{"id":"https://openalex.org/W7128299907","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2026.103644","title":"Promise and pitfalls: Variable performance of AI-assisted passive acoustic monitoring of birds and frogs using BirdNET and VicFrogNET","display_name":"Promise and pitfalls: Variable performance of AI-assisted passive acoustic monitoring of birds and frogs using BirdNET and VicFrogNET","publication_year":2026,"publication_date":"2026-02-07","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W7128299907","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2026.103644"},"language":"en","primary_location":{"id":"doi:10.1016/j.ecoinf.2026.103644","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2026.103644","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S195809937","display_name":"Ecological Informatics","issn_l":"1574-9541","issn":["1574-9541","1878-0512"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":true,"is_core":true,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/P4310320990","host_organization_name":"Elsevier BV","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/P4310320990"],"host_organization_lineage_names":["Elsevier BV"],"type":"journal"},"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Ecological Informatics","raw_type":"journal-article"},"type":"article","indexed_in":["crossref","doaj"],"open_access":{"is_oa":true,"oa_status":"gold","oa_url":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2026.103644","any_repository_has_fulltext":true},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5125339794","display_name":"Bell Kristian","orcid":null},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I82951845","display_name":"RMIT University","ror":"https://ror.org/04ttjf776","country_code":"AU","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I82951845"]}],"countries":["AU"],"is_corresponding":true,"raw_author_name":"Kristian Bell","raw_affiliation_strings":["Centre for Nature Positive Solutions, Department of Biology, School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia"],"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Centre for Nature Positive Solutions, Department of Biology, School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I82951845"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5021812204","display_name":"Edwards Blake","orcid":null},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I4210109994","display_name":"Edge Technologies (United States)","ror":"https://ror.org/01rybb297","country_code":"US","type":"company","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I4210109994"]}],"countries":["US"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Blake Edwards","raw_affiliation_strings":["Leading Edge Engineering Solutions Pty. Ltd. (LEES), Yackandandah, VIC 3749, Australia"],"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Leading Edge Engineering Solutions Pty. Ltd. (LEES), Yackandandah, VIC 3749, Australia","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4210109994"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":null,"display_name":"Thieu L. Phan","orcid":null},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I82951845","display_name":"RMIT University","ror":"https://ror.org/04ttjf776","country_code":"AU","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I82951845"]}],"countries":["AU"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Thieu L. Phan","raw_affiliation_strings":["Centre for Nature Positive Solutions, Department of Biology, School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia"],"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Centre for Nature Positive Solutions, Department of Biology, School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I82951845"]}]},{"author_position":"last","author":{"id":null,"display_name":"Martino E. Malerba","orcid":null},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I82951845","display_name":"RMIT University","ror":"https://ror.org/04ttjf776","country_code":"AU","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I82951845"]}],"countries":["AU"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Martino E. Malerba","raw_affiliation_strings":["Centre for Nature Positive Solutions, Department of Biology, School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia"],"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Centre for Nature Positive Solutions, Department of Biology, School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I82951845"]}]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":2,"institutions_distinct_count":4,"corresponding_author_ids":["https://openalex.org/A5125339794"],"corresponding_institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I82951845"],"apc_list":{"value":2510,"currency":"USD","value_usd":2510},"apc_paid":{"value":2510,"currency":"USD","value_usd":2510},"fwci":11.7679,"has_fulltext":false,"cited_by_count":1,"citation_normalized_percentile":{"value":0.96048632,"is_in_top_1_percent":false,"is_in_top_10_percent":true},"cited_by_percentile_year":{"min":96,"max":98},"biblio":{"volume":"94","issue":null,"first_page":"103644","last_page":"103644"},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11665","display_name":"Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior","score":0.996999979019165,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1309","display_name":"Developmental Biology"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/13","display_name":"Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/1","display_name":"Life Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11665","display_name":"Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior","score":0.996999979019165,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1309","display_name":"Developmental Biology"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/13","display_name":"Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/1","display_name":"Life Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10089","display_name":"Avian ecology and behavior","score":0.00019999999494757503,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/2303","display_name":"Ecology"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/23","display_name":"Environmental Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T12644","display_name":"Wildlife-Road