The Biophone: Developing and Testing a Bioacoustic Recorder for Science and Citizen Science

TODD-JONES, DAVID

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The Biophone: Developing and Testing a Bioacoustic Recorder for Science and Citizen Science / DAVID TODD-JONES

Swansea University Author: DAVID TODD-JONES

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Abstract

Bioacoustic Recorders (BARs) are specialised audio sensors for monitoring wildlife that have gained signiﬁcant traction in academia to track species and understand biodiversity. Advancements in the underlying hardware have been key drivers for this growing popularity. However, the cost, power constr...

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Published:	Swansea 2025
Institution:	Swansea University
Degree level:	Master of Research
Degree name:	MSc by Research
Supervisor:	Jennings, M. R., Lewis, R. P., and Guy, O. J.
URI:	https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71087

first_indexed	2025-12-04T14:53:44Z
last_indexed	2025-12-05T18:13:31Z
id	cronfa71087
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spelling	2025-12-04T14:55:40.1680360 v2 71087 2025-12-04 The Biophone: Developing and Testing a Bioacoustic Recorder for Science and Citizen Science ae257e7efb6d2a9199565aa8e0105e01 DAVID TODD-JONES DAVID TODD-JONES true false 2025-12-04 Bioacoustic Recorders (BARs) are specialised audio sensors for monitoring wildlife that have gained signiﬁcant traction in academia to track species and understand biodiversity. Advancements in the underlying hardware have been key drivers for this growing popularity. However, the cost, power constraints and expertise required have limited the scale of their use. This thesis documents the research, development and testing of a new BAR device, the “Biophone”, designed for both academic researchers and non-expert citizen scientists. The context of use and underlying hard-ware for BAR devices are explored in a literature review. The investigated hardware includes: Microcontroller Units (MCUs), Single Board Computers (SBCs), power electronics, microphones, signal processing and ﬂash storage. This project involved building and testing two versions of the device: v1.0, with a 10 A h Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery, and v1.1, with a 30 A h Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery, as well as several other improvements to the design. For laboratory-based tests, an intermediary current-sense circuit was built, and waveforms were taken from oscilloscope and voltage-logger readings, with key observed waveforms described. In the lab, the Biophones had an eﬀective deployment time of 3.91 days and 24.73 days for v1.0 and v1.1 respectively, when recording at the maximum Root Mean Square (RMS) power consumption of 93.99 mA, or 310.17 mW. In the ﬁeld, a deployment time of 23 days for v1.0 was observed, recording with a bespoke schedule for the internal boards.Analysis of this deployment data identiﬁed 26 species of birds using the BirdNET algorithm. Furthermore, the computed acoustic indices revealed a distinct dawn chorus across all sites, along with a discernible variation in acoustic diversity among them. The closing chapters of this thesis discuss the key takeaways, the contribution and limitations of the study and the necessary further tests and development of this device. E-Thesis Swansea Bioacoustic, Bioacoustic Recorder (BAR), Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM), Ecoacoustic, Soundscape, Spectrogram, Autonomous Recording Unit (ARU), Field Recorder, Citizen Science, Conservation Technology, Wildlife, Monitoring, Sound Recording, Single Board Computer (SBC), AudioMoth, Microphone, Power Consumption. 6 11 2025 2025-11-06 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Jennings, M. R., Lewis, R. P., and Guy, O. J. Master of Research MSc by Research 2025-12-04T14:55:40.1680360 2025-12-04T14:49:38.0746425 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Aerospace, Civil, Electrical, General and Mechanical Engineering - Electronic and Electrical Engineering DAVID TODD-JONES 1 71087__35767__34b89053087143db86c8389ca9a840d7.pdf 2025_Todd_Jones_D.final.71087.pdf 2025-12-04T14:53:16.7753604 Output 27408352 application/pdf E-Thesis – open access true Copyright: the author, David Todd-Jones, 2025. Distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY 4.0). true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title	The Biophone: Developing and Testing a Bioacoustic Recorder for Science and Citizen Science
spellingShingle	The Biophone: Developing and Testing a Bioacoustic Recorder for Science and Citizen Science DAVID TODD-JONES
title_short	The Biophone: Developing and Testing a Bioacoustic Recorder for Science and Citizen Science
title_full	The Biophone: Developing and Testing a Bioacoustic Recorder for Science and Citizen Science
title_fullStr	The Biophone: Developing and Testing a Bioacoustic Recorder for Science and Citizen Science
title_full_unstemmed	The Biophone: Developing and Testing a Bioacoustic Recorder for Science and Citizen Science
title_sort	The Biophone: Developing and Testing a Bioacoustic Recorder for Science and Citizen Science
author_id_str_mv	ae257e7efb6d2a9199565aa8e0105e01
author_id_fullname_str_mv	ae257e7efb6d2a9199565aa8e0105e01_***_DAVID TODD-JONES
author	DAVID TODD-JONES
author2	DAVID TODD-JONES
format	E-Thesis
publishDate	2025
institution	Swansea University
college_str	Faculty of Science and Engineering
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hierarchy_top_title	Faculty of Science and Engineering
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department_str	School of Aerospace, Civil, Electrical, General and Mechanical Engineering - Electronic and Electrical Engineering{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Aerospace, Civil, Electrical, General and Mechanical Engineering - Electronic and Electrical Engineering
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description	Bioacoustic Recorders (BARs) are specialised audio sensors for monitoring wildlife that have gained signiﬁcant traction in academia to track species and understand biodiversity. Advancements in the underlying hardware have been key drivers for this growing popularity. However, the cost, power constraints and expertise required have limited the scale of their use. This thesis documents the research, development and testing of a new BAR device, the “Biophone”, designed for both academic researchers and non-expert citizen scientists. The context of use and underlying hard-ware for BAR devices are explored in a literature review. The investigated hardware includes: Microcontroller Units (MCUs), Single Board Computers (SBCs), power electronics, microphones, signal processing and ﬂash storage. This project involved building and testing two versions of the device: v1.0, with a 10 A h Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery, and v1.1, with a 30 A h Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery, as well as several other improvements to the design. For laboratory-based tests, an intermediary current-sense circuit was built, and waveforms were taken from oscilloscope and voltage-logger readings, with key observed waveforms described. In the lab, the Biophones had an eﬀective deployment time of 3.91 days and 24.73 days for v1.0 and v1.1 respectively, when recording at the maximum Root Mean Square (RMS) power consumption of 93.99 mA, or 310.17 mW. In the ﬁeld, a deployment time of 23 days for v1.0 was observed, recording with a bespoke schedule for the internal boards.Analysis of this deployment data identiﬁed 26 species of birds using the BirdNET algorithm. Furthermore, the computed acoustic indices revealed a distinct dawn chorus across all sites, along with a discernible variation in acoustic diversity among them. The closing chapters of this thesis discuss the key takeaways, the contribution and limitations of the study and the necessary further tests and development of this device.
published_date	2025-11-06T05:56:57Z
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score	11.100739

The Biophone: Developing and Testing a Bioacoustic Recorder for Science and Citizen Science / DAVID TODD-JONES

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