free-flying call. Image courtesy of the Indian Bat Call Library. 6) Manjari Jain recording crickets in Kudremukh National Park in 2007. Image by H. Raghuram. 7) Isha Bopardikar deploys a towed hydrophone to study marine mammals along the Malvan coast in Maharashtra. Image courtesy of Isha Bopardikar. 8) Rohit Chakravarthy with a bat detector. Image by Rajesh Puttaswamaiah.

Foxholes: The Simple, Brilliant Reforestation Method You’ve Probably Never Heard Of 🌳 In Madagascar, Ecosia and The Phoenix Conservancy are restoring forests using a method called 'foxholes' and it doesn’t involve planting saplings. It immediately reminded me of half-moon Earth bunds. Simple, effective and surprisingly powerful. Instead of raising delicate nursery saplings and hoping they survive in harsh conditions, foxholes mimic how forests regenerate naturally. Seeds are scattered into shallow basins, where they compete naturally for light, water and nutrients, just as they would in the wild. The results? ⤷ 30x more trees ⤷ 2x the plant diversity ⤷ 30% lower cost than traditional tree planting This technique rebuilds ecosystems, supports local livelihoods and creates space for endangered species like the ring-tailed lemur to return. Foxholes build on restoration techniques developed in Central and South America, especially ‘applied nucleation’, which is the practice of planting small patches of forest to kickstart natural regeneration. And while the method isn’t new, Ecosia is helping it scale, connecting partners across continents, from Madagascar to Brazil. Effective restoration doesn’t need to be high-tech or high-cost. Sometimes, all it takes is a shallow hole and a deeper understanding of nature. One rooted in the same wisdom that has guided indigenous land stewards for generations: work with nature, not against it. #NatureRestoration #Rewilding #TreePlanting #Biodiversity #Conservation 🎞️ Ecosia

It’s not just a pretty picture—there’s a full ecological restoration plan behind it. At Western Sydney University’s Hawkesbury campus, what if we transformed open concrete drains into natural, #NaturePositve waterways. The first photo with the concrete drains is the actual photo. The other AI-generated visuals you see are backed by detailed modelling that factors in climate, soil, hydrology, and vegetation to simulate ecological succession and produce a full restoration blueprint. This isn’t just landscaping—it’s habitat creation with measurable outcomes. For every 100 metres of restored channel, we estimate: 1–2 turtle nesting zones 1–2 frog breeding habitats, supporting species like Limnodynastes and Litoria A 5–10% increase in aquatic and terrestrial macroinvertebrate diversity 10–15 native plant species introduced, boosting structure and pollinator resources Multiple microhabitats created for birds, skinks, dragonflies, and microbats At these levels, there is no increased risk of flooding. These numbers scale up significantly across kilometres of restored urban drains and farm waterways—and we’ve built this to be scalable across the country. #WSUNaturePositive2029 #1MillionTurtles #NaturePositive #WetlandRestoration #TurtleConservation #FrogHabitat #BiodiversityGains #EcologicalEngineering #WSU #AIforNature

🌲🦫💧Exciting news for #beaverbelievers! Beaver rewilding is gathering momentum across the U.S., driven by a newfound appreciation of the ecological benefits of these ecosystem engineers, highlighted by tools built by NASA. Healthy beaver populations have been shown to enhance biodiversity, promote drought resilience, and maintain water availability on the land longer, serving as an immense boon to ecosystems. A novel project in Idaho is taking this work further. Leveraging remote sensing data from NASA, it's providing a new way to assess which streams are most suitable for beaver reintroduction, and to monitor the subsequent ecological transformation. This initiative represents a collaborative effort between researchers, ranchers, conservationists, and local organisations, all driven by a shared commitment to ecological restoration. The free access to NASA's remote sensing data addresses two major challenges in the field: quantifying change over time and consistently monitoring vast areas. Traditional field measurements are time-consuming and limit our capacity to track changes across seasons and regions. By contrast, the regular, comprehensive data provided by NASA's Earth-observing missions offer a scalable solution. The early results are confirming that by creating natural dams, beavers hold water on the land longer, fostering the growth of vegetation, providing fresh drinking water, enhancing grazing land for cattle, and fortifying landscapes against fire and drought. On a micro level, the impact is clear. Beaver rewilding efforts since 2014 along Birch Creek, near Preston, Idaho, have led to the creation of over 200 beaver dams. This has increased the stream's flow duration by 40 days annually! A similar project in Oregon saw a 170% increase in steelhead trout, illustrating the positive ripple effects of beaver reintroduction on local fauna. NASA are developing a suite of digital tools, including the Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool (BRAT), two applications using Earth observations to measure rewilding impacts, and a smartphone app for comparing field site photos over time. #rewilding #generationrestoration #climateadaptation #nasa https://lnkd.in/e2EtVS-6

