In Antigua, a New Push to Research Caribbean Whales — By Listening to Them 

They’re the largest — and a few of the most important — creatures within the Caribbean ecosystem: whales, together with the humpbacks, sperm whales and pilot whales that frequent the area’s waters. 

Many whales migrate yearly to mate and provides delivery, whereas taking part in an essential position within the ecosystem — from facilitating nutrient biking to supporting the expansion of phytoplankton by their waste. 

However, as with many marine creatures worldwide, whales are dealing with challenges, from ocean plastic to noise air pollution to local weather change. And with a lot nonetheless unknown about their actions, standing and interactions within the area, conservation is that rather more tough. 

That’s why a brand new initiative primarily based in Antigua and Barbuda is seeking to deepen our understanding of whales within the Caribbean. 

The brand new undertaking, the brainchild of the Elkhorn Marine Conservancy in Antigua, will deploy a “hydrophone,” which is an underwater sound recorder, that can report whale sounds — giving us an thought of each the abundance of native species and the timing of their actions. 

The thought is to then funnel that information into AI to “distinguish between species’ sounds and and analyze their interactions with human actions, equivalent to boat site visitors.”

The hope is that this information will assist direct future conservation methods, “making certain that the Caribbean Sea stays a thriving atmosphere for these important species” whereas benefiting the native communities.