Seeing Above and Below the Canopy: Modeling and Interpreting Species Occupancy with Multimodal Habitat Representations

Effective conservation and restoration of species is an increasingly urgent priority. To design management strategies that improve species success, we need a solid understanding of the habitat characteristics that support it. Occupancy models are statistical tools that ecologists use to model these relationships from data. Yet, current models represent habitats with coarse-scale environmental variables that fail to capture important microhabitat features. We show that these limitations can be addressed by incorporating AI-derived, multimodal habitat representations from overhead satellite imagery and ground-level camera-trap imagery. Across geography and species, these representations yield more accurate out-of-sample predictions than models based on conventional covariates alone, and combining satellite and ground-level views provides complementary gains. To translate improved prediction into actionable ecological insight, we further introduce a method that makes black-box AI-derived habitat representations interpretable by summarizing key factors contributing to occupancy probability into text-based descriptions. We then generate a per-site score for each description, which can replace black-box features to transparently link discovered habitat elements to species occurrence while maintaining predictive performance. Our approach provides a path toward microhabitat-aware and interpretable species-habitat models that support restoration planning and management decisions. We implement our method in an open-source Python package bridging AI and statistical ecology.

Step Inside the Lab

The CSAIL Alliances Annual Meeting is our signature three-day event exclusive to CSAIL Alliances members.* This is your opportunity to engage with thought leaders crafting the next wave of AI and computer science and build the relationships that will drive your organization forward.

What you’ll get out of the meeting

• Hear what’s next in AI + computing directly from CSAIL faculty and researchers.
• Make the most of your membership with small-group formats built for real conversation.
• Meet the people, including the PIs, students, business leaders, and founders translating CSAIL research into real-world applications.

Brimming with major technical breakthroughs, computer science and AI news, expert insight on hot button topics, and non-stop networking, this meeting is not to be missed. 

Keynotes & Highlights

Engage with an exceptional lineup of CSAIL researchers, including our keynote speakers:
 

• Professor Dina Katabi: Pioneer in wireless sensing and health technologies, recently elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
• Professor Russ Tedrake: Robotics expert whose work advances modern robotics and learning-enabled control.
• Principal Research Scientist Neil Thompson: Director of MIT FutureTech, which studies computing trends to drive economic and productivity growth.

You’ll also hear updates and perspectives from PIs across the lab, including experts in cryptography, visual AI, geometric data processing, computational design/fabrication, medical imaging, personalized medicine, software systems, robotics, world models, and more. 
 

2026 Themes

This year’s program is organized around four conference themes at the front lines of industrial transformation:

• Physical AI: Autonomous systems that operate reliably in real-world environments
• Health & Longevity: Data-driven diagnostics and the future of personalized medicine
• Advances in Science: Computation that accelerates discovery (materials, climate, etc.)
• Foundations & Fundamentals: Robust, trustworthy algorithms and security at scale

Schedule at a Glance

This is a high-level guide to help you book travel and plan your time on campus. A more detailed agenda will be shared closer to the event. 

Monday, April 27: Kickoff & Hands-On Exploration
Jump right into the heart of MIT! Monday is dedicated to immersive experiences and high-level strategy.

• Morning Registration (Stata Center, Gates Entrance) with coffee and networking.
• 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM: Concurrent Small-group Workshops & Lab Tours (Preregister)
• 2:00 PM: Official Kickoff with CSAIL Director Daniela Rus.
• Afternoon Keynotes from Professors Dina Katabi (Wireless Sensing & Health) and Russ Tedrake (Robotics). 

• 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM: Reception at the MIT Welcome Center. 

   

Tuesday, April 28: Research Updates & Student Innovation
A fast-paced feature of the latest updates from across the lab’s diverse research groups.

• 8:00 AM: Breakfast and networking at the Schwarzman College of Computing (Building 45).
• 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Morning keynote and research talks from Neil Thompson, Professor Yael Kalai, Professor Manolis Kellis, Professor Daniel Jackson, and more.
• 12:00 PM: Lunch with a Luminary. Small-group PI lunches in the Stata Center (pre-registration required).
• 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM: Afternoon research talks from Professor Wojciech Matusik, Professor Polina Golland, Assistant Professor Vincent Sitzmann, Associate Professor Justin Solomon, and more.
• 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM: Student Poster Reception. Explore two dozen current research projects and meet the students behind the breakthroughs (Stata Center).

Wednesday, April 29: Looking Ahead & New Connections
Focus on the transition from research to the future of the industry.

• Morning Breakfast and networking at the Stata Center.
• Research to Reality talks and Startup Pitches. Hear from CSAIL spinouts and founders shaping the future of navigation, law, and medicine.
• Industry-focused breakout sessions and guest speakers.
• Networking lunch focused on planning next steps and building lasting connections.
• 1:30 PM: Meeting Concludes.

*Notes 

This event is exclusive to Alliances members, but members may bring unlimited employees. 
 

Member companies must be in good standing through June 2026 to attend. 
 

Members in the Startup Connect or Startup Connect Plus portfolios are limited to 5 registrations per company.

 Interested in attending?  Please contact alliances@csail.mit.edu