SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, December 10 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The doctoral student from the University of La Laguna, Iván Rodríguez Méndez, has defended his doctoral thesis at the Higher School of Engineering and Technology in which he develops a pioneering system in the world for the passive acoustic monitoring of animal species with which it is possible to obtain, immediately, data on the sound state of the investigated area.
This is possible thanks to the design of a research device called MASE (Acoustic Monitor for Sound Environment and Energy), created by the Research Group: Physical bioacoustics and distributed multi-sensors, within the CanBIO project, which represents a great advance for the investigation, given that with the previous existing devices it was necessary to subsequently process the data rescued from the study area.
From April 2020 to October 2021, the Acoustic Monitor for Sound Environment and Energy has carried out continuous monitoring of the soundscape in Gando Bay (Gran Canaria), thanks to the buoys of the CanBio project.
The data obtained makes it possible to evaluate the acoustic environment of the environment and analyze the health of underwater ecosystems. Capturing the soundscape continuously provides valuable information to design conservation strategies and to make informed decisions to protect species and ecosystems.
Iván Rodríguez’s conclusions underline the current viability of low-cost, long-term acoustic observation in the open sea. In addition, the doctoral student highlights the improvements made in the modular design, which involve lower energy consumption and a higher sampling frequency than traditional sensors.
The biggest challenge of this work has been “developing the sensors from the beginning,” says Rodríguez, who recalls that when the research team led by Professor Fernando Rosa began the research in 2018, the technology that has been developed in this thesis.
Also included in the presentation are the SmartBirds and SmartNode systems. The first seeks to characterize terrestrial soundscapes, performing real-time calculations of acoustic indices and is capable of identifying more than one hundred Canary birds thanks to the use of artificial intelligence. For its part, SmartNode, an instrument tested at the Loro Parque facilities, studies diurnal and seasonal patterns in the acoustic activity of killer whales, which will contribute to greater knowledge of the species’ communication.
ABOUT CHANGE
CanBIO is an environmental research program financed in equal parts by the Government of the Canary Islands and Loro Parque with 2.5 million euros that have been invested, including this fifth year, to study climate change in the sea, ocean acidification and its effects on the marine and terrestrial biodiversity of the Canary Islands.
Likewise, the project collaborates with the Spanish Federation for Science and Technology and different research groups from the University of La Laguna and the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria are also participating, as well as other environmental volunteer groups.
The activity began in 2019 and the final objective is to establish a network to monitor parameters linked to climate change, ocean acidification, underwater noise pollution and the relationships of all of them with the marine and terrestrial biodiversity of the Canary Islands.
The goal of CanBIO is to become a data source for climate change models in the Macaronesian region, as well as a model for the protection of marine and terrestrial species throughout the region, in the face of the imminent global change we face.
