Bioacoustic Services
The Bioacoustic Unit is a full-service organization that provides everything a client requires for wildlife acoustic studies. We provide advice, supply standardized protocols, provide equipment, conduct field work, process audio recordings, and report on the results. Our team is actively conducting leading-edge research to improve methods and to better understand our natural acoustic environment.
Clients regularly partner with us to assist with their wildlife monitoring needs. Our involvement varies from client to client and spans the full range of services from simply providing information to conducting a full research project on their behalf.
Listen
We can collect the data you need, or help you do it yourself. We provide ‘how to’ protocols that will guide you through the process of deploying, programming, and retrieving your audio data. Or, let us do it for you!
Protocols
Learn how to set up an ARU, how to program the unit to record a specific time intervals, how to set it up in the field, and more step-by-step instructions for deploying a wildlife acoustic study.
Deployment Package
Protocol 1
Deployment Protocol
H. Lankauwinter, 2015
This protocol provides details on all aspects of the use of Song Meter brand ARUs, from programming to field deployment and data storage.
Download >>Protocol 2
ARU Settings
Bioacoustic Unitwinter, 2015
A zip file containing instructions on programming and setting an ARU to record.
Download >>Analyze
We have a team of expert taxonomists that will translate your audio recordings into species identifications. In addition, our researchers have developed automatic recognizers that quickly process audio files to detect several species of conservation concern.
We encourage all clients to contribute their data to our publicly available data set. However, we understand that some clients may be bound by confidentiality issues that preclude this. The Bioacoustic Unit is therefore flexible in how raw data is disseminated. Visit our Data section to download and explore the publicly available data.
Data Management
Our protocols will help you manage your data: from retrieving the audio files to setting up a database for your acoustic study.
Protocol 1
ARU Pickup Datasheet
Bioacoustic Unitwinter, 2015
Datasheet to be filled out when ARUs are retrieved from the field at the end of the field season or study duration.
Download >>
Report
Once the audio recordings have been translated into species identifications, we will prepare a report that fully describes the results. Each report will be accompanied by the full data set of species identifications.
Visit our Data section to download and explore the publicly available data.
View ReportsSample Resources
Protocol 1
Fact sheet: Monitoring Rare Animals in Alberta’s Boreal Forest
L. Monk, M. Kohlerwinter, 2014
Download >>Protocol 2
Amphibian Monitoring using Wildlife Acoustics SM2 Detector
E. Bayne, T. Muhly.winter, 2014
Download >>Discover
We are committed to providing leading edge bioacoustics services. As such, we’re always striving for excellence and innovation. Our team of researchers are busy investigating a wide variety of issues related to acoustic ecology – discover the latest in bioacoustic research.
LEARN MORE