Guernsey bat calls analysed using AI

Volunteers provided 3.8 million sound recordings of Guernsey's nocturnal wildlife across 582 different locations within the Bailiwick in 2023

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been used to identify different bat calls across the Bailiwick of Guernsey.

The States said the use of AI in the research was believed to be a "world first".

Officials said the AI, called "machine-learning", has been used to differentiate between social calls and feeding buzzes in different bat species.

The States said identifying calls had "huge benefits" for bat conservation.

Millions of sound recordings of the island's nocturnal wildlife were captured by volunteers in 2023 as part of the Bailiwick Bat Survey.

Crucial research

The results of the recordings were later analysed through AI and manual auditing, the States said.

It said the identification of bat calls could act as an indicator of the health of a local environment.

Natural environment officer Emily Coule said the research was "crucial" for making informed decisions about the environment.

"As it says in Guernsey's Strategy for Nature, not having this data is a very real threat to biodiversity as we simply can't make evidence-based decisions," Ms Coule said.

"This is why it has been so important to have had the support of so many volunteers throughout this work, and why it's so important for islanders to get involved again as we head into our final year."

She said extra information from the AI analysis had provided a "better understanding" of how bats used the island.

"Which, in turn, will help us better understand how we can protect these important populations," she said.

The States said it was the final year volunteers could get involved in the four-year partnership project which began in 2021.