Humbug II: New research project starts
Enabling large-scale acoustic monitoring for invasive insect species
PI: Dr Yunpeng Li, Kings College London.
Collaborators: University of Oxford (Biology and Engineering)
As part of the "Innovation in Environmental Monitoring" research programme funded by the funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the HUMBUG II research project has just started.
This project aims to develop new sensing systems for monitoring UK habitats with a focus on detecting invasive insect species such as the Asian hornet. These species have the potential to outcompete or predate native species and bring disease. As mobile devices increasingly support biodiversity monitoring, acoustic detection and identification of insects opens up a new avenue to expand the coverage of biodiversity monitoring in the UK. Such technology is ideally suited for surveillance of invasive species, where the species density is initially low, meaning surveillance effort can be costly and uncertain but still has to be balanced against the potential economic cost of successful invasion.
