Application of Zero-Shot Learning in Computer Vision for Biodiversity Conservation through Species Identification and Tracking

Zero-shot learning (ZSL) represents a paradigm shift in computer vision, offering a robust framework for species identification and tracking in the realm of biodiversity conservation. Traditional supervised learning methods demand extensive labeled data for each species, a constraint that is often unfeasible given the vast, yet undocumented, spectrum of biodiversity. ZSL, however, capitalizes on the semantic relationship between seen and unseen classes, enabling the identification and categorization of species never encountered during the training phase. This paper delves into the methodology of ZSL, employing it to bridge the gap between available data and the expansive variety of species. It explores the construction of semantic spaces through attributes and word vectors, facilitating a detailed analysis of species' features. The effectiveness of ZSL is further enhanced by integrating advanced deep learning architectures, which refine feature extraction and improve the interpretability of species' characteristics. A comprehensive evaluation is conducted across diverse ecosystems, underscoring the potential of ZSL in revolutionizing species identification, tracking, and subsequently, conservation efforts. The findings illuminate the pathway for future research, emphasizing scalable, efficient, and accurate biodiversity monitoring. By harnessing the power of zero-shot learning, this study propels forward the capabilities of computer vision in understanding and preserving our planet's biological heritage.

I. Introduction

The critical requirement for precise species identification and tracking has never been greater in this era of rapidly declining biodiversity [1]. For ecologists and conservationists, the balance of rapidly increasing rates of extinction and slowly progressing species documentation and monitoring presents an enormous challenge. With tools for quick, precise, and non-intrusive species monitoring, computer vision has the potential to revolutionise the conservation of biodiversity [2]. But computer vision's traditional supervised learning techniques heavily depend on large, labelled datasets for every species, which is a requirement that is frequently unachievable given the vast diversity and quantity of undiscovered species [3]. This disparity calls for a paradigm change in favour of approaches that can function well with little to no data for classes [4]. ZSL, a promising method designed to identify objects and entities that were not seen during the model's training.Unlike traditional methods, ZSL is an advanced machine learning technique that does not require direct examples of every class it needs to identify [5]. Rather, it makes use of common characteristics and semantic connections between known and unknown classes to make it possible to identify new entities by connecting them to previously acquired information. Figure 1 illustrates the ZSL based on embedding based method.