Skip to main content
Dryad

Using mobile device built-in microphones to monitor bats: A new opportunity for large-scale participatory science initiatives

Gili, Fabrizio1

Published Mar 13, 2024 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.2280gb5z4

Data files

Mar 13, 2024 version files 3.91 GB

Abstract

Here we present audio data collected in the study titled "Using mobile device built-in microphones to monitor bats: a new opportunity for large-scale participatory science initiatives", now accepted for publication in Biodiversity and Conservation (DOI: 10.1007/s10531-024-02818-9).

Citizen science has become a crucial tool in biodiversity monitoring, often facilitated by the diffusion of mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. High costs of professional equipment often limit large-scale monitoring, particularly in bat monitoring programmes based on acoustic surveys. Here we present the potential of using mobile devices for bat monitoring, allowing for large-scale, volunteer-based monitoring programmes. We initially compared mobile devices’ performance with a professional bat detector for recording low-frequency bat calls. We then conducted a citizen science pilot study to test the method’s feasibility in a real-world setting, recording echolocation and social calls of nine European bat species. We found high similarity in spectrogram quality between calls recorded by mobile devices and professional bat detectors. However, differences in sound quality and effectiveness among mobile device brands and models were found. The citizen science pilot study tested 35 mobile device models, all of which effectively recorded bats. This study suggests that mobile devices could be an accessible, no-cost tool for large-scale bat monitoring. Incorporating mobile devices into existing monitoring networks or creating new dedicated programmes could not only enhance data collection, but also boost public knowledge and awareness about bats, ultimately promoting informed decision-making and better conservation strategies.

To facilitate a comprehensive evaluation of the acoustic data quality achievable through the described method, we are providing access to all bat recordings collected via mobile devices during the study. These have been compiled into the compressed file named "mobile_device_recs.zip".

For those seeking a quicker review, we recommend downloading the "Appendix_S6_recs.zip" file, which contains selected examples of echolocation or social calls from the nine bat species recorded during our research. Spectrograms of these example recordings are displayed in Appendix S6 of the published study.