Park-BON Rounds Off Its Trial Phase with National Parks Across Nigeria

| By Adora Onyile

Protected areas are hotspots for biodiversity, filled with the high-frequency calls of bats, the rhythmic pulse of insects, the chorus of birds, and a wealth of other vocal species. Usually, these elusive species are missed in visual surveys. Imagine looking for a bat or bird in a forest. Now imagine listening. That’s exactly what we’re doing now - we are listening.

A couple of months ago, rangers from seven of Nigeria’s National Parks joined us in Abuja for the pre-launch of the Park Biodiversity Observatory Network (Park-BON). Park-BON has rounded off its trial phase. Rangers spent six months monitoring these protected areas using AudioMoths, identifying wildlife activity across the park.

Working strategically, the park rangers conducted reconnaissance of local topography, ensuring the acoustic devices were placed in the most effective locations for monitoring biodiversity.

Park rangers at Okomu National Park deploying an AudioMoth

We provided technical support to the rangers to ensure all data was captured and stored systematically, and it was a great experience learning alongside them.

SMACON’s @Oluchi Agodi(right) training rangers at the Cross River National Park 

Passive Acoustic Monitoring lets us capture data that reveals activity patterns through hours of soundscapes. With this data, we can answer questions such as: When do the bats emerge? Which birds are nesting in this area? How does animal activity in the forest change after a nearby disturbance? 

The goal of this phase is to guide the Network's long-term application across protected areas in the region. Now, we are focused on analyzing the wave of data. 

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