↵

Join us as a citizen scientist

Help us make nature audible!

In the Bio-O-Ton project, we are developing AI that recognizes the condition of habitats based on natural sounds and satellite data. This helps authorities to make changes in biodiversity visible more quickly and to better identify areas worthy of protection.

To do this, we need a wide variety of audio recordings from all over Germany. You can help us collect these recordings as a citizen scientist. A key foundation for this is our collaboration with Dawn Chorus, a citizen science project that invites people to record and share nature sounds using their smartphones.

Every recording helps: It contributes to our AI’s ability to better understand habitats and support authorities more efficiently.

What do you need to participate?

• a smartphone with the Dawn Chorus app (Android or iOS)
• a Dawn Chorus user account
• A desire to take a walk (or ride a bike) in nature

Recordings are helpful at any time of day or year. Many birds are particularly active in the morning during spring.

Here’s how to participate:

1. Visit one of the marked locations on our map.
   These areas are particularly important for our project because the condition of the habitats there has already been mapped. Areas marked in green are especially relevant to us right now, but recordings from areas marked in gray are also helpful. Please record from existing paths to avoid disturbing the habitats.
2. Open the Dawn Chorus app and record the overall sound of the surroundings.
   The goal is not to capture individual bird species or particularly “beautiful” recordings, but rather the typical sound of a location. This may include wind, distant streets, or other natural everyday sounds.
3. Hold your smartphone as steady as possible and select “Single Recording.”
   The recording will be saved automatically after one minute. If possible, no human voices should be heard, as such recordings must be deleted later for privacy reasons.
4. Add additional details if necessary.
   Dawn Chorus, for example, asks about the weather, landscape type, or other observations. These details are largely irrelevant for Bio-O-Ton, but may be useful for other partner projects.
5. Save and upload the recording.
   You can also upload it later when a stable internet connection is available. For our project, the recording is only usable once it has been uploaded.
6. You can find a more detailed description here.

What do we do with the data?

The recordings are first collected via Dawn Chorus. There, you can also see on a public map where recordings have already been made. If you wish, you can hide your recording; it will then remain usable for our project but will not be publicly visible or audible.

As a partner of Dawn Chorus, we can analyze the audio recordings along with the associated metadata for Bio-O-Ton. For our project, recordings from already mapped habitat types are initially the most relevant.

We combine this audio data with satellite data and weather information. This allows our AI to learn which acoustic patterns are associated with specific habitats and their condition. In the long term, the AI is intended to help authorities detect changes in biodiversity more quickly and protect habitats in a more targeted manner.

Thank you very much for your contribution!