scholarly journals Community Bioacoustics: Studying Acoustic Community Structure for Ecological and Conservation Insights

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vaibhav Chhaya ◽  
Sutirtha Lahiri ◽  
M. Abhinava Jagan ◽  
Ram Mohan ◽  
Nafisa A. Pathaw ◽  
...  

The diversity of animal acoustic signals has evolved due to multiple ecological processes, both biotic and abiotic. At the level of communities of signaling animals, these processes may lead to diverse outcomes, including partitioning of acoustic signals along multiple axes (divergent signal parameters, signaling locations, and timing). Acoustic data provides information on the organization, diversity and dynamics of an acoustic community, and thus enables study of ecological change and turnover in a non-intrusive way. In this review, we lay out how community bioacoustics (the study of acoustic community structure and dynamics), has value in ecological monitoring and conservation of diverse landscapes and taxa. First, we review the concepts of signal space, signal partitioning and their effects on the structure of acoustic communities. Next, we highlight how spatiotemporal ecological change is reflected in acoustic community structure, and the potential this presents in monitoring and conservation. As passive acoustic monitoring gains popularity worldwide, we propose that the analytical framework of community bioacoustics has promise in studying the response of entire suites of species (from insects to large whales) to rapid anthropogenic change.

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Schall ◽  
Karolin Thomisch ◽  
Olaf Boebel ◽  
Gabriele Gerlach ◽  
Sari Mangia Woods ◽  
...  

AbstractHumpback whales are thought to undertake annual migrations between their low latitude breeding grounds and high latitude feeding grounds. However, under specific conditions, humpback whales sometimes change their migratory destination or skip migration overall. Here we document the surprising persistent presence of humpback whales in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean during five years (2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, and 2018) using passive acoustic data. However, in the El Niño years 2015 and 2016, humpback whales were virtually absent. Our data show that humpback whales are systematically present in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean and suggest that these whales are particularly sensitive to climate oscillations which have profound effects on winds, sea ice extent, primary production, and especially krill productivity.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fuad Atakishiyev ◽  
Rizvan Ramazanov ◽  
Fergus Allan ◽  
Adrian Zett

Abstract Proactive well diagnostic surveillance helps with safe delivery of production by effective well management and risk mitigation. The objective of the paper is to demonstrate the data analytics approach utilizing passive acoustic technology in combination with conventional methods of detecting low magnitude dynamic events behind single or multiple casing strings. The results of integrated interpretation of passive acoustic wireline technology with the data from different sources helped to make optimal decision. Traditional well integrity diagnostic includes temperature and passive acoustic data analysis that are associated with high uncertainty. A newer generation of array passive acoustic technology with enhanced sensitivity capabilities was deployed offshore Azerbaijan. A combination of array passive acoustics data, single point temperature and distributed fiber optic data have been acquired during a multi-well campaign. Extensive review of well integrity history, downhole and surface gauge data incorporated with passive acoustic data from arrays of spectral sensors in time and depth domain helped to refine the process and evolve into a unique interpretation methodology. The comprehensive interpretation accounted for integration of all available static and dynamic data such as: fluids and formation pressure distribution along the borehole, cement bond logs evaluation, annuli pressure and temperature, production and downhole gauge measurements, fibre optic data, temperature and passive acoustic logs. This helped to understand the low scale dynamic events behind the casing and make an informed decision on safe and reliable well operations. The sensitivity of array passive acoustic technology proved successful in detecting subtle acoustic events where conventional methods failed or had limited success. Successful results have been achieved by customizing the logging program using a multiple well evolutionary approach that improved data quality and saved rig time. Interpretation and decisions derived from each well involved multi-disciplinary well review panel sessions with specialists from subsurface & geohazards, drilling & completions, production & operations departments. Case studies presented in this paper describe the interpretation approach of highly sensitive array passive acoustic sensors in combination with available static and dynamic point and distributed data. The logging program and interpretation approach used in this article could be considered as a basis for future applications in wells with similar design.


