Information Technology and Bird Conservation
accelerated by the high processing power found within our common computers. Furthermore, graphical and interactive digital representation of data makes it more readable to the human mind and facilitates the process of data analysis.
With the use of sophisticated artificial intelligence algorithms, a computer can nowadays be also ‘taught’ how to identify a species from data. LIFE Arcipelagu Garnija project from BirdLife Malta is looking into the possibility of employing such techniques to estimate the breeding population size of a particular bird seabird species; the Yelkouan Shearwater. Malta holds circa 10% of the entire global population of this endangered species but calculating the actual number of pairs is very difficult since they only visit the colonies at night. Luckily these birds are very vocal during the breeding season. BirdLife Malta are placing microphones inside caves where these birds breed and are planning to detect the frequency of bird calls per cave through automatic sound recognition. They will then use this data to calculate the number of pairs in unknown caves in comparison with known caves and eventually estimate the population of some colonies. to the target audience. Social Media platforms are the perfect examples of online communities where lay-people can interact with experts and exchange observations and knowledge. The internet has also provided different interactive ways of how nature can be delivered to people’s homes remotely. Webcams are one example. They are often installed close to birds’ nests and allow people to enjoy the wonder of nesting birds, observing the different behaviour and habits of breeding birds from the comfort of one’s home without disturbing the birds themselves.
Whenever presented with the opportunity, MITA has encouraged the use of IT within nature conservation. One example of this is its relationship with the Majjistral Nature and History Park. MITA has supported the park by not only providing the park with a number of PCs for use by park officials, but also with the production of a virtual nature guide for the park in the form of a mobile application. Exploring also Digital Gamification4, through the creation of a Digital Serious Game, aimed at secondary school students, MITA provided an interactive way for students to learn more about natural ecosystems. MITA encourages NGOs and start-ups to come up with innovative, technological ideas on how to utilize citizen science and crowd-sourcing to collect data and promote nature conservation.
About the author
Nicholas Galea has joined MITA as an Associate Software Developer in August 2015 following the completion of a Bachelor of Science Degree in IT at the University of Malta. In September 2016, he successfully qualified for a Solutions Architect. Nicholas works with the MITA Health Programme Team within the Programme Management Department, primarily focusing on the myHealth project.
Nicholas occupies the position of secretary on BirdLife Malta’s council/board. He is also an active bird ringer and birdwatcher, regularly participating voluntarily in both research and education projects being carried out by the organization. Nicholas Galea, MITA Solutions Architect – Health Programme
Search for food or provisions The collection and analysis of data by people who are not professionally employed to do so The process of temporarily capturing birds and attaching a lightweight ring to their legs with the aim of being able to recognize the bird in the future and hence track its movement The Application of game-design elements and game principles in non-game contexts such as exploring ecosystems