Renata S. Sousa-Lima

A Review and Inventory of Fixed Autonomous Recorders for Passive Acoustic Monitoring of Marine Mammals

Fixed autonomous acoustic recording devices(autonomous recorders [ARs]) are defined as any electronic recording system that acquires and stores acoustic data internally (i.e., without a cable or radio link to transmit data to a receiving station), is deployed semi-permanently underwater (via a mooring, buoy, or attached to the sea floor), and must be retrieved to access the data. More than 40 ARs were reviewed. They varied greatly in capabilities and costs, from small, hand-deployable units for detecting dolphin and porpoise clicks in shallow water to larger units that can be deployed in deep water and can record at high-frequency bandwidths for over a year. The capabilities and limitations of the systems reviewed herein are discussed in terms of their effectiveness in monitoring and studying marine mammals.

Impact of boats on the vocal behavior of humpback whales off Brazil

Experiments were performed to evaluate the impact of boat approaches on the vocal behavior of humpback whales that breed around the Abrolhos archipelago off the Brazilian coast. Vocalizing whales were located by monitoring the amplitude of each individual’s sounds. Silent approaches to focal singers were performed using a small zodiac with an improvised sail. Songs were recorded with one hydrophone connected to a portable DAT recorder before and during the approach of a vessel. Spectrograms were correlated to each whale’s activity and position with respect to the vessel. Differences in song variables of two individuals were tested when the motor was ON and OFF. Both whales sang shorter versions of their songs when exposed to engine noise. No alteration in mean phrase duration was detected, but the number of phrases in each theme decreased. Three individuals interrupted their songs after a motor boat switched gears within 300 m, and resumed singing when the engine was returned to neutral. The limited numbe...

Humans, Fish, and Whales: How Right Whales Modify Calling Behavior in Response to Shifting Background Noise Conditions.

This study investigates the role of behavioral plasticity in the variation of sound production of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) in response to changes in the ambient background noise conditions. Data were collected from southern right whales in Brazilian waters in October and November 2011. The goal of this study was to quantify differences in right whale vocalizations recorded in low background noise as a control, fish chorus noise, and vessel noise. Variation in call parameters were detected among the three background noise conditions and have implications for future studies of noise effects on whale sound production.

Errata: Aquatic Mammals, 39(1), 2013, pp. 23-53 A Review and Inventory of Fixed Autonomous Recorders for Passive Acoustic Monitoring of Marine Mammals

p. 38: In column 1, line 3: Instruments like the [AMAR (J. E. Moloney, pers. comm., 15 April 2013; Table 2) and] the HARP . . .; 2nd paragraph, line 13: et al., 2010) [and from small boats (e.g., 5m RHIB; S. Wiggins, pers. comm., 16 April 2013)].; 3rd paragraph, lines 9-10: downloads to [compact flash]; line 12: requiring access to [compact flash]; lines 14-15: delete sentence “The hard drive runs for 6 s every 3 min when data writing is occurring.” In column 2, line 2: little over [175 d]; line 6: battery life to [115 d]; lines 7-9: delete “and the efficiency of shutting down the hard drive between data writing sessions is lost so that it runs continuously to record the data flow,”; line 9-10: dropping battery life to [100 d (H. Cheyne, pers. comm., 12 April 2013).]; 2nd paragraph, line 1: delete first sentence that refers to Table 3 which does not exist; line 4: The standard pop-up [compact flash stores 128 GB]; lines 7-9: delete sentence “The shift from hard drives to high storage capacity flash cards will take care of this limitation.”; line 9: The HARP, which can sample at [320 kHz], has a much larger storage capacity ([5TB with loss-less data compression = 10 TB; Wiggins, pers. comm., 16 April 2013]), than pop-ups; . . . .

LAMLA 2016: Results from the workshop listening for aquatic mammals in Latin America

The field of bioacoustics and the applications of passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) methods to investigate aquatic mammals have grown worldwide. In Latin America, a number of researchers are using PAM to investigate different species and habitats. However, due to the lack of a proper venue to discuss research findings and priorities, collaboration within the region is scarce. Considering the clear demand for an opportunity for networking and exchange of information at a regional level, we proposed a series of workshops entitled LAMLA—Listening for Aquatic Mammals in Latin America. The aim of LAMLA is to bring together researchers, professionals, and graduate students working in bioacoustics to communicate their research, network and interact, and discuss directions for a coordinated regional bioacoustics network in order to better utilize research resources. The first edition of LAMLA was held in Natal, Brazil, in June, 2016 and the second edition was held in Valparaiso, Chile, during the XI SOLAMAC Reuni...

