Bio-inspired active sensing in the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) (White paper tracking number: ...)
Abstract
Bio-inspired active sensing in the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)""The description of this effort is a multi-disciplinary and" collaborative departmental effort in R2 sub-activity Ocean Acoustics in PE 0601153N. Funding is to support the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) to conduct research in biosonar for object detection. The overall objective of the is to understand how toothed whales detect and discriminate between targets in clutter. SDU will test several new techniques on trained animals in semi-natural conditions to elucidate and analyze acoustic behaviors along with the corresponding auditory processing. Testing will take place at the SDU Marine Biological Research Center colocated with Fjord & Baelt in Kerteminde, Denmark where harbor porpoises are trained and cared for. Two porpoises will initially be trained to swim up to a target using echolocation. Animals will wear eyecups to prevent their use of vision in the tasks. The target will be deployed 15 m from where the porpoise starts searching for it (Figure 2). When the porpoise touches the target (S+), a bridge stimulus (tone) will be presented, followed by a food reward. The testing protocols for different target detection tasks are as follows: Task 1: porpoises will detect the target (S+) in the left or right compartment.Task 2: porpoises will discriminate the target (S+) from another object (S-) in theleft or right compartment.Task 3: porpoises will detect the target in the left or right compartment in clutter.Task 4: porpoises will discriminate the target (S+) from another object (S-) inclutter. In each task, the target will be presented randomly in the left or rightcompartment, and porpoises will receive a food reward for swimming into thecompartment that houses S+ and tapping it.Stereo video cameras will be used to reconstruct the animals~ swim trajectories.The porpoise may also be equipped with a Dtag during the trials. Echolocation signals will be recorded with a hydrophone array, and scanning behavior will be studied by reconstructing the beam axis of each sonar signal produced by the porpoise as it performs the tasks.Harbor porpoise hearing will be investigated by measuring Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) to acoustic stimuli. Two harbor porpoises will be trained to wear ABR electrodes while either stationary or actively swimming performing echolocation tasks while being blindfolded. The data will forthe first time indicate the hearing abilities of the animals during the various stages ofecholocation. Results will be compared with and in collaboration with a team and Brown University and Johns Hopkins investigating echolocation in bats - an ONR MURI Bio-inspired AdaptiveSonar for Classification and Guidance in Complex Env"ironments
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Dec 16, 2019
- Source ID
- N000142012748
Entities
People
- Magnus Wahlberg
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Southern Denmark