Dear Marmamers,

My co-authors and I are pleased to share the recent publication of our paper 
"Contributions of bioacoustics to the scientific knowledge of marine mammals in 
Latin America" in Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals. doi: 
https://doi.org/10.5597/%20lajam00302

Chávez-Andrade, M., de la Cueva, H., Luévano-Esparza, J., & Lavín Murcio, P. A. 
(2023). Contributions of bioacoustics to the scientific knowledge of marine 
mammals in Latin America. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals, 18(1), 
96-113.  https://doi.org/10.5597/lajam00302

ABSTRACT
We review and document scientific publications on marine mammal bioacoustics in 
Latin America between 1971 and 2021, showing early scarcity and an increase 
through time. Marine bioacoustic studies how marine fauna produce and receive 
sounds that facilitate their life functions. Bioacoustics explores the biology 
and ecology of marine mammals, difficult or impossible to carry out using only 
traditional visual methods. From the first published study on the free-living 
common bottlenose dolphin in the Gulf of Mexico in 1953, acoustic studies on 
marine mammals have increased; most of its growth occurred in the 2000s. The 
objective of this study was to document the history and development of marine 
mammal bioacoustics in Latin America. We conducted a systematic search of 
scientific peer-reviewed literature on the Web of Science from 1971 to 2021, 
using keywords involving 18 acoustic and 16 marine mammal terms. We reported 
the countries where studies were carried out, the focal species, and the 
research topics. The oldest paper found was published in Chile in 1971. The 
2010s yielded the most publications (n= 10), compared to the 1970s (n = 4), 
1980s (n = 8), 1990s (n = 12), and the 2000s (n = 49). The publication rate 
increase between 1971 and 2021 is likely due to the increased development and 
use of affordable autonomous recording devices. The countries with most 
publications were Brazil (n = 60), Mexico (n = 46), and Ecuador (n = 29). Those 
with the least studies were in the Caribbean region. The most studied species 
were the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) (n = 46), the sperm whale 
(Physeter macrocephalus) (n = 43), and the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops 
truncatus) (n = 40). These species are highly vocal, widely distributed, and 
accessible inseveral habitats, facilitating their study. The most analyzed 
research topics were inter- and intraspecific differences invocalizations (n = 
104), acoustic signal descriptions (n = 74), and association of acoustic 
signals and behavior (n = 59). Theuse of bioacoustics in abundance, 
distribution, habitat use, and anthropogenic effects was scant in the list of 
publicationsreviewed for this study, but these topics are predicted to be 
pursued more often by researchers in the future as they areneeded to establish 
mitigation policies for the species and their habitat conservation.

The paper can be accessed here:  
https://lajamjournal.org/index.php/lajam/article/view/1521
Please don´t hesitate to contact the corresponding author for a pdf copy: 
marianachav...@gmail.com
Best regards,
M. Sc. Mariana Chávez-AndradePh. D. CandidateBioacoustics and Behavioral 
Ecology LabCIIDIR-OAXACA-IPN
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