Brazilian Cerrado nocturnal summer soundscape

The Brazilian Cerrado is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. Our objective was to characterize its nocturnal soundscape. 12 autonomous recorders (SongMeter2 + , Wildlife Acoustics) were deployed in Canastra National Park (MG/Brazil) and recorded five consecutive nights during the rainy season. Using Arbimon II soundscape builder we identified four frequency bands with higher activity levels. The lower band (0.3-1.3 kHz) is acoustically occupied throughout the night. The second band (2.8-3.2 kHz) is highly active around sunset and almost disappears after 10 PM. The third band (3.8-6.6 kHz) splits into two near 9 PM, with the upper limit disappearing after 3 AM. The highest frequency band (9-16 kHz) is the broadest and occupied in all recordings, being comprised by unidentified background noise. Insects (mainly crickets and cicadas) are present in the three superior bands, anura in the two lower bands, and birds in the second and third near dusk and dawn. Characterizing such protected soundscapes is v...

Mining noise affects Rufous-Collared Sparrow (Zonothichia capensis) vocalizations

Mining activity generates noise through explosions, traffic, machinery, alert signals, etc. Noise affects the behavior of many species that depends on acoustic communication. Our objective was to verify if the noise produced by truck traffic affects rufous-collared sparrow vocalizations. Data were collected in an Atlantic forest fragment located close to a mine at the Peti Environmental Station, in Southeast Brazil. Two digital field recorders (SM2—Wildlife Acoustics) were installed 150m from each other and 25 m from a mining road. The SM2 were set to record at 44.1kHz, from 05:00 to 09:00 am during seven days in October 2012. Using Raven pro 1.4, maximum and minimum frequencies, number of notes and duration of the Z. capensis songs were extracted from the recordings one minute before, one after and during the passage of trucks. Trucks noise spectral measurements were also extracted. The species decreased the duration (H = 17.8, gl = 2, p<0.05), the bandwidth (H = 36.28, gl = 2, p<0.05) and the maximum fr...

Listening for right whales off Brazil: Present knowledge and future research

In the Southwest Atlantic, a key southern right whale wintering ground is found off southern Brazil. Aiming to collect reference information on the acoustic ecology of right whale mother-calf pairs in the region, we used two complementary passive acoustic monitoring methods. Recordings from autonomous archival devices were used to obtain the description of pairs’ vocal repertoire: call classes were established, temporal and frequency parameters of calls were measured and reported, and the existence of a diel pattern of vocal activity was investigated. Calling rate and contextual call usage were obtained through synchronized behavioral observations and acoustic recordings made using a dipping two-unit linear array. Current knowledge about the species vocal behavior off Brazil allows an increment in the use of PAM methods as a research tool. Therefore, our plans for future research include the use of multistory tags, sound propagation, and playback experiments, and long-term deployment of autonomous devices...

Noise affects black-tufted marmoset (Callithrix penicillata; GEOFFROY, 1812) phee call frequency

Anthropogenic noise is very different from natural sounds, and could cause organisms living in noisy areas to modify their vocal communication. We assessed the influence of noise on black tufted-ear marmoset acoustic communication. Spontaneously produced phee vocalizations were recorded in two areas: a noisy urban park, located in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais state, Brazil and a quiet natural forest, located at Cauaia in Matozinhos, in the same state. We also recorded bus brakes sounds (BBS) in the noisy park because we noticed that the sounds produced by these vehicles were similar to the phee vocalizations. Frequencies and duration of phees and the BBS were measured and used to compare: 1- pheesfrom the urban and natural areas and 2- urban phee vocalizations and BBS. The duration of the phee calls was longer in the urban area. The low, high and dominant frequencies were significantly higher in the natural area. The low frequency extracted from BBS was similar to those of the phee calls of marmosets in t...

A review of computer‐based methods for the automated detection, extraction, and classification of marine mammal sounds.

Passive acoustic systems used to study and monitor marine mammals generate enormous datasets which are costly and time‐consuming to analyze. As part of a Joint Industry Programme sponsored effort, we reviewed automated and semi‐automated methods and software packages available to detect, extract, and classify marine mammal sounds; identified gaps in capabilities and knowledge; and suggested ways forward. Because of the variability in marine mammal sounds, no single method is effective for all species. While spectrogram correlation works well for stereotyped calls, more general methods like band‐limited threshold detection are more effective for variable sounds. Feature extraction is a rapidly evolving field, but a reliable, automated method has yet to be successfully implemented into existing software. A major gap in our capabilities is the ability to reliably detect and classify the highly variable signals produced by some species. The development of effective, efficient, and standardized methods applica...