Canada AI project reversing mass insect extinction
Better data should make it possible to create ‘decision-making tools for governments and environmentalists’
The extent and nature of insect losses have been hard to quantify
Sebastien ST-JEAN / AFP
Daily TribuneBetter data should make it possible to create ‘decision-making tools for governments and environmentalists’
The extent and nature of insect losses have been hard to quantify
Sebastien ST-JEAN / AFP
MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — Researchers in Canada are using artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor the ongoing mass extinction of insects, hoping to collect data that can help reverse species collapse and avert catastrophe for the planet.
For the Montreal-based project, called Antenna, some of the data collection is happening inside the insectarium under a large transparent dome, where thousands of butterflies, ants and praying mantises are being studied.
Solar-powered camera traps have also been installed in several regions, from the Canadian far north to Panamanian rainforests, snapping photos every 10 seconds of insects attracted to ultraviolet lights.
Maxim Larrivee, director of the Montreal Insectarium, said innovations like high-resolution cameras, low-cost sensors and AI models to process data could double the amount of biodiversity information collected over the last 150 years in two to five years.
“Even for us, it sounds like science fiction,” he said, a grin stretched across his face. Scientists have warned the world is facing its biggest mass extinction event since the dinosaur age.
The drivers of insect species collapse are well understood -- including climate change, habitat loss and pesticides -- but the extent and nature of insect losses have been hard to quantify.