Benjamin Cretois

Trondheim, Norway.

Languages: 🇫🇷 🇬🇧 🇳🇴️

I am a researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research working with artificial intelligence, statistics and biodiversity conservation. Most of my work is hosted on our institutional GitHub NINAnor.

My work focus on developing and using deep learning algorithms for biodiversity conservation. I am particularly interested in using AI in bioacoustic (e.g. detection and classification of audio events) but also using AI for image processing (e.g. detection and classification of animals). I code mostly in Python but I do love R for data analysis and for making fancy plots (ggplot2 is the best).

I am also very found of grappling sports and in particular wrestling and brazilian jiu jitsu and when not at work I am usually on the mat trying some fancy takedowns or some techniques I saw on instagram 🤼‍♂️

I am always open for new collaborations so don’t hesitate to send me a mail.

News

Nov 1, 2023	🎉 Our BIODIVERSA project co-lead by Carolyn Rosten and I “Towards a Transnational Acoustic Biodiversity MOnitoring Network (TABMON)” has been funded! Stay tuned for more info!
Jun 17, 2023	🎉 New pre-print Snowmobile noise alters bird vocalization patterns during winter and pre-breeding season
May 31, 2023	💻 Our results on the Challenge on Detection and Classification of Acoustic Scenes and Events (DCASE 2023) task 5: few shot bioacoustic have been published!
Oct 17, 2022	🎉 Our paper Voice activity detection in eco-acoustic data enables privacy protection and is a proxy for human disturbance has been accepted in Method in Ecology and Evolution
Sep 1, 2021	👨‍🏫 Successfully defended my PhD. The thesis is entitled Transforming the use of citizen science data for biodiversity

Selected Publications

Report

Management relevant applications of acoustic monitoring for Norwegian nature–The Sound of Norway

Sethi, Sarab S, Fossøy, Frode, Cretois, Benjamin, and Rosten, Carolyn M

2021

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Paper

Voice activity detection in eco-acoustic data enables privacy protection and is a proxy for human disturbance

Cretois, Benjamin, Rosten, Carolyn M, and Sethi, Sarab S

Methods in Ecology and Evolution 2022

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Paper

Snowmobile noise alters bird vocalization patterns during winter and pre-breeding season

Cretois, Benjamin, Bick, Ian Avery, Balantic, Cathleen, Gelderblom, Femke, Pavon-Jordan, Diego, Wiel, Julia, Sethi, Sarab S, Betchkal, Davyd, Banet, Ben, and Reinen, Tor Arne

bioRxiv 2023

Abs

Noise pollution poses a significant threat to ecosystems worldwide, disrupting animal communication and causing cascading effects on biodiversity. In this study, we focus on the impact of snowmobile noise on avian vocalizations during the non-breeding winter season, a less-studied area in soundscape ecology. We developed a pipeline relying on deep learning methods to detect snowmobile noise and applied it to a large acoustic monitoring dataset collected in Yellowstone National Park. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of the snowmobile detection model in identifying snowmobile noise and reveal an association between snowmobile passage and changes in avian vocalization patterns. Snowmobile noise led to a decrease in the frequency of bird vocalizations during mornings and evenings, potentially affecting winter and pre-breeding behaviors such as foraging, predator avoidance and successfully finding a mate. However, we observed a recovery in avian vocalizations after detection of snowmobiles during mornings and afternoons, indicating some resilience to sporadic noise events. These findings emphasize the need to consider noise impacts in the non-breeding season and provide valuable insights for natural resource managers to minimize disturbance and protect critical avian habitats. The deep learning approach presented in this study offers an efficient and accurate means of analyzing large-scale acoustic monitoring data and contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the cumulative impacts of multiple stressors on avian communities.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.

News

Selected Publications

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