Marine animal sound classification

Software was developed to measure characteristics of marine animal sounds (AcouStat). These measurements included aggregate bandwidth, duration, amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, center frequency, and interactions among some of these variables. These measurements proved effective for describing and classifying sounds in several contexts: identifying species, quantifying the repertoire of a single species, and identifying individuals. Our experience during development suggests that removal of noise energy and use of robust statistical measures are necessary to ensure repeatable results with open water recordings of marine mammal species.