What innovations do you predict will revolutionize bioacoustics in the next two decades? 

We invite you to contribute by submitting 2-5 emerging, technology-related advancement opportunities that you believe could shift the trajectory of bioacoustics in the next 10-20 years. We are looking for both immediate challenges that could be largely addressed with an injection of resources and visionary ideas that require long-term investment in groundbreaking research.

Contributions can be made via this Google Form until September 29. Please ensure each submission includes a title and a brief 1-2 sentence description with any relevant links to sources. 

Once topic ideas are collected, they will undergo a confidential review by our project team and advisory group. Selected topics will be included for consideration by a group of selected experts in the horizon scan prioritization process.

Project Background

Bioacoustics has immense potential to transform conservation. Passive acoustic monitoring offers a powerful tool for monitoring biodiversity, understanding ecosystem health, and detecting human impacts across vast and remote areas. As the field grows, significant challenges must be addressed to translate research into effective conservation action.

Building on our previous horizon scan on Movement Ecology (currently in preparation for publication), this project will identify emerging technologies, innovative methodologies, and scientific advancements that can shape the next two decades of bioacoustics. Findings will be submitted for peer-reviewed publication.

Our central question is: How can we most effectively leverage technological advancements to transform bioacoustics research into tangible conservation and scientific impact?

This project is being run in collaboration with Colorado State University and with support from the Moore Foundation. To guide this endeavor, we have also assembled a distinguished advisory board comprised of leading experts in the field:

• Dr. Laurel Symes: K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, USA
• Dr. Justin Kitzes: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, USA
• Dr. Renata Sousa-Lima: Laboratory of Bioacoustics, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
• Dr. Erin Bayne: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Canada
• Dr. Dan Mennill: Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Canada
• Dr. Jennifer Solomon: Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, USA

Learn more about our upcoming Meetups on Bioacoustics

Visit our “Listen to the Future” season overview to discover more about the WILDLABS Virtual Meetup Series and upcoming events.

Photo credit: Veronique Sarano