Principles of Marine Bioacoustics / Edition 1

by Whitlow W. L. Au, Mardi C. Hastings

Overview

Humans have always been fascinated by marine life, from extremely small diatoms to the largest mammal that inhabits our planet, the blue whale. However, studying marine life in the ocean is an extremely difficult propo- tion because an ocean environment is not only vast but also opaque to most instruments and can be a hostile environment in which to perform expe- ments and research. The use of acoustics is one way to effectively study animal life in the ocean. Acoustic energy propagates in water more efficiently than almost any form of energy and can be utilized by animals for a variety of purposes and also by scientists interested in studying their behavior and natural history. However, underwater acoustics have traditionally been in the domain of physicists, engineers and mathematicians. Studying the natural history of animals is in the domain of biologists and physiologists. Und- standing behavior of animals has traditionally involved psychologists and zoologists. In short, marine bioacoustics is and will continue to be a diverse discipline involving investigators from a variety of backgrounds, with very different knowledge and skill sets. The inherent inter-disciplinary nature of marine bioacoustics presents a large challenge in writing a single text that would be meaningful to various investigators and students interested in this field. Yet we have embarked on this challenge to produce a volume that would be helpful to not only beginning investigators but to seasoned researchers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781441926869
Publisher:	Springer New York
Publication date:	12/01/2010
Series:	Modern Acoustics and Signal Processing
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of hardcover 1st ed. 2008
Pages:	679
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.05(d)

About the Author

Whitlow W.L. Au and Mardi C. Hastings have been involved with scientific acoustic research on marine animals for many years and their total combined span of time in this field extends over 5 decades.

Table of Contents

Principles and Methodology.- Measurement and Generation of Underwater Sounds.- Transducer Properties and Utilization.- Acoustic Propagation.- Signal Recording and Data Acquisition.- Fourier Analysis.- Auditory Systems of Marine Animals.- Experimental Psychological and Electrophysiological Methodology.- Acoustics of Marine Animals.- Hearing in Marine Animals.- Emission of Social Sounds by Marine Animals.- Echolocation in Marine Mammals.- Some Signal Processing Techniques.- Some Instrumentation for Marine Bioacoustics Research.

Editorial Reviews

From the reviews:

“Provides a comprehensive overview of the bioacoustics of marine life. It is targeted for bioacousticians, and is intended to focus on areas of knowledge that they should master. … This book achieves its objective of providing that knowledge base. It also is a valuable information source for engineers and scientists with a background in acoustics, and who are interested in gaining insights into the bioacoustics of marine life. … a valuable information source on marine bioacoustics and is recommended.” (Martin L. Pollack, Noise Control Engineering Journal, Vol. 58 (6), November-December, 2010)

“The book incorporates detailed qualitative and quantitative information and analysis of the sounds produced by marine life with a particular emphasis on marine mammals. … the book contains a vast amount of useful information supported by extensive experimental evidence. … The descriptions of experimental design, measurement, and analysis techniques make this a good starting point for someone planning further experiments in this domain. … I recommend this book to anyone searching for knowledge of marine bioacoustics.” (Adrian Brown, International Journal of Acoustics and Vibration, Vol. 16 (2), 2011)

From the Publisher