In a first for wildlife protection, artificial intelligence and round-the-clock observation will be employed to track the highly endangered plains wanderer as well as threatened marsupial species like the kowari and bilby.
In outback Queensland’s Boulia, the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) is establishing 60 monitoring sites at Coorabulka Station.
The station, which covers 637,000 hectares, will house the modest monitoring sites for a period of one year. These sites use bio-acoustic recorders and 24-hour cameras to detect and capture audio and picture data.
According to AWC regional biologist Alexander Watson, “[The plains-wanderer is] one of six species next thought to go extinct in terms of the bird world.”
The organization will be able to learn more about these frequently elusive birds, according to Dr. Watson, because it has access to such a wide region of possible plains-wanderer habitat.
24-hour monitoring
The monitoring stations, which will be solar-powered, are being constructed to endure the extreme climate of western Queensland.
The distribution and status of the plains-wanderer, bilby, and kowari’ across the station will be described by AWC utilizing AI technology after the data has been collected over a 12-month period.
“It’s never been done before,” declared Dr. Watson.
“We’re just gathering and comprehending as much knowledge about these species that exist there, as well as the processes that pose a threat.”
Historic pastoral collaboration
The AWC has set up a number of audio monitors across two more sites in partnership with the North Australian Pastoral Company (NAPCo) in 2022 to confirm the presence of the plains-wander.
The AWC’s desktop research indicated that 70 species are categorized as threatened and are spread across the 6 million hectares of NAPCo.
Dr. Watson emphasized the importance of the AWC’s ability to collaborate with significant pastoral companies in order to protect threatened animals and their ecosystems.
According to him, 70% of Australia is under pastoral lease, making cattle stations the home of 70% of the country’s biodiversity.
We must establish these agreements with pastoral enterprises and traditional proprietors because we cannot conserve everything.
According to CEO of NAPCo Allan Cooney, it is a cooperative relationship.
