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Monitoring the environment with acoustic sensors is an effective method for understanding changes in ecosystems. Through extensive monitoring, large-scale, ecologically relevant, datasets can be produced that can inform environmental policy. The collection of acoustic sensor data is a solved problem; the current challenge is the management and analysis of raw audio data to produce useful datasets for ecologists. This paper presents the applied research we use to analyze big acoustic datasets. Its core contribution is the presentation of practical large-scale acoustic data analysis methodologies. We describe details of the data workflows we use to provide both citizen scientists and researchers practical access to large volumes of ecoacoustic data. Finally, we propose a work in progress largescale architecture for analysis driven by a hybrid cloud-and-local production-grade website.

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Environmental monitoring is becoming critical as human activity and climate change place greater pressures on biodiversity, leading to an increasing need for data to make informed decisions. Acoustic sensors can help collect data across large areas for extended periods making them attractive in environmental monitoring.However, managing and analysing large volumes of environmental acoustic data is a great challenge and is consequently hindering the effective utilization of the big dataset collected. This paper presents an overview of our current techniques for collecting, storing and analysing large volumes of acoustic data efficiently, accurately, and cost-effectively.

This paper investigates engaging experienced birders, as volunteer citizen scientists, to analyze large recorded audio datasets gathered through environmental acoustic monitoring. Although audio data is straightforward to gather, automated analysis remains a challenging task; the existing expertise, local knowledge and motivation of the birder community can complement computational approaches and provide distinct benefits. We explored both the culture and practice of birders, and paradigms for interacting with recorded audio data. A variety of candidate design elements were tested with birders.This study contributes an understanding of how virtual interactions and practices can be developed to complement existing practices of experienced birders in the physical world. In so doing this study contributes a new approach to engagement in e-science. Whereas most citizen science projects task lay participants with discrete real world or artificial activities, sometimes using extrinsic motivators, this approach builds on existing intrinsically satisfying practices.

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Observations made by birders have been integral to avian research and conservation efforts for decades. However, broader sources of data about avian activity are needed, to improve the information available for environmental management. Technology advances have seen acoustic monitoring emerge as a new way to study birds. The ever-increasing raw data from acoustic sensors requires processing, to extract information about bird activity. This is a difficult analysis problem, as there are just under 900 bird species in Australia and most have multiple distinct, yet variable, calls.There is an opportunity to extend birding activities to include collection and review of The research methodology was framed around User-centred design and Reflective Agile Iterative Design. The five qualitative research activities used interviews, field studies, exploratory prototype websites, and questionnaires. The results showed that participants invested energy into observing birds at favourite local areas and that their identification skills were region-specific. Many birders were eager to find uncommon birds on bird walks, and in recorded audio from places and times of day that were otherwise difficult to access. Acoustic recordings offered opportunities to enhance birdcall identification skills and find birds that may otherwise be undetected. Birders could apply their acoustic identification knowledge to recorded audio, to identify a range of birdcalls with moderate accuracy, with the aid of spectrogram images: time-frequency-amplitude visualisations of recorded audio. This thesis contributed website interface designs based on birding practices, to enable experienced birders to apply knowledge and skills that are not available elsewhere. These results indicate that integrating scientific acoustic monitoring endeavours into Australian birders' practices can provide expanded and reliable information for avian research and conservation efforts.iv