Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to announce that the following paper has been published which
may be of interest to Marmamers. It's a review of methods for monitoring
acoustic habitats, both terrestrial and aquatic, and includes codes in MATLAB
and R to produce calibrated acoustic measurements. This is the pre-proof
version; the fully formatted version will be published Open Access in due
course.
With best wishes,
Nathan Merchant
Merchant, N.D., Fristrup, K.M., Johnson, M.P., Tyack, P.L., Witt, M.J.,
Blondel, P., Parks, S.E. (2015). Measuring acoustic habitats. Methods in
Ecology and Evolution.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12330
Summary
1.Many organisms depend on sound for communication, predator/prey detection,
and navigation. The acoustic environment can therefore play an important role
in ecosystem dynamics and evolution. A growing number of studies are
documenting acoustic habitats and their influences on animal development,
behaviour, physiology, and spatial ecology, which has led to increasing demand
for passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) expertise in the life sciences. However,
as yet, there has been no synthesis of data processing methods for acoustic
habitat monitoring, which presents an unnecessary obstacle to would-be PAM
analysts.
2.Here, we review the signal processing techniques needed to produce calibrated
measurements of terrestrial and aquatic acoustic habitats. We include a
supplemental tutorial and template computer codes in MATLAB and R, which give
detailed guidance on how to produce calibrated spectrograms and statistical
analyses of sound levels. Key metrics and terminology for the characterisation
of biotic, abiotic, and anthropogenic sound are covered, and their application
to relevant monitoring scenarios is illustrated through example datasets. To
inform study design and hardware selection, we also include an up-to-date
overview of terrestrial and aquatic PAM instruments.
3.Monitoring of acoustic habitats at large spatiotemporal scales is becoming
possible through recent advances in PAM technology. This will enhance our
understanding of the role of sound in the spatial ecology of acoustically
sensitive species, and inform spatial planning to mitigate the rising influence
of anthropogenic noise in these ecosystems. As we demonstrate in this work,
progress in these areas will depend upon the application of consistent and
appropriate PAM methodologies.
*******
Dr Nathan Merchant
Senior Scientist, Underwater Noise
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas)
Pakefield Road
Lowestoft
Suffolk NR33 0HT
+44 (0) 1502 527780
[email protected]
www.cefas.defra.gov.uk
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