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Machine-learning has been deployed in a world first to identify and categorise bat calls as part of a multi-year survey into the animals in the Bailiwick.
The technology has been used to distinguish between social calls and feeding buzzes in different species, which the States says will help with identification and conservation as well as an indicator of the health of the island environment.
Last year over 3.8m recordings over 582 locations were submitted by volunteers and analysed using AI and human auditing.
The research kicked off in 2021 between the States and the British Trust for Ornithology, coordinated by La Société Guernesiaise, known as the Bailiwick Bat Survey which is now in its final year.
Emily Coule, Natural Environment Officer, said: “Improving our knowledge of nature through research like this is crucial to be able to make informed decisions about our environment.
“Not having this data is a very real threat to biodiversity as we simply can’t make evidence-based decisions. This is why it has been so important to have had the support of so many volunteers throughout this work, and why it’s so important for islanders to get involved again as we head into our final year.
“The additional information provided by the AI analysis this year is providing us with an even better understanding of how bats use our island, which, in turn, will help us better understand how we can protect these important populations.”
Volunteers can borrow a detector for four to six nights and set them up to record sounds, and the booking portal is now live HERE.
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