Integration of automated detection methods into NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) acoustic marine mammal monitoring protocol.

Abstract

Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) has used combined visual and acoustic techniques to monitor marine mammal populations for the past 8 yrs. Currently, SWFSC passive acoustic surveys of cetaceans require specially trained personnel to monitor hydrophone signals in real-time. While effective, this method is time-consuming and costly. Automated detection of cetacean vocalizations would be a valuable tool during SWFSC surveys, allowing for detection when experienced technicians are unavailable. This technique is advantageous because it significantly reduces effort and removes sources of human error and bias in detection ability. PAMGUARD 1.0 CORE software was evaluated for use in automated detection of cetacean acoustic signals. Three different detector configurations of PAMGUARD were evaluated. This work shows that the majority of whistle and click events can be detected using PAMGUARD software. All of the PAMGUARD trials were capable of detecting whistles and clicks of cetacean species with varying success. These techniques were field-tested at sea during a recent SWFSC marine mammal survey. Automated detection of beaked whales and Dall’s porpoise during this survey will also be discussed. It is our goal to integrate automated detection methods into SWFSC’s acoustic marine mammal monitoring protocol and this work is an important step in doing so.