DASA - Digital Animal Sound Archive
Many animals produce unique sounds, from birds' and bats' calls to whales' songs and insects' chirps. The Digital Animal Sound Archive (DASA) is a Belgian collection project that aims to bring together these sounds in one place so that they can be explored and studied for a better understanding of wildlife.
The project’s current focus is on bats, and is designed to grow over time, and eventually include other animal groups. In partnership with Natuurpunt and Natagora, two Belgian NGOs involved in nature conservation, DASA engages both professional researchers and citizen scientists, who contribute recordings and help validate the data. The project makes these recordings FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable), enabling scientists, conservationists, and nature enthusiasts to a gain deeper knowledge about bats species in Belgium.
Aim
The aim of DASA is to build a robust and user-friendly digital archive of animal sounds, starting with bats. By gathering recordings in one place, the project offers a reliable reference of species and call types, providing a resource for research into species distribution, behaviour, and the impact of human activities both at sea and on land.
Sounds are particularly important for monitoring bats as many species are difficult to study due to their discreet behaviour and the inaccessibility of their roosts. By recording bats during their nightly activities (hunting, social interactions, migration), acoustic monitoring complements traditional roost surveys and provides essential data for understanding population trends, habitat use and species distribution.
How to participate
All visitors can use the sound archive to explore recorded data by species, location, and more.
Both experienced citizen scientists and professionals can also become members of the site. Once approved by an administrator, members can download and listen to recordings, assign them to one or more species, and improve previous identifications.
Every upload and validation of data adds to a shared picture of Belgium’s wildlife and helps to protect the places we all love. We especially welcome contributions from data-poor regions such as West Flanders and Hainaut.
About funding
Funding bodies: Belgian Federal Science Policy
