ORE Seminar: Improving Odontocete Tracking Performance

September 29, 3:30pm - 4:30pm
Mānoa Campus, Zoom Meeting, Please see description for Meeting ID and Passcode

Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) is a frequently used tool for various aspects of marine mammal research, including identifying species, their abundance and behavior. Traditionally, boat-based visual line-transect surveys are carried out with the goal of estimating species abundance. PAM is an important addition to visual surveys, especially for elusive species (in which groups are frequently missed by visual observers), species with complex group structure, and species that show behavioral response to boat presence. This seminar will discuss the challenging problem of tracking multiple false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) subgroups during line-transect surveys in the Hawaii Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). This delphinid species produces both narrowband whistles and broadband echolocation clicks. Due to significant differences in signal properties, animal tracking and localization is typically carried out separately based either on echolocation clicks or whistles, but generally not on both. However, since the types and rates of vocalizations depend on behavioral context, a separate analysis can limit the accuracy and amount of information extracted about a given acoustic encounter. We present a framework for joint multi-target tracking of both broadband and narrowband signals. We show that extending the measurement model to incorporate amplitude (in addition to timing) information and combining measurements from different call types can improve tracking performance. Our framework is suitable for tracking other biological and non-biological sound sources: examples and further applications to different array configurations will be discussed. Seminar given by Dr. Pina Gruden, Postdoctoral Acoustic Researcher at the Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research (JIMAR), UH Mānoa. Zoom Meeting ID: 935 9608 7383, Passcode: OREseminar


Event Sponsor
Ocean and Resources Engineering, Mānoa Campus

More Information
(808) 956-7572, https://www.soest.hawaii.edu/ore/event/seminar_210929/, 09/29/21 ORE Seminar Flyer (PDF)

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