Interactions and Conservation","score":0.00019999999494757503,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/2303","display_name":"Ecology"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/23","display_name":"Environmental Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/wildlife","display_name":"Wildlife","score":0.43140000104904175},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/bioacoustics","display_name":"Bioacoustics","score":0.4307999908924103},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/classifier","display_name":"Classifier (UML)","score":0.4250999987125397},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/wetland","display_name":"Wetland","score":0.40149998664855957},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/taxon","display_name":"Taxon","score":0.3416000008583069},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/scalability","display_name":"Scalability","score":0.3312000036239624}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.536899983882904},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C29376679","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q241741","display_name":"Wildlife","level":2,"score":0.43140000104904175},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C34951282","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q864191","display_name":"Bioacoustics","level":2,"score":0.4307999908924103},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C95623464","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1096149","display_name":"Classifier (UML)","level":2,"score":0.4250999987125397},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C67715294","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q170321","display_name":"Wetland","level":2,"score":0.40149998664855957},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C18903297","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7150","display_name":"Ecology","level":1,"score":0.3779999911785126},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C119857082","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2539","display_name":"Machine learning","level":1,"score":0.35089999437332153},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C71640776","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16521","display_name":"Taxon","level":2,"score":0.3416000008583069},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C48044578","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q727490","display_name":"Scalability","level":2,"score":0.3312000036239624},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C56666940","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q788790","display_name":"Documentation","level":2,"score":0.32409998774528503},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C154945302","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11660","display_name":"Artificial intelligence","level":1,"score":0.3133000135421753},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C39432304","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q188847","display_name":"Environmental science","level":0,"score":0.3068999946117401},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2780148112","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1432581","display_name":"Proxy (statistics)","level":2,"score":0.288100004196167},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C50644808","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q192776","display_name":"Artificial neural network","level":2,"score":0.2858999967575073},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C36528806","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q796147","display_name":"Mark and recapture","level":3,"score":0.2630000114440918},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C169258074","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q245748","display_name":"Random forest","level":2,"score":0.2612000107765198},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C24756922","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1757694","display_name":"Data quality","level":3,"score":0.2535000145435333}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":2,"locations":[{"id":"doi:10.1016/j.ecoinf.2026.103644","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2026.103644","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S195809937","display_name":"Ecological Informatics","issn_l":"1574-9541","issn":["1574-9541","1878-0512"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":true,"is_core":true,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/P4310320990","host_organization_name":"Elsevier BV","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/P4310320990"],"host_organization_lineage_names":["Elsevier BV"],"type":"journal"},"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Ecological Informatics","raw_type":"journal-article"},{"id":"pmh:oai:doaj.org/article:91b18e5b3f0b40df88df610bc89ce790","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doaj.org/article/91b18e5b3f0b40df88df610bc89ce790","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S112646816","display_name":"SHILAP Revista de lepidopterolog\u00eda","issn_l":"0300-5267","issn":["0300-5267","2340-4078"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":true,"is_core":false,"host_organization":null,"host_organization_name":null,"host_organization_lineage":[],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"journal"},"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":"submittedVersion","is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":"Ecological Informatics, Vol 94, Iss , Pp 103644- (2026)","raw_type":"article"}],"best_oa_location":{"id":"doi:10.1016/j.ecoinf.2026.103644","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2026.103644","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S195809937","display_name":"Ecological Informatics","issn_l":"1574-9541","issn":["1574-9541","1878-0512"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":true,"is_core":true,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/P4310320990","host_organization_name":"Elsevier BV","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/P4310320990"],"host_organization_lineage_names":["Elsevier BV"],"type":"journal"},"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Ecological