Ecoacoustic Calls Submission Instructions

TERN is publishing acoustic animal call files and call information for further reuse. These datasets will be made discoverable through TERN infrastructure for the wider animal acoustic research community. The flowchart below explains the bat acoustic data submission and publication process. In the future, similar process will be setup for other animals.

1. What files to submit

Sound files

Sound File types and quality

Both .zc and .wav files are acceptable.
It is recommended that all file names include the recording device's name as a suffix to the sound file name (e.g. SN123456_2026-05-07 01-01-30.wav).
It is recommended to include files that have at least four bat-call pulses and are of reasonable quality.

File-related information - GUANO

Important information about each recording should be stored in the embedded GUANO metadata of the file itself. This ensures the information stays attached to the file and is not lost if files are moved or shared.

All GUANO metadata fields are read automatically when files are loaded into the TERN database.
Metadata can be viewed and edited in Anabat Insight, Kaleidoscope and other software (see Section 2 ).

Field naming flexibility

Different software tools use slightly different prefixes for GUANO fields. TERN accepts all of the following formats for the same field:
- Record context (AnaLook / no prefix)
- TERNbat|Record context (Anabat Insight)
- WA|Record context (Kaleidoscope)
The important thing is that the field name ends with the correct suffix as listed in Table 1 below.

Required metadata fields

The minimum information required for each sound file is listed in the Table 1 below. Files without a species identification are valuable and acceptable — the three core fields below are still required.

Table 1. Example metadata entries and formatting requirements.

Metadata field	Sample format	Notes
Minimum information required
Location	-19.678967, 146.976445	Decimal degrees, 4–6 decimal places. Latitude first, then longitude.
Collected By	Robson SKA Robson SKA; Edwards W	Full name or surname + initials Separate fields with a `;`
Site	Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) NP Carrington Cave Ross River	List the name of any national Parks first, if any, followed by more specific locations. Some NP’s have the indigenous name first, others the reverse. National Park and State Forest can be abbreviated to NP and SF respectively
Required if Genus or Species identification provided
Species	Rhinonicteris aurantia Rhinonicteris aurantia; Macroderma gigas	Use full genus and species. Separate multiple species with a semicolon. Genus or family is acceptable if species was not resolved.
Identified by	Robson SKA Robson SKA; Edwards W	please provide the name of the person(s) who identified the species if, the species name is provided. Full name or surname + initials Separate individuals with a `;`
ID method	Captured Visual Call	Captured= identified in the hand Visual = observed flying or at roost Call = identified from acoustic recording (default for most observations)
ADDITIONAL VALUABLE INFORMATION IF AVAILABLE
Record context	Free flying Release In bag Cave entrance Mine entrance Roost entrance Enclosure Overwater	'Record context is a critical element that should help with species identification. Most calls will be 'Free flying'. The majority of calls collected outside a known Miniopterus maternity cave for example will be Miniopterus, but not all. Additional call types may be relevant
Sex	Female Male
Life stage	Adult Juvenile Pregnant Lactating Postlactating
Call Features	Buzz Social Song Subharmonics Harmonics Steep

Important: Do NOT include a comma (,) in any metadata field value, except in the Location and Timestamp fields. Commas interfere with the GUANO metadata format.

Pulse Metric Files

A PULSE.csv file summarising the acoustic metrics for each recording is required alongside your sound files. This allows database users to search and filter recordings by pulse-level metrics without re-processing the data each time.

Data providers can access Anabat Insight through the Collaborative Environment for Scholarly Research and Analysis (CoESRA).

Please use the following approach to generate pulse data if using Anabat Insight.
- Right-click the folder for which you want to generate pulse metric metadata, and select “Generate Reports”.
- Complete each field as shown in the screenshot below.

The PULSE.csv file must be named using the same name as the folder containing the sound files it describes, with '_PULSE.csv' appended as a suffix. It must be saved into the same folder as the sound files. For example, a folder named Swift1 should have an accompanying file named Swift1_PULSE.csv

2. How to edit GUANO metadata

If your files are missing required metadata fields (e.g. because the GPS was not set up correctly, or because the 'Collected By' field was not configured on the device), you will need to add or edit the GUANO metadata manually before submitting. Brief instructions for the two most commonly used software tools are provided below.

