"The scientist traipses to a pond wearing rubber boots but he doesn't enter the water. Instead, Brad Hollingsworth squats next to its swampy edge and retrieves a recording device the size of a deck of cards. He then opens it up and removes a tiny memory card containing 18 hours of sound. Back at his office at the San Diego Natural History Museum, the herpetologist an expert in reptiles and amphibians uses artificial intelligence to analyze the data on the card."
"Within three minutes, he knows a host of animals visit the pond where native red-legged frogs were reintroduced after largely disappearing in Southern California. There were owl hoots, woodpecker pecks, coyote howls and tree frog ribbits. But no croaking from the invasive bullfrog, which has decimated the native red-legged frog population over the past century. It was another good day in his efforts to increase the population of the red-legged frog and restore an ecosystem spanning the U.S.-Mexico border. The efforts come as the Trump administration builds more walls along the border, raising concerns about the impact on wildlife."
A herpetologist uses small audio recorders at pond edges and artificial intelligence to analyze sound files, quickly identifying birds, mammals and amphibians visiting restoration ponds. Recordings in reintroduced red-legged frog habitat detected owl hoots, woodpecker pecks, coyote howls and tree frog calls, but no invasive bullfrog croaks. The invasive bullfrog historically contributed to red-legged frog declines after being introduced for food. Conservation efforts aim to increase red-legged frog numbers and restore ecosystems spanning California and Baja California. Border barrier construction raises concerns about additional impacts on wildlife and cross-border restoration work. Monitoring technology allows rapid assessment of restoration success and invasive species presence.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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