2001 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip S. Lobel

The simple thesis of this paper is that using rebreathers to study fish behavioral ecology, especially bioacoustics, is well worth the expense and additional training required. The scientific goal of my bioacoustic research is to determine which fishes produce species-specific sound patterns exclusively with explicit acts of courtship and mating. This provides scientific insight into evolutionary and ecological processes and also provides data necessary to develop the passive acoustic detection technology for monitoring fish reproduction. When used on a daily basis, rebreathers, in my experience, are economical and as practical as open circuit scuba. This is based both on the costs of diving as well as the efficiency of gathering useful data. The use of open circuit SCUBA while conducting acoustic recordings results in a loss of at least 40% of the data due to the bubble noise from a divers breathing. Rebreathers also provide extended bottom time, especially in shallow water, which enhances a diver's ability to observe fish and gather acoustic-behavioral data.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 729-737
Author(s):  
Gong Chen ◽  
Lei Cai ◽  
Lv Zong ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
Xin Yuan

Passive acoustic technology (PAT) is an important tool to acquire the passive acoustic signals from marine organisms. In this paper, PAT fish detection is introduced at great length, including the relevant instruments, signal processing methods, and workflow. Focusing on the key tasks of PAT fish detection, the authors proposed a sparse decomposition algorithm that extracts coherent ratio of passive fish acoustic signal, and designed a feature extraction method for that signal based on speech imitation technology. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed sparse decomposition algorithm can detect fish acoustic signal accurately at low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), and the proposed feature extraction method can effectively extract fish acoustic signals from the marine background. The research results shed important new light on the protection and management of fishery resources in the seas and oceans.


Author(s):  
Таtiana М. Tkachenko ◽  
Yulia H. Pilkevich ◽  
Heorhii M. Rozorinov

The basic sources of contamination and obstruction of reservoirs are cleared not enough sewer water of industrial and communal enterprises, large stock-raising complexes, wastes of production; upcast of water and railway transport; wastes of roughing-out of flax, pesticides and other. Сontaminents, getting in natural reservoirs, result in the quality changes of water, that, mainly, appear in the change of physical properties of water, in the change of chemical composition of water, in a presence floating substances on the surface of water and laying of them on the bottom of reservoirs. The increases of population, expansion of old and origin of new cities considerably increased entering of domestic flows internal reservoirs. Synthetic cleansers that is widely used in the way of life contaminate reservoirs in a yet greater degree. In the total the capacity of waters goes down for oxigenating, activity of bacteria that mineralize organic substances is paralysed. The unfavorable ecological state of many freshwater ecosystems inflicts substantial harm to the fish resources of reservoirs and puts under a threat possibility not only to develop fish industry, conducting fish artificially, but also simply to catch her. All of it stimulate to do events in relation to the improvement of the ecological state of fresh reservoirs. Voice vibrations are the important constituent of the ecological monitoring of the biota state of fresh reservoirs. Information is about formation of sound in a reservoir part of that is activity of fishes turns out by means of acoustic sensors, that farther yields to computer treatment. The modern methods of recognition of fish acoustic patterns are based on the standards of signals, with properties of average estimations, or on comparisons of acoustic signals with a standard. It is shown that for creation of standards, as a rule, executed: previous signal processing, extraction of features of acoustic signal. Acoustic signals that act from movable objects – fishes can change depending on objective external terms and physical state of reservoirs. The hard algorithms of recognition of acoustic patterns are characterized high probability of error. In this connection repressing are adaptive algorithms of recognition of acoustic patterns. In the process of forming of standards clarification of software comes true according to the features of acoustic signal. Realization of process of creation of standards allows to determine the measure of functional readiness of parameters and knowledge base for the decision of recognition tasks of acoustic signals. In the process of recognition the probability terms of the correct comparing are set to the standard, on default of that an algorithm stops to be executed and requires additional studies. It requires creation of standards that reflect the characteristic features of fish signals. Presently for authentication mostly choose such pattern of acoustic signals, as period length of signal fundamental wave. It can be determined or by the search of maximal value in an autocorrelation function, or by the search of minimum value in the function of mean value of difference of signal amplitudes, or by the search of difference of two maximal values in the sequence of going into detail wavelet-coefficients. It is shown that for the tasks of recognition of fish acoustic patterns, most exact and requiring the least studies there is presentation of acoustic signal as a set of sign vectors of frames. In detail methodologies of the period selection of fundamental wave of acoustic signal were analysed: SIFT, EFT-А and EFT-WT. Methodology of EFT-WT is characterized absence of the thresholds set in good time; by the rapid search of period of fundamental wave; by absence of dependence on a noise-level, as a certain range of frequencies is investigated. At the same time calculable complication of wavelet transform is relatively high, in this connection it is necessary optimization of calculation algorithms.


PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e5370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caterina Penone ◽  
Christian Kerbiriou ◽  
Jean-François Julien ◽  
Julie Marmet ◽  
Isabelle Le Viol

Background Citizen monitoring programs using acoustic data have been useful for detecting population and community patterns. However, they have rarely been used to study broad scale patterns of species traits. We assessed the potential of acoustic data to detect broad scale patterns in body size. We compared geographical patterns in body size with acoustic signals in the bat species Pipistrellus pipistrellus. Given the correlation between body size and acoustic characteristics, we expected to see similar results when analyzing the relationships of body size and acoustic signals with climatic variables. Methods We assessed body size using forearm length measurements of 1,359 bats, captured by mist nets in France. For acoustic analyses, we used an extensive dataset collected through the French citizen bat survey. We isolated each bat echolocation call (n = 4,783) and performed automatic measures of signals, including the frequency of the flattest part of the calls (characteristic frequency). We then examined the relationship between forearm length, characteristic frequencies, and two components resulting from principal component analysis for geographic (latitude, longitude) and climatic variables. Results Forearm length was positively correlated with higher precipitation, lower seasonality, and lower temperatures. Lower characteristic frequencies (i.e., larger body size) were mostly related to lower temperatures and northern latitudes. While conducted on different datasets, the two analyses provided congruent results. Discussion Acoustic data from citizen science programs can thus be useful for the detection of large-scale patterns in body size. This first analysis offers a new perspective for the use of large acoustic databases to explore biological patterns and to address both theoretical and applied questions.


2014 ◽  
Vol 135 (4) ◽  
pp. 2369-2369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens C. Koblitz ◽  
Katharina Brundiers ◽  
Mario Kost ◽  
Louise Burt ◽  
Len Thomas ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 571
Author(s):  
B. O. David ◽  
M. Lake ◽  
M. K. Pine ◽  
J. Smith ◽  
J. A. T. Boubée

Fish mortality through floodplain pumping stations is a recognised global issue, but few studies have quantified the degree of mortality that occurs during pumping. We investigated the potential of passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) as a tool to record sounds made by fish and their likely mortality as they passed through pumps during downstream migration. The acoustic properties made by freshly killed eels that were fed through an existing pump station were compared to those made by goldfish (Carassius auratus). Processing and analysis of acoustic data enabled the development of an ‘eel-specific’ algorithm for detecting eels passing through the pumping station. The duration of sound and filtered intensity were useful characteristics enabling reliable separation of the two fish species. The algorithm was then applied retrospectively to soundscape recordings obtained during a typical eel migration period at the test site. Although the tool is unlikely to be able to differentiate the sound of goldfish from ‘other’ potential sounds of short duration (e.g. sticks), differentiating eels from other sounds was demonstrated. We conclude that this tool has considerable potential for improving the understanding of the timing of eel migrations and likely mortality through pumping stations. The tool may also be used to inform the development of both remote and manual pump management options for reducing pump-related eel mortality.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 4812-4840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Genevieve E. Davis ◽  
Mark F. Baumgartner ◽  
Peter J. Corkeron ◽  
Joel Bell ◽  
Catherine Berchok ◽  
...  

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