Informatics","raw_type":"journal-article"},"sustainable_development_goals":[{"score":0.623205304145813,"display_name":"Life in Land","id":"https://metadata.un.org/sdg/15"}],"awards":[],"funders":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/F4320323934","display_name":"BHP Billiton","ror":"https://ror.org/04674kj97"},{"id":"https://openalex.org/F4320334704","display_name":"Australian Research Council","ror":"https://ror.org/05mmh0f86"}],"has_content":{"pdf":false,"grobid_xml":false},"content_urls":null,"referenced_works_count":46,"referenced_works":["https://openalex.org/W1596427424","https://openalex.org/W1856536504","https://openalex.org/W2020300735","https://openalex.org/W2042944079","https://openalex.org/W2072814159","https://openalex.org/W2077917216","https://openalex.org/W2121958618","https://openalex.org/W2128501781","https://openalex.org/W2139117306","https://openalex.org/W2772345051","https://openalex.org/W2885754465","https://openalex.org/W2887273813","https://openalex.org/W2894555894","https://openalex.org/W2900884109","https://openalex.org/W2924886534","https://openalex.org/W2981733351","https://openalex.org/W3021821769","https://openalex.org/W3091922517","https://openalex.org/W3136705093","https://openalex.org/W3167732400","https://openalex.org/W3173499198","https://openalex.org/W3212568946","https://openalex.org/W4206487360","https://openalex.org/W4224278475","https://openalex.org/W4293215109","https://openalex.org/W4322630137","https://openalex.org/W4366988783","https://openalex.org/W4386505449","https://openalex.org/W4386710124","https://openalex.org/W4388916707","https://openalex.org/W4391387453","https://openalex.org/W4391820590","https://openalex.org/W4400248273","https://openalex.org/W4401022224","https://openalex.org/W4401786794","https://openalex.org/W4402528042","https://openalex.org/W4404083041","https://openalex.org/W4405533061","https://openalex.org/W4405920494","https://openalex.org/W4406479935","https://openalex.org/W4408477233","https://openalex.org/W4410094629","https://openalex.org/W4410762502","https://openalex.org/W4411204179","https://openalex.org/W4411257572","https://openalex.org/W4414154405"],"related_works":[],"abstract_inverted_index":{"Effective":[0],"conservation":[1],"relies":[2],"on":[3,6,195],"accurate":[4],"data":[5,114,211,324],"species":[7,95,164,267],"distributions":[8],"and":[9,20,66,124,131,145,187,242,251,269,292,317,327],"their":[10],"change":[11],"over":[12],"time.":[13],"Recent":[14],"advances":[15],"in":[16,61,223],"low-cost":[17],"acoustic":[18,113],"sensors":[19],"artificial":[21],"intelligence":[22],"(AI)":[23],"have":[24],"transformed":[25],"ecoacoustics":[26],"into":[27],"a":[28,159,196],"scalable":[29],"tool":[30],"for":[31,71,92,219,233,282,303],"automated,":[32],"large-scale":[33],"wildlife":[34],"monitoring.":[35],"However,":[36],"two":[37],"of":[38,57,110,230,258,290],"the":[39,86,132,228],"major":[40],"limitations":[41],"current":[42],"AI":[43,279],"models":[44,70,232],"face":[45],"are:":[46],"(1)":[47],"tools":[48,254],"like":[49],"BirdNET":[50,134],"are":[51,77],"widely":[52],"used":[53,105],"despite":[54,192],"limited":[55],"understanding":[56],"what":[58],"drives":[59],"variation":[60],"detection":[62],"accuracy":[63],"across":[64,204,315],"species;":[65],"(2)":[67],"equivalent":[68],"open-access":[69,245],"non-avian":[72],"taxa":[73],"such":[74],"as":[75,244],"amphibians":[76],"largely":[78],"absent.":[79],"We":[80,236],"address":[81],"both":[82,129],"gaps":[83],"by":[84,182],"presenting":[85],"first":[87],"open-source,":[88,277],"multi-species":[89,278],"frog":[90,147,239,280,305],"classifier":[91,281,331],"16":[93],"native":[94],"from":[96,116,294],"southeastern":[97],"Australia":[98,283],"(VicFrogNET).":[99,284],"To":[100],"evaluate":[101],"its":[102],"performance,":[103],"we":[104],"more":[106,215],"than":[107,217],"1.5":[108],"TB":[109],"real-world":[111,295],"passive":[112],"collected":[115],"60":[117],"freshwater":[118],"wetlands":[119],"spanning":[120],"approximately":[121],"300":[122],"km":[123],"analysed":[125],"these":[126],"recordings":[127],"with":[128,151,163,170,319],"VicFrogNET":[130,298],"default":[133],"bird":[135,141],"classifier.":[136],"This":[137,207],"dataset":[138],"contained":[139],"820,740":[140],"detections":[142,148,153,268,289],"(172":[143],"species)":[144],"2419":[146],"(15":[149],"species),":[150],">17,000":[152,286],"manually":[154,287],"validated.":[155],"Both":[156],"classifiers":[157],"exhibited":[158],"bimodal":[160],"performance":[161,222],"pattern,":[162],"tending":[165],"to":[166,247,264],"be":[167,214],"detected":[168],"either":[169],"very":[171,175,310,313],"high":[172,301,311],"(>90%)":[173],"or":[174,312],"low":[176,201,314],"(<25%)":[177],"precision.":[178],"Misclassification":[179],"was":[180,309],"influenced":[181],"call":[183,328],"similarity,":[184],"background":[185],"noise,":[186],"vocal":[188],"complexity.":[189],"Notably,":[190],"VicFrogNET,":[191],"being":[193],"trained":[194],"modest":[197],"dataset,":[198,241],"produced":[199],"consistently":[200],"false-positive":[202],"rates":[203],"most":[205,304],"species.":[206,306],"suggests":[208],"that":[209],"training":[210],"quality":[212],"may":[213],"important":[216],"quantity":[218],"achieving":[220],"reliable":[221],"targeted":[224],"regional":[225],"classifiers,":[226],"demonstrating":[227],"potential":[229],"data-efficient":[231],"local":[234],"applications.":[235],"release":[237],"our":[238],"classifier,":[240],"documentation":[243],"resources":[246],"promote":[248],"transparency,":[249],"reproducibility,":[250],"uptake.":[252],"These":[253],"enable":[255],"rapid":[256],"screening":[257],"large":[259],"audio":[260],"volumes,":[261],"allowing":[262],"users":[263],"prioritise":[265],"target":[266],"accelerate":[270],"biodiversity":[271],"assessments":[272],"at":[273],"scale.":[274],"\u2022":[275,285,297,307,322],"First":[276],"validated":[288],"birds":[291,316],"frogs":[293],"data.":[296],"showed":[299],"extremely":[300],"precision":[302],"Precision":[308],"frogs,":[318],"few":[320],"intermediates.":[321],"Training":[323],"quality,":[325],"noise":[326],"characteristics":[329],"affect":[330],"performance.":[332]},"counts_by_year":[{"year":2026,"cited_by_count":1}],"updated_date":"2026-04-21T08:09:41.155169","created_date":"2026-02-04T00:00:00"}
