[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/12934\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EResearchers combine citizens\u2019 help and cutting-edge tech to track biodiversity\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 1998, in a small park in Zurich, Switzerland, one bug woke up in a new world. The bricks on the roof of a local garden, imported from China, had brought with them a hidden guest: a brown marmorated stink bug.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFast forward to 2024, and the species \u2013 Halyomorpha halys \u2013 has become an invasive pest, threatening fruit and vegetable crops in Europe.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThanks to researchers and citizen scientists across Europe, we have a clear picture of where the stink bug is, and this includes countries like Italy, France and Spain. Citizen scientists are members of the public participating voluntarily in the scientific process.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith just a few clicks, Dr Vincent Kalkman from the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands, which works with citizen scientists all over Europe, can track how far the bug has spread.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKalkman\u2019s work is partly funded by a four-year EU-led research project named MAMBO. The project, which started in 2022, is dedicated to providing \u201cknowledge, tools and infrastructure\u201d for monitoring biodiversity, including the use of cutting-edge technology that relies on sound, vision and AI.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd there is a pressing reason for keeping tabs on biodiversity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA December 2024 report by the European Environment Agency warned that \u201cEurope\u2019s biodiversity continues to decline at an alarming rate\u201d. It cited intense agriculture and forestry, urbanisation, hunting, invasive species and pollution as the main threats.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EWe want to study how well conserved habitats around Europe really are.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Toke H\u00f8ye, MAMBO \u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers in the project, which runs from 2022 to 2026, are experimenting with tools like drones, cameras and sensors to collect detailed data on different species, while Kalkman focuses on online work.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe uses\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/observation.org\/\u0022\u003EObservation.org\u003C\/a\u003E, a global biodiversity platform where people submit pictures of animals and plants, helping to identify and monitor them.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf you want to know where a species occurs, you could hire people to search everywhere, but that would be nearly impossible and very expensive,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstead, he and his colleagues are building AI species identification models to quickly identify species via images. Their 2023 model, rolled out during the project\u2019s first year, already supports Observation.org.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re seeing a dramatic rise in the number of images people submit,\u201d he explained. \u201cWe need to consider them all, and these models help us do that.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EBetter monitoring of species and habitats\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Toke H\u00f8ye, a professor at the Department of Ecoscience at Aarhus University in Denmark, who coordinates MAMBO, explained that it has two main goals.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne is to improve how we monitor species, particularly invertebrates like bees and beetles. The other is to focus on monitoring habitats.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe want to study how well conserved habitats around Europe really are,\u201d H\u00f8ye said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere are currently 1\u0026nbsp;840 protected species and 230 protected habitats in the EU. However, at the EU level, only 15% of habitats are in good conservation status and the vast majority are classified as poor or bad.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EH\u00f8ye\u2019s team is developing and implementing new tools for monitoring protected species and habitats. They include sound recognition-based AI, high-resolution habitat maps and site-specific habitat condition metrics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMAMBO is also creating a virtual lab to efficiently compute vast data streams.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EMore data means more people are engaging with nature, which is really positive.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Vincent Kalkman, Naturalis Biodiversity Center \u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis will significantly improve ecological monitoring in Europe and beyond, and contribute to the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. The strategy, a key part of the European Green Deal, is a long-term plan to protect nature and reverse the degradation of ecosystems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 2024, MAMBO research teams began setting up systems at demonstration sites across Europe.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the Netherlands, for example, researchers are using camera traps to count how many insects of a particular species are in the area. In France, scientists are using drones and satellite data to 3D-map natural reserves and track how they change over time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur goal is to produce yearly maps showing whether habitats are shrinking or expanding,\u201d H\u00f8ye said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith this data, MAMBO has the potential to transform how scientists and environmental agencies monitor Europe\u2019s ecological landscape.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe resulting maps and insights could guide policymakers and regulators in implementing the EU Biodiversity Strategy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EMinding the environmental impact of new tech\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe infrastructure MAMBO scientists are developing relies heavily on advanced technology. But while innovation and AI tools are crucial for speeding up conservation science, the environmental impact of these efforts must also be considered.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAI\u2019s footprint is significant. Data centres hosting AI servers generate waste, consume large amounts of water and require plenty of electricity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EH\u00f8ye is aware of this and emphasises that AI\u2019s impact will be assessed.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn the second half of the project, we\u2019ll spend time understanding the cost of the tools we\u2019re using,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ll look at not just the hardware and energy use, but also the environmental footprint of the AI models themselves.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKalkman shares this concern, but remains optimistic about technology\u2019s role in connecting people with nature.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s not just that we\u2019re getting more data from citizen scientists,\u201d he said. \u201cMore data means more people are engaging with nature, which is really positive.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch in this article was funded by the EU\u2019s Horizon Programme. The views of the interviewees don\u2019t necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. 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