Artificial Intelligence and Decision Support in Applied Ecology

Ammar, Elmontaserbellah, Sharma, Aashna, August, Tom, Bicknell, Jake E., Boughey, Katherine, Dunford, Carolyn E., Driscoll, Don A., Fiennes, Sicily, Lopatin, Javier, Hartley, Melanie, and others. (2026) Artificial Intelligence and Decision Support in Applied Ecology. Journal of Applied Ecology, . ISSN 0021-8901. E-ISSN 1365-2664. (In press) (Access to this publication is currently restricted. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:114916)

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Abstract

1.Artificial intelligence (AI) is bringing ecological inference closer to decision-making, producing detections, alerts, trends and prioritisation outputs. Yet consensus on how to interpret or act on these remains limited.

2.We synthesise AI adoption in applied ecology and identify governance pressures as models become multimodal, transferable, edge-deployable, and increasingly shaped by large language models.

3.We highlight cross-cutting risks where uptake outpaces oversight, including limits in explainability, validation, data sovereignty, environmental costs, cognitive off-loading, and evidence integrity.

4.Using the British Bat Survey as a representative case study, we show how AI can be operationalised through governance principles spanning benchmarking, transparency, auditability, data governance, equity, and sustainability.

5.Policy implications: We propose a roadmap for responsible AI in applied ecology linking evaluation to decision context, clarifying responsibility, and ensuring AI strengthens rather than displaces accountable decision-making.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled keywords:	Keywords: Conservation Decision-Making; Ecological Monitoring; Policy and Governance; Responsible AI; Biodiversity Conservation; Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Ecology; Applied Ecology; Machine Learning
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences Q Science Q Science > Q Science (General) > Q180.55.M67 Research - Moral and ethical aspects Q Science > Q Science (General) > Q335 Artificial intelligence Q Science > QA Mathematics (inc Computing science) > QA 76 Software, computer programming, > QA76.87 Neural computers, neural networks Q Science > QA Mathematics (inc Computing science) > QA 76 Software, computer programming, > QA76.9.H85 Human computer interaction Q Science > QH Natural history > QH541 Ecology Q Science > QH Natural history > QH75 Conservation (Biology) T Technology > T Technology (General) T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) > TA1637 Image processing
Institutional Unit:	Schools > School of Natural Sciences Schools > School of Natural Sciences > Conservation Institutes > Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology
Former Institutional Unit:	There are no former institutional units.
Depositing User:	Monty Ammar
Date Deposited:	13 May 2026 11:10 UTC
Last Modified:	13 May 2026 11:11 UTC
Resource URI:	https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/114916 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Ammar, Elmontaserbellah.

Creator's ORCID:	https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8184-1351
CReDIT Contributor Roles:	Writing - review and editing (Lead), Conceptualisation (Lead), Visualisation (Lead), Writing - original draft (Lead)

Bicknell, Jake E..

Creator's ORCID:	https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6831-627X
CReDIT Contributor Roles:	Supervision (Lead), Writing - original draft (Equal), Writing - review and editing (Equal)

Struebig, Matthew J..

Creator's ORCID:	https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2058-8502
CReDIT Contributor Roles:	Writing - original draft (Equal), Supervision (Lead), Writing - review and editing (Equal)

Thompson, Ruth.

Creator's ORCID:	https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3339-9591
CReDIT Contributor Roles:	Writing - original draft (Equal), Writing - review and editing (Equal)

Yoh, Natalie.

Creator's ORCID:	https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6171-3800
CReDIT Contributor Roles:	Writing - original draft (Equal), Writing - review and editing (Equal)

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