EMSO and KM3Net Italia infrastructures for marine bioacoustic studies and for the implementation of the EU Marine Strategy

Within the EMSO and KM3NeT Italia framework INFN and INGV develop and run deep sea infrastructures and instruments for a wide range of scientific research developed by a network of institutional partners. The marine bioacoustic research began in 2005 with the NEMO-OnDE platform deployed at 2000m depth 25 km off Catania (Sicily), connected to the INFN-LNS laboratory in Catania by fiber optic cables. Wideband acoustic data collected during 2 years of operations (2005-2006) revealed an unexpected presence of sperm whales in the Ionian Sea and demonstrated the importance of continuous acoustic monitoring of the deep marine environment. This pilot project led to the deployment in 2012 of the new NEMO-SN1 observatory, funded under the LIDO Demonstration Mission of ESONeT (FP6) and the development of the Submarine Multidisciplinary Observatory (SMO) program, a FIRB project granted by the Italian Ministry of the University and Research, hosted by INFN-LNS (http://web.infn.it/smo). The seafloor installations now available in the gulf of Catania e and off Capo Passero open new research and monitoring perspectives, however new challenges emerge, mostly related to the processing and storage of huge data streams. These monitoring platforms can fill the gaps linked to traditional surface surveys, usually concentrated during the good season and anyway rarely covering wide areas and long time windows. Mapping seasonal use or concentration of animals may reveal migration patterns or particular use of the areas (feeding, breeding…) and therefore support effective protection actions and the monitoring of their effectiveness. These new stations provide wide band acquisition for sperm whales and other odontocetes as well as for low frequency fin whales’ calls and marine noise. The goal of the research is to confirm the sperm whales’ presence and seasonality, to assess the size of detected whales, to map the presence of fin whales, and to measure the low frequency background noise that may have an impact on these animals (communication masking, hearing impairment). AIS data, collected by dedicated receivers in Catania and Capo Passero, allows to link measured noise levels to the ship traffic in the area, to identify the most noisy ships, to model the impact on marine mammals and consequently to develop mitigation plans. The long term observation is functional to the implementation of the MSFD (EC/2008/56) – monitoring of biodiversity and noise - and to provide feedback about conservation policies. Examples of ongoing bioacoustic research will be presented.