What is acoustic telemetry?

What is acoustic telemetry?

Acoustic telemetry is used to study the behaviour and migration patterns of aquatic animals. But how does it work exactly?

In the case of Apoqnmatulti'k, jakej (lobster), katew (eel) and punamuiku (tomcod) are tagged with small transmitters that emit a coded sound, or, "ping." Underwater receivers can detect an animal's pinging tag within half a kilometre and store the tag's coded ID signal with a date and time stamp.

We plan to tag 40 individuals of each of our three study species.

Animal movement data is collected from receivers by bringing them to the surface, or remotely offloading the receiver via an acoustic modem that hangs in shallow water. Like an underwater telephone, the modem "calls" the receiver and uploads the tracking data without handling the receiver.

Receivers will continue to be deployed in two study locations in the Bay of Fundy and the Bras d’Or Lake by Spring 2020.

Quick fact: Did you know that sound travels 4 times faster in water than in air? Researchers take advantage of this when using acoustic telemetry to track aquatic animals.