AI machine learning powers wildlife conservation

What if your vacation photos could help save endangered animals?

The Imageomics Institute is using the vast supply of worldwide images and videos to train machine learning tools to provide insight into animal traits toward biodiversity and conservation efforts.

"Imageomics" in conservation explained

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Citizen Scientists

Using a new field of science, named Imageomics, your photos could be used to study wildlife.

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Science in action

Led by Ohio State, biologists and computer scientists are developing machine learning tools to quickly analyze databases of photos to gain critical insight into animal traits, aiding in conservation efforts.

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For example…

Images of a whale’s fluke, a unique identifying characteristic like a human fingerprint, can be used to map migration patterns.

Meet the inventor of the field

Tanya Berger-Wolf is a computational ecologist who saw an opportunity to combine wildlife biology, computer science and social science together—and create a new field. She is director of the Imageomics Institute at Ohio State.

See full bio

A science community that includes YOU

Imageomics is “not just an opportunity to advance science, but also to engage people in science,” says Berger-Wolf. See how she explains this new field.