58 million suburban homes in the U.S. are biodiversity dead zones. In 2025, let's rewild the suburbs. 🌿🐝 The problem? 🚨 Suburban areas have: 📉 75% fewer native plant species than natural ecosystems. 🐝 92% fewer native bee species due to habitat destruction. 🏡 Lawns that require chemicals, drain water supplies, and pollute waterways. The solution? Rewilding. 🌱 Why Native Plants Matter: ✔️ They’re adapted to local climate & soil—less water, less maintenance. ✔️ They provide food & shelter for native wildlife. ✔️ They restore balance to ecosystems without toxic chemicals. 🌎 How to Rewild Your Yard: 🌾 Plant native trees, shrubs, and flowers. 🦋 Add birdhouses, butterfly gardens, and pollinator plants. 🚫 Ditch pesticides and herbicides. 💧 Conserve water with drought-tolerant plants. But rewilding isn’t just letting your yard go wild. Avoid invasive species and focus on pollinator plants like milkweed and butterflyweed—crucial for monarch butterflies. Suburbia doesn’t have to be a wasteland. Let’s bring nature back. What’s one change you can make to rewild your space? Drop your ideas below ⬇️ 📌 PS: Found this helpful? Join 10,000+ founders and investors leveling up their game to fix this climate mess. 👉 Subscribe to my newsletter for actionable insights, delivered weekly. 🌍🚀 https://buff.ly/4dIya4G #RewildTheSuburbs #BiodiversityMatters #NativePlants #PollinatorGarden #SustainableLiving

"We have to remember that landscape without wildlife is just scenery." - Kris Tompkins ❌ So what we mostly see by now, especially in Europe, is scenery.  ↳ Not functioning ecosystems. It is one of those life lessons that shape you & change your perspective. I don't deny that a mountain, forest, lake or ocean is not mesmerizing. But it only truly gets magical when those sceneries are packed with life. You hopefully experienced this first hand before, when you were surprised by a swarm of birds, deer, dolphin, squirrel, bear etc. This feeling of aweeeee-ness. Yet, we got very accustomed to the sight of empty spaces. Time to change that. 💪 3 actions you can take to transform scenery -> vibrant ecosystems 1. Awareness - Next time you are in nature, reflect if you are looking at scenery or vibrant ecosystems + talk about your experience with friends ↳ Do you see many different species?  ↳ Do you have the feeling wildlife is abundant?  ↳ Did you see a board, information etc. that there are some predators? 2. Learn Locally - Polar bears, elephants & jaguars are cool, but so is the nature around your home (or it could be) ↳ Download apps like Merlin Cornell Lab of Ornithology & Seek iNaturalist to learn about your backyard ↳ Check out your closest forest, field, ocean what the current state is ↳ Try to figure out what animals used to be there ↳ Is there a way to protect what is left & bring back some animals? 3. Support Rewilding - Either with your time, skills or money, support the inspiring work of rewilding NGOs ↳ Kris Tompkins Rewilding: Tompkins Conservation ↳ Global Rewilding: Re:wild ↳ Europe Rewilding: Rewilding Europe  ↳ Directory of rewilding projects: Global Rewilding Alliance ↳ Ocean Rewilding: Seawilding I, for my part, don't want to live on a planet with just scenery & I have a feeling you neither. Good news is that we can still change our current path. So, let's get to work to transform scenery into vibrant ecosystems! P.S. What was your favorite moment when you were surprised by the sight of an animal/animals? P.P.S. I heard this quote on the WILD Foundation podcast with Kris Tompkins, where she talks about her rewilding work. Highly recommend! #biodiversity #nature #environment #rewilding 

When I first saw Matjaz Krivic’s captivating photograph of one of the last white rhinos, guarded round the clock in a Kenyan nature reserve, it struck a deep chord within me. This image, which earned Krivic the title of “Best Travel Photographer 2022,” is not just a snapshot of a moment in time but a profound reminder of our collective responsibility towards our planet. As a Montessori-trained educator, I’ve always believed in the power of education to change the world. This photograph reinforces that belief, urging us to reflect on the type of future humans we need to cultivate through our educational practices. 1. Nurturing Empathy and Responsibility: We must teach our children to feel a deep connection with all living beings, understanding that their survival is intricately linked to our actions. 2. Developing Informed Decision-Makers: Our curriculum should highlight the crucial balance between human needs and the health of our planet, emphasising sustainable choices. 3. Fostering Creative Problem-Solvers: We need to encourage innovative thinking to address environmental challenges, blending human ingenuity with nature’s wisdom. 4. Building Global Citizens: It’s imperative to instill a sense of global stewardship in our students, teaching them to value and protect the diversity of life that transcends borders and cultures. 5. Empowering Advocates for Change: We should inspire our students to be active voices in the fight for environmental preservation, advocating for policies that protect endangered species and their habitats. This photograph does more than document a critical conservation effort; it serves as a catalyst for envisioning the kind of education we must provide. It’s a call to action for educators like myself to craft learning experiences that not only impart knowledge but also instill a sense of purpose and commitment to environmental stewardship. In my journey as an educator and advocate for innovative educational practices, I’ve always strived to make a difference in how we educate our young. Seeing this image, I am reminded of the urgency and importance of our mission. We must prepare a generation that is capable of not just coexisting but actively nurturing the natural world. This is our duty, our challenge, and perhaps most importantly, our opportunity to shape a future where humans and nature thrive together in a symbiotic and sustainable harmony. If you want to join me in educating the children of today for tomorrow’s world then simply visit upschool.co and start your journey! #education #school #teacher #teaching #montessori

