Abstract

Marine mammals, which include whales, dolphins and porpoises (cetaceans), together with sirenians, seals, walruses and a number of other creatures, all spend most of their time in the sea. Living their lives in the water, they have not only adapted their lifestyles, but have also modified the way in which they interact with each other and with the environment. In particular, cetaceans’ sound generation and auditory systems have evolved to base their daily life mainly on acoustics. Like bats, they use sound in the way we use light to both communicate and to investigate the environment. Apart from being essential for these animals, this use of sound allows human researchers to eavesdrop and to study cetacean behaviour from a distance. This talk explores how (and why) marine mammals can be detected, identified and localised using techniques developed by the military for Anti Submarine Warfare and based on the mathematics inherent in three academic disciplines: • Underwater Acoustics • Signal Processing • Ecology This is generally referred to as Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM).