Detection and Classification of Cetacean Echolocation Clicks using Image-based Object Detection Methods applied to Advanced Wavelet-based Transformations

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel image-based deep learning approach using wavelet transformations for detecting and classifying cetacean echolocation clicks, improving accuracy in complex marine bioacoustic environments.

Contribution

It introduces CLICK-SPOT, a deep learning method leveraging wavelet-based transformations to enhance detection and classification of whale clicks over traditional spectrogram methods.

Findings

CLICK-SPOT outperforms spectrogram-based methods in noisy conditions

Wavelet transformations improve feature extraction for high-frequency signals

Method validated on Norwegian Killer whale recordings

Abstract

A challenge in marine bioacoustic analysis is the detection of animal signals, like calls, whistles and clicks, for behavioral studies. Manual labeling is too time-consuming to process sufficient data to get reasonable results. Thus, an automatic solution to overcome the time-consuming data analysis is necessary. Basic mathematical models can detect events in simple environments, but they struggle with complex scenarios, like differentiating signals with a low signal-to-noise ratio or distinguishing clicks from echoes. Deep Learning Neural Networks, such as ANIMAL-SPOT, are better suited for such tasks. DNNs process audio signals as image representations, often using spectrograms created by Short-Time Fourier Transform. However, spectrograms have limitations due to the uncertainty principle, which creates a tradeoff between time and frequency resolution. Alternatives like the wavelet, which provides better time resolution for high frequencies and improved frequency resolution for low frequencies, may offer advantages for feature extraction in complex bioacoustic environments. This thesis shows the efficacy of CLICK-SPOT on Norwegian Killer whale underwater recordings provided by the cetacean biologist Dr. Vester. Keywords: Bioacoustics, Deep Learning, Wavelet Transformation