Researchers, landholders, and bird enthusiasts of all levels are all set to benefit from a new project led by the University of New England (UNE) that will make it easier to survey avian biodiversity across south-eastern Australia.
Set to get underway this month, the project will see the creation of a unique acoustic monitoring tool that will build a permanent record of location biodiversity through saved sound recordings.
The innovative tool will have the capability to recognise 130 bird species from the area, which will be valuable when tracking threatened species, site quality, and changes in biodiversity over time at a specific location.
Local solutions with a high degree of accuracy is needed in Australia, and we hope to offer a solution that will change that for the study area.
“Australia has relatively few high-quality recordings of its bird species and a low critical mass of birding enthusiasts to help promote software development, so automated recognition lags behind birdlife in other countries such as the USA,” says Professor of Animal Behaviour, Paul McDonald, who will lead the project.
“This means that development of local solutions with a high degree of accuracy is needed in Australia, and we hope to offer a solution that will change that for the study area.”
The project will help monitor threatened species such as the Regent Honeyeater and the Swift Parrot, and will provide insights into the activity of species that reduce diversity at a location, such as the Noisy Miner.
Image: Noisy Miner. Credit: Paul McDonald
This will help land managers, policy makers and governments make more informed decisions when it comes to creating conservation areas, preserving woodlands, and taking action against threats.
Being able to monitor bird movements and behaviours also provides a clearer view of the health of habitats.
“In short, healthy bird biodiversity likely means healthy habitat!” says Prof McDonald. “Understanding the diversity of woodland birds gives us a good insight into overall diversity at a site, as birds favour areas with diverse and high-quality resources.
“Knowing areas that the birds are using enables them to be prioritised as areas of high conservation value, and also indicates areas of interest in the short-term, such as a location that may have flowering gums for example.”
Understanding the diversity of woodland birds gives us a good insight into overall diversity at a site.
The project recently received an Innovative Biodiversity Monitoring grant from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water as part of a funding round centred on finding new and efficient ways to monitor biodiversity.
Work on developing the acoustic monitoring tool will begin in March, and will involve teams from Charles Sturt University, Queensland University of Technology, University of Queensland, Bush Heritage Australia and Natural Resource Management South.
The project is set to wrap up in late 2025.
