Institut für Pflanzenschutz in Ackerbau und Grünland
The BioIntAkt project aims to develop and practically validate a system solution for the acoustic monitoring of entomofauna. Insects emit characteristic sounds in different frequency bands and at different time intervals, which means that the detection of existing species on the basis of acoustic signals (‘ecoacoustics’) has proven to be possible and practicable. In addition to the technical development of an overall system for acoustic biodiversity monitoring, this is to be technically validated in the laboratory and in practice with the involvement of experts, and finally evaluated for its benefits in dialogue with decision-makers.This sub-project deals with the creation of a reference data set with acoustic signatures of indicator species to be defined for training the AI. In the first phase of the project, a measuring station was set up using highly sensitive microphones to record individual species while excluding background noise. In addition, experiments will be carried out on the potential of acoustic sensors for recording insect biodiversity in order to recognise possibilities but also limitations with regard to species differentiation, the interactions between the size of the insect and technical range (distance sensor/insect), as well as the determination of abundance (quantification of the insects recorded). In the second half of the project, the sensor system developed in the project consortium and a citizen science app will be validated in the field. At the same time, the robustness of the sensor system will be tested under field conditions. Comparisons with established monitoring methods will be carried out for validation. These will take place in oilseed rape fields and focus on the pests and beneficial insects that occur there. It will be investigated whether acoustic sensors can be used to detect or even improve conventional pest thresholds.
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
