How AI and bioacoustics can help monitor cetaceans?
AI and Bioacoustics: Revolutionizing Cetacean Monitoring
Discover how AI and bioacoustics are transforming cetacean conservation—making marine mammal monitoring faster, more accurate, and more accessible than ever before.
Whales, dolphins, and other cetaceans are among the ocean's most important—and elusive—inhabitants. With over 90 species spread across vast and often remote marine environments, traditional monitoring methods fall short.
Bioacoustics and AI now provide a game-changing alternative, enabling real-time tracking and deeper understanding of cetacean behavior, migrations, and responses to human activity.
What Is Bioacoustics?
Bioacoustics merges biology and sound science to study how animals produce and respond to sounds. In marine environments, where vision is limited, sound becomes the primary medium of communication and navigation. By capturing and analyzing underwater vocalizations, bioacoustics helps researchers:
Identify species and track populations
Understand communication and social behaviors
Detect responses to environmental changes and noise pollution
The Role of Bioacoustics in Marine Conservation
Pioneered in the 1950s, marine bioacoustics has grown into a core research discipline. It offers:
Non-invasive monitoring over large areas
Behavioral insights from vocalization patterns
Impact assessments from climate change or human disturbance
Critical data to inform marine protected areas and policies
Integrated with other tools like tagging and visual surveys, bioacoustics helps paint a full picture of cetacean life.
AI Applications in Cetacean Monitoring
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing how scientists process vast acoustic datasets. From real-time detection to automated classification, AI enables smarter, faster insights into cetacean behavior.
How It Works:
Audio Collection
Hydrophones record thousands of hours of underwater sounds.
Preprocessing
Background noise is filtered; audio segments are normalized and cleaned.
Feature Extraction
AI analyzes frequency, timing, and acoustic patterns using tools like MFCCs.
Model Training
Machine learning models (e.g., CNNs, RNNs) are trained on labeled calls.
Real-Time Detection
The system recognizes species-specific vocalizations as they occur.
Output & Analysis
Data is visualized, tracked, and used to map species movements and behavior.
Integrating AI with Autonomous Systems
Offering a revolutionary method for monitoring marine animals, integrating AI with autonomous underwater systems plays a crucial role in advancing research on cetaceans.
For example, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) equipped with AI technology can continuously record the sounds and vocalizations of whales and dolphins while navigating through their habitats. By employing machine learning algorithms to analyze these audio recordings in real time, these systems can distinguish between various cetacean calls, providing crucial insights into their communication patterns and social structures.
Sinay's AI-Powered Monitoring Solutions
At Sinay, we specialize in real-time acoustic surveillance for cetacean protection. Our comprehensive solution includes:
PAM Buoys with broadband hydrophones for high-frequency species detection
Real-time alerts for marine mammal presence and noise threshold exceedance
Intuitive dashboard for alert logs, summaries, and acoustic mapping
BAG/BACI-compliant methodology for robust pre-, during-, and post-operation monitoring
Data modeling tools for advanced risk analysis and predictive mitigation
With Sinay, you get more than data—you get clarity, compliance, and conservation impact.
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