Acoustic data processing
Guidance Documents
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In addition to guidance for specific species identification software, NABat offers general guidance on renaming acoustic recordings, and processing files in multiple software suites. Find descriptions of the metadata fields on the metadata tab in the partner portal here and on the third line of the bulk upload template available here.
Training Videos
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NABat offers recorded training webinars for the following software, along with general guidance for uploading data to the NABat Partner Portal and tips for data management:
Additional Resources
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Acoustic data prep: select/create an NABat species list
Users must provide a comprehensive list of all species that were considered when identifying acoustic recordings. A new species list can be created from within a user's project or users may select from a limited number of pre-loaded species lists.
1. Log into the NABat Partner Portal. First-time users will need to create an account.
2. Once logged in, open to the My Projects tab (top menu bar) and select a project.
3. Navigate the project’s tabs to the Species List tab and click the green Manage Classifiers button to open the species list editor. Click the gray Add+ button and enter the required information to create a new species list.
Note: SonoBat regional classifiers are preloaded into the NABat database and may be viewed by checking the Template Species Lists box. Sorting the “Species List” column reorders the list to prioritize SonoBat entries.
Kaleidoscope software includes state-specific classifiers. Due to the quantity, these classifiers are not preloaded as templates and Kaleidoscope users must create their own species list.
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4. Whether the user created a species list or selected a template list, the list name must be included (text must match exactly) in the “Species List” column of the bulk upload template.
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5. Multiple species lists may be saved within and used by a single project when necessary.
Count data
Users with winter colony count or internal/external summer colony count data must simply ensure data is formatted correctly for upload to the NABat Partner Portal. Please refer to the resources below for guidance before continuing to the Upload Data section. Find descriptions of the metadata fields on the metadata tab in the partner portal here and on the third line of the bulk upload template available here.
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Prior to preparing count data, it is crucial that users communicate with their collaborators (incl. state and federal agencies) to ensure uploaded data will not be duplicated across multiple NABat projects.
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Colony sites may be sensitive locations. Users who want to share their data without revealing sensitive coordinates should adjust their Data Use & Sharing settings accordingly, but may also use the NABat Grid Cell Finder when preparing data for upload.
Capture data
Users with bat capture data must simply ensure data is formatted correctly for upload to the NABat Partner Portal. Find descriptions of the metadata fields on the metadata tab in the partner portal here and on the third line of the bulk upload template available here.
Note that NABat's capture data template closely resembles the commonly-used U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Indiana Bat Reporting Spreadsheet, but still requires some reformatting prior to upload. The USFWS spreadsheet can be easily reformatted to the NABat template using the R script below.