Who we are
Listening to nature at scale.
The Listening Lab is a multidisciplinary research group developing computational bioacoustic tools for conservation. We build the methods and infrastructure needed to monitor New Zealand's biodiversity through sound.
By combining passive recording technology with automated analysis, we make it possible to track wildlife populations at a scale that was previously out of reach.
Our aims
National-scale monitoring
Deploying passive acoustic recorder networks across Aotearoa New Zealand's forests, wetlands, and coastlines to track biodiversity change over time.
Computational bioacoustic tools
Building open-source machine learning models and signal-processing pipelines that automate species identification from large audio archives.
Ecology & data science
Combining ecology with modern data science to turn terabytes of field recordings into meaningful biodiversity metrics.
Publications & Projects
Our Research.
We build computational bioacoustic tools and machine learning models to monitor ecosystems at scale. Explore our open-source tools, methodologies, and interactive soundscapes.
The people
Core team.
People we work with
Dr Tadeu Siqueira
Visiting Scholar, Univ. of Canterbury
Metacommunity Ecology, Freshwater Biodiversity
Prof Jim Briskie
Professor, Biological Sciences
Avian Reproductive Behaviour, Conservation
A/Prof Andrew Bainbridge-Smith
Assoc. Professor, CSSE
Retinal Imaging, Digital Logical Circuits
Prof Richard Green
Professor, CSSE
Computer Vision, AI, Robotics
Groups we work with
Predator Free 2050
National Conservation Mission
Eradicating introduced predators by 2050
Department of Conservation
Te Papa Atawhai
New Zealand natural and historical heritage
Manaaki Whenua
Landcare Research
Land, water, and biodiversity science
The sounds of nature, and the absence of it, are a powerful lens through which to monitor biodiversity.
”Dr Ben McEwen
Researcher / Co-lead of the Listening Lab