What is the purpose of this project?

This is a long-term project that aims to identify, categorize, and classify manatee calls. We need the help of citizen scientists to train our deep learning models to do these tasks automatically so they can work in real time with passive acoustic data. The ultimate goal is to create a system for tracking manatees via passive acoustic recordings and potentially warn boaters about a manatee presence in the area.

When were these recordings made?

Audio and video recordings of the manatees were taken at the Lowry Park Zoo (now Zoo Tampa at Lowry Park) Manatee Hospital during a period of several years. The data was mainly collected during the daytime between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Why are some manatee calls very clear while others are very hard to see on a spectrogram?

If a manatee is close to the hydrophone when a call is produced, it will be very loud and very clear. Calls produced far away from the hydrophone will be more quiet and worse in quality because of noise interference and sound propagation.

I do not see a “play button” and cannot play the sound.

Some users might have these issues associated with the browser not supporting the sound file playback. Try to use another browser and see if it works. We are working to resolve it.

What is the significance of mastication (chewing) sounds and why are researchers interested in identifying them in sound files?

Mastication sounds signify feeding events and could be useful behavioral identifiers for passive acoustics since in many places, manatees inhabit turbid waters and it is hard to see what they are doing underwater.

What is the final count for subjects?

This is an ongoing project and we will be adding datasets as we go along. Once all files from the rehab center manatees are completed, we will analyze recordings from the wild that will allow us to better tune our deep learning model for manatee call identification and classification.

Are there breathing sounds in the files?

No, manatees breathe above water and hold their breath while underwater, so there are no breathing sounds in the files.