Prototype Biodiversity Digital Twin: Real-time bird monitoring with citizen-science data

Abstract

Bird populations respond rapidly to environmental change making them excellent ecological indicators. Climate shifts advance migration, causing mismatches in breeding and resources. Understanding these changes is crucial to monitor the state of the environment. Citizen science offers vast potential to collect biodiversity data. We outline a project that combines citizen science with AI-based bird sound classification. The mobile app records bird vocalisations that are classified by AI and stored for re-analysis. Additionally, it shows a shared observation board that visualises collective classifications. By merging long-term monitoring and modern citizen science, this project harnesses the strength of both approaches for comprehensive bird population monitoring.