Index

1.1 About this Guide

WildTrax The Definitive Guide was developed between the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (ABMI), the Bioacoustic Unit (BU), and the Bayne Lab at the University of Alberta.

 

The ABMI is an incorporated, arm’s length, not-for-profit scientific organization, and has been providing scientifically credible tools, information products and services on Alberta’s biodiversity and human footprint to provincial government, industry, environmental decision-makers, and all Albertans since 2003. The ABMI has since become a global leader in the application and development of biodiversity monitoring.

 

The BU is a consortium of students, researchers and collaborators that lead best practices for using acoustic technology in Canada and participate in the application of wildlife acoustic data and technology to meet environmental management and research needs. The team is actively engaged in research to enhance methodologies and tools to better understand the natural environment through acoustics. Clients and collaborators regularly partner with the BU to assist with their wildlife monitoring needs; the BU’s 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. The BU has been continually improving acoustic data organization and transcription methodologies since 2012.

 

The Bayne Lab’s research centers on understanding the cumulative ecological impacts of human activities on biodiversity. They use a combination of behavioral, population, and community ecology in combination with cutting edge techniques in wildlife monitoring, survey design, geographic information systems, and habitat modeling. Their goal is to provide recommendations on how biodiversity reacts to various types of human and natural disturbance with the goal of achieving better conservation outcomes. This includes understanding interactions between native and invasive species, interactions between climate change and land-use, and economic – ecological trade-off assessment. While many in the lab work on birds, there is no particular taxonomic bias to their research. They work closely with government, industry, and conservation organizations to facilitate better conservation decision making.

 

Each sensor in WildTrax is supported by an outstanding team of researchers and collaborators that have paved the way for a multi-sensor experience in WildTrax.

 

 

You can visit out our full list of sponsors and partners in the About section of the site.