Gubnitsky Guy, Mevorach Yaly, Gero Shane, Gruber David F, Diamant Roee
Department of Marine Technology, University of Haifa, 3498838, Haifa, Israel.
Project CETI, New York, NY, 10003, USA.
Sci Rep. 2025 Apr 14;15(1):12790. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-97009-z.
A key technology for sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) monitoring is the identification of sperm whale communication signals, known as codas. In this paper we present the first automatic coda detector and annotator. The main innovation in our detector is graph-based clustering, which utilizes the expected similarity between the clicks that make up the coda. Results show detection and accurate annotation at low signal-to-noise ratios, separation between codas and echolocation clicks, and discrimination between codas from simultaneously emitting whales. Using this automatic annotator, insights into the characterization of sperm whale communication are presented. The results include new types of coda signals, analysis of the distribution of coda types among different whales and for different years, and evidence for synchronization between communicating whales in terms of coda type and coda transmission time. These results indicate a high degree of complexity in the communication system of this cetacean species. Source code and data for our system is publicly available.
抹香鲸（Physeter macrocephalus）监测的一项关键技术是识别被称为尾声信号的抹香鲸交流信号。在本文中，我们展示了首个自动尾声信号检测器和注释器。我们的检测器的主要创新之处在于基于图的聚类，它利用了构成尾声信号的咔哒声之间预期的相似性。结果表明，该检测器在低信噪比下能够进行检测和准确注释，能够区分尾声信号和回声定位咔哒声，还能区分同时发声的鲸鱼发出的尾声信号。利用这个自动注释器，我们对抹香鲸交流的特征有了深入了解。结果包括新型尾声信号、不同鲸鱼以及不同年份尾声信号类型分布的分析，以及在尾声信号类型和尾声信号传输时间方面，交流中的鲸鱼之间同步的证据。这些结果表明这种鲸类物种的交流系统具有高度复杂性。我们系统的源代码和数据可公开获取。
