Development of a multi-week Sound and Motion Recording and Telemetry (SMRT) tag for behavioral studies of whales
Abstract
Development of a multi-week Sound and Motion Recording and Telemetry (SMRT) tag for behavioral studies of whales PI: Melinda Holland, Wildlife Computers Co-PI: Russel Andrews, Foundation for Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research SUMMARY This proposal addresses topic 2c in Ocean Battlespace Sensing: Marine Mammals and Biology, in BAA #N00014-16-R-BA01. The proposed project aims to dramatically improve the ability of researchers to understand and characterize the behavioral responses of cetaceans to anthropogenic sounds, and to facilitate the collection of data at the scales necessary to determine the population-level consequences of sound exposure on cetaceans. Studies attempting to address the effects of sound on marine mammals have relied heavily on short-term sound recording tags, some of which have ability to measure both the exposure intensity and the animal s responses simultaneously. However, in order to determine how short-term responses translate into fitness consequences, it will be critical to obtain longer-term records than have been possible with the current designs of sound recording tags, which have been limited to recordings of less than two days due to constraints on battery capacity and the attachment ability of suction cups. It would be most efficient to monitor whales over longer periods, well before and after sound exposures. A reasonably long sampling duration after the exposure is required to avoid the confounding effects of the acute response to tagging and to establish the duration of long-lived responses. Even greater longevities are needed if the timing of the sound exposure is uncertain as in many opportunistic studies. Thus, for authentic sound exposures such as Navy sonar exercises that can last for several days, a tag longevity of two weeks or more may be required, a ten-fold increase over current sound recording tags. Therefore, this project aims to develop the technology for a new tag that can record sound and motion for at least two weeks of on-animal operation. A small, hydrodynamic tag is required both to ensure reliable attachment for the required time, and to minimize impact of the tag on the host animal. As a consequence the battery volume, and therefore energy, is strictly limited necessitating extremely efficient electronic circuits. To reach the minimum required attachment duration, we will work to develop an improved skin-penetrating anchor design that has minimal impact on the tagged animal. We aim to develop a tag that would primarily archive its data, but would include telemetry of synopsized data to aid recovery, hence the acronym of SMRT, standing for Sound and Motion Recording and Telemetry. The archival tag would float after release and transmit positional information as well as synopses of the data collected. The tag would have computational capacity for the later addition of more sophisticated data processing for telemetry, the design of which would be informed by the actual data recovered from initial prototype tags. The development process will include multiple iterations of bench testing, field deployments, and improvements. Compared with existing tags, the proposed tag will provide a unique combination of capabilities: multi-week sound recording, Fastloc GPS positioning, reliable medium-term cetacean attachment and data synopsis telemetry, which will make it immediately useful for behavioral response studies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 04, 2017
- Source ID
- N000141713046
Entities
People
- Melinda Holland
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- Wildlife Computers (United States)