Listening to nature: Naturalis and LIACS join forces Mapping nature involves generating and analysing massive streams of data in all shapes and forms. Consequently, biology and computer science are becoming increasingly intertwined. The appointment of Stowell at the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) strengthens the collaboration between Naturalis and Leiden University. Understanding the lives of animals ‘Here in Leiden, you have large flocks of jackdaws — everyone knows them,’ says computer scientist Dan Stowell. ‘We see them flying, and we hear them making sounds, but we have no clear idea what each bird is actually doing, or how we’re affecting them. We want to understand the lives of animals through their behaviour and communication, and help the world keep a close eye on biodiversity.’ ‘We want to understand the lives of animals through their behaviour and communication.’ Linking computer science to biodiversity research Stowell is one of the pioneers in a growing army of computer scientists applying their talents to biodiversity research. He was already conducting biodiversity research at Naturalis and is combining his expertise in artificial intelligence and animal sounds with the computer science expertise at LIACS. That app on your phone that recognises bird sounds? It works using tricks Stowell helped invent. Similarly, people are working on AI for species recognition in images, or on algorithms that can link a tiny trace of DNA to an animal or plant species at lightning speed. Our new senses However, to keep pace with the current biodiversity crisis, we need to scale things up. Because nature is in a critical state, Naturalis is pushing for a digital leap forward. Large-scale, innovative projects like ARISE, eDentity and ABM are driving this big step. By linking scientific expertise and natural history collections with AI and modern technology, the complete web of