We’re the Simmons Lab at the University of Exeter. We use data science, AI and technology to help understand and reverse biodiversity loss.

Computers and technology have huge potential to help us understand and protect the natural world. Methods, like AI, are becoming increasingly accessible, and ecological data are becoming larger and more diverse. However, we’re only just beginning to harness the potential offered by these advances. That’s why, in the Simmons Lab, we solve interesting problems at the interface of data science, AI, technology, ecology and conservation. While all our work makes some use of computational methods, we also work closely with field ecologists and sometimes do our own fieldwork to collect data.

Below are some projects we’re working on at the moment; view our research page to find out more:

  • Using deep learning to automate the identification of rare species in camera trap images

  • Using large datasets of species population trends to understand global biodiversity change

  • Assessing the potential for other effective area-based conservation measures to support marine biodiversity

  • Combining camera traps and bioacoustics to automatically monitor lion populations in Africa

  • Using global datasets of species interaction networks to predict the impacts of invasive species on ecological communities

  • Using AI to forecast the productivity of the Amazon from climate models