Andrew Houldcroft

I am a doctoral researcher and conservation scientist with the Cantanhez Chimpanzee Project, working at the intersection between ecology and statistics. I am supervised by Dr Kimberley Hockings, Dr Oscar Rodriguez de Rivera Ortega, and Dr Elena Bersacola, and broadly interested in the application of spatial statistics and conservation technologies (e.g., camera traps, bioacoustics, drones, remote sensing) to improve the monitoring of wildlife populations and inform evidence-based conservation at the human-wildlife interface.

I am currently developing Bayesian state-space spatial models for great ape population monitoring, broadly exploring if the model-based integration (fusion) of detection data from standard nest surveys, camera traps and bioacoustic sensors can improve the precision and spatial prediction of population density and distribution models, particularly in the complex, human-modified landscapes that great apes now depend upon for survival.

Although broadly applicable, this work will specifically focus on the critically endangered western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) as a case study species, and will involve extensive fieldwork in Cantanhez National Park, Guinea-Bissau to deploy bioacoustic sensors and camera traps. In addition to field-based data collection, bioacoustic data processing will require the use of deep-learning and computer vision methods such as the BirdNET classifier algorithm, to process the resultingly massive primate vocalisation dataset.

I am funded by research grants from the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in Environmental Intelligence and Re:wild Primate Action Fund. If you would like to learn more about my research or discuss the possibility of collaboration, please do not hesitate to get in touch via email. I am currently searching for collaborators in the field of deep-learning for bioacoustic data processing.