AI-supported insect monitoring in renaturalised quarries
In our rapidly changing world, we need large-scale, long-term and globally distributed data on wildlife. Data on insects often lags behind that of more charismatic animal groups, even though they play an important role in many ecosystems. As a result, we lack understanding of how insects respond to change, which prevents effective conservation action.
Last week, Master's student Julian Müller and Dr Esme Ashe-Jepson visited two restored quarries managed by Knauf to set up AI-powered insect monitoring stations. These stations will be used as part of Julian's master's thesis to investigate what role AI could play in improving or supplementing insect pollinator monitoring. He will compare the data provided by these stations with traditionally collected insect monitoring data and see if the data is similar or provides new insights that would otherwise be overlooked. In addition, as these surveys are conducted in restored quarries, the data can be used to understand which species are colonising these relatively young wild areas and to provide information on how these areas can be managed to promote local biodiversity.
