Knowing nature in the Netherlands: ARISE is live

Intelligent birdhouses, tracking what the chicks have been fed. Microphones, sending notifications about the animal sounds they have heard. A DNA database, capable of identifying tens of thousands of Dutch species by their genetic material. All of this – and much more – is ARISE, the research infrastructure that knows and recognizes all Dutch species.

New tool for species

If you work in a field where it is important to be able to identify species, ARISE is the new tool to use, and it is available from today. Whether you are a species specialist wanting to know if you have discovered a new species, an ecologist seeking to map the biodiversity in an area, or a computer scientist aiming to build smarter AI software for species recognition: ARISE is developed for you.

Nature crisis

Starting today, anyone can log in to the ARISE platform and utilize it for DNA sequence data, sensor management, AI species recognition, and more. "There is a crisis in nature," says programme manager Elaine van Ommen Kloeke, "and if we want to address it, we need the best possible information about the occurrence of species in different areas. Thanks to ARISE, that information can be obtained: we are making biodiversity measurable with the latest technology, almost real-time and on a large scale."

Volunteers indispensable

The chief investigator of ARISE, Prof. Dr. Koos Biesmeijer, emphasizes the indispensable role of volunteers in the realisation of the infrastructure. "Our DNA library would not have existed without the almost two hundred experts who helped us collect the species. Our AI software for sounds works, because people from all over the world recorded sounds, and Naturalis's species image recognition is world-class, because a small army of volunteers helps with the validation. The Netherlands are blessed with so many people willing to commit to knowledge of nature."

More information

• As of today, anyone choosing ARISE for their research purposes can create an account on the ARISE website.

Text: Naturalis Biodiversity Center, with the collaboration of University of Twente, University of Amsterdam and Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute. 
Images: Taco van der Eb, Naturalis Biodiversity Center; Daniel Silva David Lopes, Naturalis Biodiversity Center; Getty Images