Using Anabat Insight (Titley Scientific)

Anabat Insight stores GUANO metadata in the Metadata Panel. You can add or edit individual files, or update multiple files at once using the batch function.

To add or edit metadata for a single file:

Open the file in Anabat Insight by double-clicking it in the Project Panel.
In the Metadata Panel on the right, scroll to the bottom to find existing custom fields or a blank area to add new ones.
Click in the field name area and type the field name (e.g. Collected By or TERNbat|Collected By).
Click in the value area and type the value (e.g. Smith JA).
When you navigate to the next file, Anabat Insight will ask if you want to save changes — click Save.

To add or edit metadata for multiple files at once (batch):

In the Project Panel, select the files or folder you want to update (click one, then Ctrl+A to select all, or Ctrl+click for individual files).
Right-click and choose Add Metadata.
In the Add Metadata window, double-click under Type and enter the field name (e.g. Collected By).
Double-click under Value and enter the value.
Click OK. The field and value will be added to all selected files.

You can only edit metadata fields that were added by the user. Default recorder metadata (e.g. Timestamp, Device serial number) cannot be changed through Anabat Insight. If GPS coordinates are incorrect (e.g. recorded as 0, 0), please contact the TERN help desk at esupport@tern.org.au for assistance.

To verify your metadata has been saved correctly:

Open a file and check the Metadata Panel — your new fields should appear in the list.
Species labels can also be assigned from the species list panel and will be saved to the file metadata.

Using Kaleidoscope (Wildlife Acoustics)

In Kaleidoscope, GUANO metadata is viewed and edited through the Metadata Panel in the Viewer. Metadata is stored in the Notes field in GUANO format (key: value pairs).

To add or edit GUANO metadata for a single file:

Open the file in the Kaleidoscope Viewer (use File > Open… or open it from a batch results window).
Click the Metadata Panel toggle button below the spectrogram to show the Metadata Panel.
Scroll down in the Notes window to see existing embedded metadata.
To add a new GUANO field, click in the Notes text area and type the field on a new line using the format:
- Field Name: Value
- Example: Collected By: Smith JA
Check that the Notes window contains the line GUANO|Version:1.0 — if it does not, add it at the top of the Notes field before adding other GUANO fields.
Press Return or close the file to save.

To add metadata to multiple files via the Project Form (batch):

In the Kaleidoscope Control Panel, go to the Batch tab.
Under the Project Form section, locate the Notes field.
Type your GUANO-formatted metadata into the Notes field using the key: value format. You can add multiple fields, one per line.
Run the batch process — the Notes metadata will be added to all output files.

In Kaleidoscope, the standard GUANO field name for location is 'Loc Position' (e.g. Loc Position: -19.678967 146.976445). For Collected By, use 'Collected By: Smith JA'. Note that Kaleidoscope uses a space as the separator between latitude and longitude (not a comma).

3. Deciding how your data should be organised

It is up to you as the data provider to decide whether your submitted dataset should form an independent collection, or be merged into an existing country or project collection (for example, the Australian Bat Acoustic Collection or the Global Bat Acoustic Collection: United Kingdom).

Consider the following when making this decision:

Is this dataset logically standalone (e.g. a specific field trip, a legacy dataset from a single researcher)? If so, it may warrant its own collection and DOI.

Is this part of an ongoing project that will receive additional data over time? If so, it should probably be merged into the relevant country or project collection.

Would future data providers submit additional data for the same region or project? If yes, a shared collection makes more sense.

If you are unsure, please contact the TERN help desk for guidance before submitting.

4. Submitting your data

Data files

All data files (call files and pulse.csv) should be uploaded to TERN storage through SFTPGo service. Please get in touch with the TERN help desk via esupport@tern.org.au to arrange data transfer.

SHaRED metadata

All individual data submission happens using the TERN data submission tool so that all required metadata are captured.

If submitting an individual collected dataset, Please go to the https://shared.tern.org.au/ to start the submission processes. The SHaRED online tool will enable users to author metadata about the data they want to submit and upload all acoustic data files before agreeing to the terms of use. For more information on how to submit datasets via SHaRED, please see the https://ternaus.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/TERNSup/pages/707035185.

After submission

Once data has been submitted, it will be reviewed and approved before publication. Data providers will be notified when their files are accessible from the TERN portal for the wider community.