Slade Allen-Ankins
Projects
0
Publications
18
Awards
0
Biography
I am a Research Fellow focused on monitoring fauna with sound. I apply deep-learning models to large acoustic datasets such as the Australian Acoustic Observatory (A2O) to extract meaningful patterns in animal activity, and develop new recognisers for detecting a range of vocal species including birds, frogs, mammals and insects.
Currently I am working for TERN to synthesize their long-term acoustic datasets into useful baseline calling activity for vocal vertebrate communities across the TERN network.
Teaching
Current JCU Research Students
Using Ecoacoustics to Understand Factors Influencing Amphibian Vocalizations: Climatic Vulnerability and Invasive Species
Doctor of Philosophy (Natural and Physical Sciences)
Automated classifiers for cicada acoustics
Master of Philosophy (Natural and Physical Sciences)
Species Classification using deep learning-Based signal processing techniques in natural soundscapes
Doctor of Philosophy (Information Technology)
Completed JCU Research Students
The value of sound: Passive acoustic monitoring for terrestrial vertebrate biodiversity assessments
Doctor of Philosophy (Natural and Physical Sciences)- 2025
Applying new methods of acoustic analysis to ecological studies of animal chorusing behaviour
Doctor of Philosophy (Natural and Physical Sciences)- 2023
Completed Honours and External Research Students
Climatic and Temporal Influences on Chorusing Behaviours in Burrowing Frogs (genus Cyclorana)
HONOURS
UNDERSTANDING ENVIRONMENTAL DRIVERS OF CALLING AND BREEDING PATTERNS IN BURROWING FROGS
HONOURS
Recommendations for using acoustic recognizers to analyse large acoustic monitoring data sets, and describing patterns of bird calling activity
HONOURS
Output
Environmental influences on chorusing patterns in an Australian tropical savanna frog community
2025
Brodie, Sheryn; Allen-Ankins, Slade; Schwarzkopf, Lin (2025) 'Environmental influences on chorusing patterns in an Australian tropical savanna frog community'. Ecosphere, 16 (1). [DOI]
Napier, Thomas; Ahn, Euijoon; Allen-Ankins, Slade; Schwarzkopf, Lin; Lee, Ickjai (2025) 'LEAVES: An open-source web-based tool for the scalable annotation and visualisation of large-scale ecoacoustic datasets using cluster analysis'. Ecological Informatics, 87 . [DOI]
Leung, Franco Ka Wah; Schwarzkopf, Lin; Allen-Ankins, Slade (2025) 'Advancing invasive species monitoring: A free tool for detecting invasive cane toads using continental-scale data'. Ecological Informatics, 89 . [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Towards automated detection of the endangered southern black-throated finch (Poephila cincta cincta)
2024
Allen-Ankins, Slade; Mula Laguna, Juan; Schwarzkopf, Lin (2024) 'Towards automated detection of the endangered southern black-throated finch (Poephila cincta cincta)'. Wildlife Research, 51 . [DOI]
The use of BirdNET embeddings as a fast solution to find novel sound classes in audio recordings
2024
Allen-Ankins, Slade; Hoefer, Sebastian; Bartholomew, Jacopo; Brodie, Sheryn; Schwarzkopf, Lin (2024) 'The use of BirdNET embeddings as a fast solution to find novel sound classes in audio recordings'. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 12 . [DOI]
Napier, Thomas; Ahn, Euijoon; Allen-Ankins, Slade; Schwarzkopf, Lin; Lee, Ickjai (2024) 'Advancements in preprocessing, detection and classification techniques for ecoacoustic data: A comprehensive review for large-scale passive acoustic monitoring'. Expert Systems with Applications, 252 (Part B). [DOI]
Hoefer, Sebastian; McKnight, Donald T.; Allen-Ankins, Slade; Nordberg, Eric J.; Schwarzkopf, Lin (2024) 'Diverse Methods for Diverse Systems: A Large-Scale Comparison of Reptile Sampling Methods'. Herpetologica, 80 (1):40-50. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Schwarzkopf, Lin; Roe, Paul; McDonald, Paul G.; Watson, David M.; Fuller, Richard A.; Allen-Ankins, Slade (2023) 'Can an acoustic observatory contribute to the conservation of threatened species?'. Austral Ecology, 48 (7):1230-1237. [DOI]
Allen-Ankins, Slade; McKnight, Donald T.; Nordberg, Eric J.; Hoefer, Sebastian; Roe, Paul; Watson, David M.; McDonald, Paul G.; Fuller, Richard A.; Schwarzkopf, Lin (2023) 'Effectiveness of acoustic indices as indicators of vertebrate biodiversity'. Ecological Indicators, 147 (March). [DOI]
Hoefer, Sebastian; McKnight, Donald T.; Allen-Ankins, Slade; Nordberg, Eric J.; Schwarzkopf, Lin (2023) 'Passive acoustic monitoring in terrestrial vertebrates: a review'. Bioacoustics, 32 (5):506-531. [DOI]
Allen-Ankins, Slade; Schwarzkopf, Lin (2022) 'Using citizen science to test for acoustic niche partitioning in frogs'. Scientific Reports, 12 . [DOI]
Brodie, Sheryn; Towsey, Michael; Allen-Ankins, Slade; Roe, Paul; Schwarzkopf, Lin (2022) 'Using a novel visualization tool for rapid survey of long-duration acoustic recordings for ecological studies of frog chorusing'. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9 . [DOI]
Allen-Ankins, Slade; Schwarzkopf, Lin (2021) 'Spectral overlap and temporal avoidance in a tropical savannah frog community'. Animal Behaviour, 180 :1-11. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Allen-Ankins, Slade; Stoffels, Rick J. (2020) 'Effects of current and future climates on the growth dynamics and distributions of two riverine fishes'. Aquatic Conservation: marine and freshwater ecosystems, 31 (1):185-197. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Automated species identification of frog choruses in environmental recordings using acoustic indices
2020
Brodie, Sheryn; Allen-Ankins, Slade; Towsey, Michael; Roe, Paul; Schwarzkopf, Lin (2020) 'Automated species identification of frog choruses in environmental recordings using acoustic indices'. Ecological Indicators, 119 . [DOI]
Stoffels, Rick J.; Weatherman, Kyle E.; Allen-Ankins, Slade (2017) 'Heat and hypoxia give a global invader, Gambusia holbrooki, the edge over a threatened endemic fish on Australian floodplains'. Biological Invasions, 19 (8):2477-2489. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Allen-Ankins, Slade; Stoffels, Rick J. (2017) 'Contrasting fundamental and realized niches: two fishes with similar thermal performance curves occupy different thermal habitats'. Freshwater science, 36 (3):635-652. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Allen-Ankins, S.; Stoffels, R. J.; Pridmore, P. A.; Vogel, M. T. (2012) 'The effects of turbidity, prey density and environmental complexity on the feeding of juvenile Murray cod Maccullochella peelii'. Journal of Fish Biology, 80 (1):195-206. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU