Professor Roe said while an individual sound bite was not interesting in itself, a bank of sound bites could identify important changes in ecosystems.

"By having the technology to analyze the sound data, scientists will be able to keep track of bird populations and identify factors that maybe linked to the health of the environment or climate change," he said.

Professor Roe said at the moment scientists were "drowning in data."

"The computing power of this new eResearch center will enable scientists to use their brilliant minds for what they do best --research. Research relies on and is limited by ICT (information and communication technologies). To further science, smarter eResearch tools are required," he said.

"We propose a virtual research lab application for scientists, which will enable them to undertake new science through improved collaboration, data analysis and experimentation."