Passive acoustic monitoring for cetaceans is being increasingly widely used both as a survey tool and in order to detect animals in the vicinity of a variety of industrial and military activities which may cause disturbance or injury. While techniques for collecting data and acoustically detecting animals have improved greatly in recent years, analytical methods for converting numbers of detections (or the lack of detections) into meaningful abundance estimates or probabilities of animal presence in an area require further investigation.
The student will work with a small team of experts in cetacean population assessment, mathematical modelling and acoustics in St Andrews. He/she will also be working with BAE systems who have been collaborating with St Andrews to develop risk mitigation tools for use by the Royal Navy.
The principal research areas to be covered in this project are
• Assessment of the performance of passive acoustic detection systems in terms of efficiency, false alarm rate and species classification / mis-classification
• Development of a statistical framework for the analysis of line transect and point transect acoustic survey data which can allow for false positive detections. (Current methods only allow for missed detections)
• Development of statistical methods which will update predicted distributions of cetacean density using real time acoustic data
• A comparison of the effectiveness of visual and acoustic detection methods for real time risk mitigation
• An investigation of the use of passive acoustic detection systems for monitoring long term trends in cetacean abundance
Funding Notes
The studentship covers subsistence and fees for UK students, and for European Union nationals who have been resident in the UK for at least the last 3 years for education purposes; where residency has been for less than three years, funding is on a fees-only basis. These studentships cannot be used to support non-European overseas students.
The studentship will be suitable for a candidate with a strong mathematical/statistical background. Applicants should have a good degree in biology, statistics or a relevant subject area, equivalent to a first or upper second class within the UK system. A master’s degree and/or direct research experience in population modelling, acoustics or statistics would be a distinct advantage.
In addition, the following skills will be particularly valuable:
• Experience of computer programming, preferably in the R or Matlab languages.
• An understanding of statistical modelling.
• Experience of acoustic data analysis and an understanding of factors affecting acoustic detection of cetaceans.
• Proven data handling and management skills.
The student will be jointly registered in the School of Biology and the School of Mathematics and Statistics. The latter registration means that he/she will be entitled and expected to register for relevant advanced level courses run by the EPSRC Academy for PhD Training in Statistics and the Scottish Mathematical Sciences Training Centre.
Further informal inquires may be made to Prof. John Harwood (jh17@st-andrews.ac.uk) or Dr Douglas Gillespie (dg50@st-andrews.ac.uk).
Plus d'infos
The student will work with a small team of experts in cetacean population assessment, mathematical modelling and acoustics in St Andrews. He/she will also be working with BAE systems who have been collaborating with St Andrews to develop risk mitigation tools for use by the Royal Navy.
The principal research areas to be covered in this project are
• Assessment of the performance of passive acoustic detection systems in terms of efficiency, false alarm rate and species classification / mis-classification
• Development of a statistical framework for the analysis of line transect and point transect acoustic survey data which can allow for false positive detections. (Current methods only allow for missed detections)
• Development of statistical methods which will update predicted distributions of cetacean density using real time acoustic data
• A comparison of the effectiveness of visual and acoustic detection methods for real time risk mitigation
• An investigation of the use of passive acoustic detection systems for monitoring long term trends in cetacean abundance
Funding Notes
The studentship covers subsistence and fees for UK students, and for European Union nationals who have been resident in the UK for at least the last 3 years for education purposes; where residency has been for less than three years, funding is on a fees-only basis. These studentships cannot be used to support non-European overseas students.
The studentship will be suitable for a candidate with a strong mathematical/statistical background. Applicants should have a good degree in biology, statistics or a relevant subject area, equivalent to a first or upper second class within the UK system. A master’s degree and/or direct research experience in population modelling, acoustics or statistics would be a distinct advantage.
In addition, the following skills will be particularly valuable:
• Experience of computer programming, preferably in the R or Matlab languages.
• An understanding of statistical modelling.
• Experience of acoustic data analysis and an understanding of factors affecting acoustic detection of cetaceans.
• Proven data handling and management skills.
The student will be jointly registered in the School of Biology and the School of Mathematics and Statistics. The latter registration means that he/she will be entitled and expected to register for relevant advanced level courses run by the EPSRC Academy for PhD Training in Statistics and the Scottish Mathematical Sciences Training Centre.
Further informal inquires may be made to Prof. John Harwood (jh17@st-andrews.ac.uk) or Dr Douglas Gillespie (dg50@st-andrews.ac.uk).
Plus d'infos