Researchers at the Oceanogràfic (aquarium) and the UPV develop a new system to "understand" the language of cetaceans

A team from the Oceanogràfic’s Research Department and the Institute of Telecommunications and Multimedia Applications (ITEAM) at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) has developed a system that helps to “understand” the language of cetaceans and to find out their level of well-being. Based on an advanced algorithm for detecting animals’ vocal sounds, by the looks of the early results the system enables cetaceans’ mechanisms for producing sound to be better understood.

Since the two belugas came to the City of Arts and Sciences’ Oceanogràfic (aquarium), one of the researchers' major concerns has been to check on their level of well-being. At the marine park, they monitored the sounds produced by the belugas in different conditions and saw how the rate of these cetacean’s vocal sounds is directly related to their level of well-being. In total, 32 types of vocal sound were identified, making up the acoustic repertoire of the belugas. Some of these were associated with different types of behaviour: interaction with the keepers, with visitors, etc.

"In aquatic mammals, as with those on land, there is a high correlation between the number of sounds they make and their level of well-being. It is known that in situations such as veterinary handling, separation of pups or transportation and relocation, animals change the rate of sound emissions," says Ramón Miralles, ITEAM researcher at the Polytechnic University of Valencia.

Now the team of researchers from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and the Oceanogràfic has moved a step closer to achieving a continual, real-time sensor for belugas’ vocal sounds, so they can be monitored 24 hours a day. The system can also automatically classify the different types of sounds emitted by belugas in different situations.

These sounds, say the experts, serve several social and survival purposes. "Belugas mainly emit two types of sounds: pulses, which are related to echolocation, guidance in the water and the detection of prey, and other tonal sounds like whistles, clicks, etc. that seem to be more related to communication. What we try to do is to see the rate of vocal sounds, i.e. the number of vocal sounds per hour, and also to distinguish the types of sounds, whether these are sounds associated with their reactions or simply social communication among animals," explains José Antonio Esteban, coordinator at the Oceanogràfic’s Research Department.

The group of researchers from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and the Oceanogràfic has been working for a year on the system for automatically keeping a check on the cetaceans’ well-being in captivity and it is already being used in a trial phase in the Oceanográfico. The project has been undertaken with the economic backing of the UPV’s Telefónica Chair.