# An ecoacoustic dataset collected on the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Basin biodiversity hotspot

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a large ecoacoustic dataset from Cyprus, aimed at improving biodiversity monitoring through passive acoustic methods.

## Contribution

The novel contribution is a 1.58 TB ecoacoustic dataset from Cyprus, freely available for biodiversity research and algorithm development.

## Key findings

- The dataset includes over 313,000 audio files totaling more than 5,200 hours of recordings.
- It can be used to develop and refine species identification algorithms and acoustic indices.
- The dataset is publicly accessible on Hugging Face and the ARBIMON platform for broader use.

## Abstract

There is growing interest in using novel technologies for large-scale biodiversity monitoring. Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) represents a promising approach for surveying vocalizing animals. However, further development of PAM methods is needed to improve their accuracy. The availability of extensive ecoacoustic datasets from biodiverse areas can facilitate this development. In this study, we present a large ecoacoustic dataset (1.58 TB) collected at sixty-one study sites on the island of Cyprus between March and May 2023. The dataset comprises >313,000 audio files, representing over 5,200 hours of recordings. It can be used for a range of applications, such as developing and refining species identification algorithms, acoustic indices, and protocols for processing acoustic data to exclude non-focal sounds, e.g., those produced by human activities. It can also be used to explore fundamental ecological questions. To facilitate its use, the complete dataset has been made available on the Hugging Face repository and the ARBIMON platform, operated by Rainforest ConnectionTM, which offers a range of free tools for ecoacoustic analyses.