How can data help us tackle environmental challenges like climate change and deforestation? The Amazon Sustainability Data Initiative (ASDI) is making waves by connecting researchers, businesses, and governments with powerful environmental data resources, so they can take meaningful action on critical issues. Imagine trying to assess the impact of deforestation across a supply chain: The data needed is vast and complex. ASDI steps in to simplify that, offering global datasets for studying climate, natural resources, and biodiversity—all on a shared platform. Take Apple, for example. With ASDI data, they were able to pinpoint specific areas where deforestation was affecting their supply chain and then invest in reforestation. It’s not just corporations benefitting either; in California, government agencies used ASDI’s satellite imagery to identify parts of the coastline most at risk of erosion from rising sea levels, allowing for focused conservation efforts. These stories show that ASDI is more than just a data platform; it’s a tool for turning complex environmental data into clear insights. Having easy access to such data can make all the difference. Researchers, environmental groups, and businesses alike can now collaborate more easily, using shared knowledge to address sustainability challenges more effectively. For those interested in exploring ASDI’s offerings, the AWS Registry of Open Data provides tutorials and hands-on resources that make this data accessible to anyone. Tackling environmental issues takes a collective effort, and initiatives like ASDI are opening doors for more people to get involved in finding solutions that benefit us all. #Biodiversity #DataAnalysis #Sustainability #ClimateChange #EnvironmentalSustainability

𝐌𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐢 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧'𝐬 𝟐𝟐,𝟑𝟎𝟎 𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 ₹𝟏,𝟕𝟎𝟎 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬! A few days back, I came across a fascinating IIT Bombay study that quantifies what many intuitively know … nature provides services that would cost us a fortune to replicate. To put this in perspective, ₹1,700 crore is several times the entire annual budget of Mumbai's municipal parks department. Yet, mangroves protect Mumbai from storm surges, nurture fisheries, absorb pollution, and filter coastal waters, all without maintenance contracts or budget approvals! For Greater Mumbai alone, these services are valued at ₹1,155 crore per year. What's particularly fascinating is how, in an on-ground study, different urban, semi-urban, and rural communities showed a willingness to pay for mangrove conservation … 📍 Rural fishing communities, despite lower incomes, offered to pay ₹154 per month 📍 Semi-urban residents in Uran pledged the highest ₹214 per month 📍 Urban residents preferred contributing 10 hours per month over monetary payments To quantify this natural capital, researchers used a ‘Willingness to Pay’ methodology, averaging ₹169 per month per household across the region. I believe that putting precise economic values on nature’s services fundamentally shifts how we assess priorities and perceive value. When we assign measurable value to natural ecosystems, we change how infrastructure is planned and unlock new possibilities for green finance. The researcher Naman Gupta puts it rather well: "It allows us to consider mangroves not just as barriers to development but as assets." If you had to pay for nature’s services, what would you prefer – contributing time or money …? Image sources... 1. The Times Of India 2. Hindustan Times 3. Mumbai Live #NaturalCapital #Sustainability #GreenInfrastructure #ClimateChange

The Conservation Superpowers of IoT... May 17th marks a crucial day for our planet. Today, it's Endangered Species Day. As we spotlight the urgent need to protect our planet's biodiversity, I want to remind you how cutting-edge technology, specifically IoT, is a game changer in wildlife conservation. Here’s why IoT isn’t just about smart homes and industries: → Real-Time Monitoring: IoT devices can track the health and movement of species across remote areas, sending alerts about potential threats—like poaching or habitat encroachment—in real-time. → Habitat Management: Automated sensors can monitor environmental changes, helping conservationists act swiftly to mitigate adverse conditions. → Data-Driven Decisions: Accumulated data from IoT devices can guide better decision-making processes in conservation strategies, ensuring efforts are directed where needed. 🌱 Want to get involved? → Support local and global conservation initiatives, adopt eco-friendly practices, and consider participating in habitat restoration projects. 💡 Let’s discuss: How can technology further revolutionize our approach to saving endangered species? 🔄 Share if you believe in tech-powered conservation! #EndangeredSpeciesDay #IoT #ConservationTech #Biodiversity #EcoInnovation