Using acoustic remote sensing to monitor biodiversity at coffee plantations

监测生物多样性的技术使用迅速增加，其实施帮助研究人员在不必在场的情况下监测野生动物。该项目的目的是在咖啡种植园安装声学监听设备，然后分析输出，以检测目前的生物多样性。一个最终目标是在田间拥有声学设备，可以记录声音并将数据发送到服务器进行分析，从而成为一种遥感工具。咖啡是一种需求量很大的作物，但面临着气候变化和市场力量的风险。特产作物可以要求更高的价格，但什么才是特产作物并没有明确的定义。该项目希望能够利用其生物多样性检测分析的结果来创建一种认证系统，公平贸易和其他组织可以使用该系统来根据农场的生物多样性水平对农场进行分类。这种数据的另一个潜在用途是检测害虫或传粉者，并将这些信息无线传递给农民，然后农民可以通过改变管理做出回应。该项目将需要在研究地点进行一些实地工作，以便在记录时测量生物多样性，以便可以利用观测来验证声学分析。一项试点研究将监测沿海拔梯度的生物多样性，沿着海拔梯度，耕作管理策略也将有所不同。这可以了解不同的管理策略如何影响生物多样性水平，特别是传粉者的水平，因为假设较高海拔的传粉者种类较少。归根结底，这个项目不仅将设计一种生物多样性量化的方法，而且可能会为农民提供一种有效的工具来管理他们的财产。

The use of technology to monitor biodiversity has rapidly increased, and its implementation has helped researchers to monitor wildlife without having to be present. This project aims to put out acoustic listening devices on coffee plantations and to then analyse the output to detect present biodiversity. One end-goal is to have acoustic devices in the field that can record sounds and send data to a server for analysis, hence becoming a remote sensing tool.Coffee is a highly demanded crop but is at risk from climate change as well as market forces. Speciality crops can demand higher prices, but what qualifies as a speciality crop is not clearly defined. This project hopes to be able to use the results of its biodiversity detection analysis to create a system of certification that can be used by Fairtrade and other organizations to categorize farms by their biodiversity levels. Another potential use for this data would be to detect pests or pollinators, and relay this information wirelessly to farmers, who could then respond through altered management. This project will require some field-work at study sites in order to measure biodiversity while recording so the acoustic analysis can be validated using the observations. One pilot study will monitor biodiversity along an altitudinal gradient, along which the farming management strategies will also differ. This can inform on how different management strategies affect the biodiversity levels, in particular levels of pollinators, as it is hypothesized that there are fewer pollinator species at higher altitudes. Ultimately, this project will not only design a method of biodiversity quantification, but it may result in an effective tool for farmers with which to manage their property.