Dear MARMAM readers,
we are pleased to announce our recent publication:
F. Caruso, G. Alonge, G. Bellia, E. De Domenico, R. Grammauta, G.
Larosa, S. Mazzola , G. Riccobene, G. Pavan, E. Papale, C.
Pellegrino, S. Pulvirenti, V. Sciacca, F. Simeone, F. Speziale, S.
Viola & G. Buscaino.
Long-Term Monitoring of Dolphin Biosonar Activity in Deep Pelagic
Waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Scientific Reports
, 7: 4321, DOI:10.1038/s41598-017-04608-6
ABSTRACT:
Dolphins emit short ultrasonic pulses (clicks) to acquire
information about the surrounding environment, prey and habitat
features. We investigated Delphinidae activity over multiple
temporal scales through the detection of their echolocation clicks,
using long-term Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM). The Istituto
Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare operates multidisciplinary seafloor
observatories in a deep area of the Central Mediterranean Sea. The
Ocean noise Detection Experiment collected data offshore the Gulf of
Catania from January 2005 to November 2006, allowing the study of
temporal patterns of dolphin activity in this deep pelagic zone for
the first time. Nearly 5,500 five-minute recordings acquired over
two years were examined using spectrogram analysis and through
development and testing of an automatic detection algorithm.
Echolocation activity of dolphins was mostly confined to nighttime
and crepuscular hours, in contrast with communicative signals
(whistles). Seasonal variation, with a peak number of clicks in
August, was also evident, but no effect of lunar cycle was observed.
Temporal trends in echolocation corresponded to environmental and
trophic variability known in the deep pelagic waters of the Ionian
Sea. Long-term PAM and the continued development of automatic
analysis techniques are essential to advancing the study of pelagic
marine mammal distribution and behaviour patterns.
This article is available at:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-04608-6
Best,
Francesco
--
Francesco Caruso, PhD
Guest Postdoctoral Investigator
Sensory Ecology and Bioacoustics Lab
WHOI - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
266 Woods Hole Rd. MRF 235, MS#50
Woods Hole, MA , 02543, USA
Ph: +1 (508)289-3868