A new study led by researchers from the Ohio State University's (OSU) Imageomics Institute showed that photos people took and posted on social media during their vacation that feature zebras or whales have an unexpected benefit.
Artificial intelligence (AI) can track and gather information on endangered species as it can analyze the photos to identify and gain new insights into their movements and population trends, which are key elements in the conservation of a species.
Imageomics: Taking Wildlife Images One Step Further
A new field called imageomics takes wildlife images one step further using AI to identify biological information of the animals in the photo, says OSU Translational Data Analytics director Professor Tanya Berger-Wolf.
According to OSU, biologists need to analyze traits of animals to understand the importance of patterns of the two billion-year evolutionary history of life and to predict the effects of environmental change or genetic manipulation. One way of achieving this is through images since they are by far the most abundant source of documentation on the planet.
Together with other institutions, they launched the Imageomic Institute that will use AI to perform research network dedication to computation-enabled discovery. It creates a new field of study wherein images are used to study living organisms as a basis for understanding the biological processes of life.
Scientists part of this program aims to utilize machine learning and methodologies to extract biological traits from photos, including behavior and physical appearance, that will guide them in using new biological knowledge, such as conservation of endangered species.
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Saving Endangered Animals Using AI
There are currently over 142,000 species listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, but more than half are unknown because of the lack of data or scientists are not sure of their population. Berger-Wolf said that conservation efforts require enough data to determine where and how fast their population is declining.
Since there are not enough GPS collars and satellite tags on animals, Phys.org reported that scientists propose using AI techniques to analyze images of these animals to provide the information needed. She and her colleagues created the Wildbook system that uses computer algorithms to analyze photos taken by tourists on vacation and researchers in the field.
Currently, Wildbook contains over 2 million images of 60,000 different whales and dolphins taken from any place on Earth. Berger-Wolf said that this has become their primary source of information on killer whales. Additionally, they are looking into zebras, turtles, giraffes, African carnivores, and other animals.
The team also developed software to search publicly shared images in social media and analyze relevant species. That means every photo of animals is documented in WildBook for conservation. She noted that the ability to extract biological information from images is the foundation of imageomics.
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