A digital acoustic recording tag for measuring the response of wild marine mammals to sound

Definitive studies on the response of marine mammals to anthropogenic sound are hampered by the short surface time and deep-diving lifestyle of many species. A novel archival tag, called the DTAG, has been developed to monitor the behavior of marine mammals, and their response to sound, continuously throughout the dive cycle. The tag contains a large array of solid-state memory and records continuously from a built-in hydrophone and suite of sensors. The sensors sample the orientation of the animal in three dimensions with sufficient speed and resolution to capture individual fluke strokes. Audio and sensor recording is synchronous so the relative timing of sounds and motion can be determined precisely. The…

• SI
  Smithsonian Institution
• IF
  International Fund for Animal Welfare
• WH
  Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• UO
  University of North Carolina Wilmington
• SE
  Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program
• OO
  Office of Naval Research

  Award: N00014
• NM
  National Marine Fisheries Service