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Martin O, Nguyen C, Sarfati R, Chowdhury M, Iuzzolino ML, Nguyen DMT, Layer RM, Peleg O. Embracing firefly flash pattern variability with data-driven species classification. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3432. [PMID: 38341450 PMCID: PMC10858911 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53671-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Many nocturnally active fireflies use precisely timed bioluminescent patterns to identify mates, making them especially vulnerable to light pollution. As urbanization continues to brighten the night sky, firefly populations are under constant stress, and close to half of the species are now threatened. Ensuring the survival of firefly biodiversity depends on a large-scale conservation effort to monitor and protect thousands of populations. While species can be identified by their flash patterns, current methods require expert measurement and manual classification and are infeasible given the number and geographic distribution of fireflies. Here we present the application of a recurrent neural network (RNN) for accurate automated firefly flash pattern classification. Using recordings from commodity cameras, we can extract flash trajectories of individuals within a swarm and classify their species with an accuracy of approximately seventy percent. In addition to its potential in population monitoring, automated classification provides the means to study firefly behavior at the population level. We employ the classifier to measure and characterize the variability within and between swarms, unlocking a new dimension of their behavior. Our method is open source, and deployment in community science applications could revolutionize our ability to monitor and understand firefly populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Owen Martin
- Department of Computer Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Chantal Nguyen
- BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Raphael Sarfati
- BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Murad Chowdhury
- Department of Computer Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Michael L Iuzzolino
- Department of Computer Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Dieu My T Nguyen
- Department of Computer Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Ryan M Layer
- Department of Computer Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA.
- BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA.
| | - Orit Peleg
- Department of Computer Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA.
- BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA.
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, USA.
- Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.
- Department of Applied Math, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.
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