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takyon writes:

An algorithm has been applied to approximately 52 million dolphin clicks recorded underwater, sorting them into seven distinct types, one of which was identifiable as sounds made by Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus):

A new computer program has an ear for dolphin chatter. The algorithm uncovered six previously unknown types of dolphin echolocation clicks in underwater recordings from the Gulf of Mexico, researchers report online December 7 in PLOS Computational Biology. Identifying which species produce the newly discovered click varieties [open, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005823] [DX] could help scientists better keep tabs on wild dolphin populations and movements.

Dolphin tracking is traditionally done with boats or planes, but that's expensive, says study coauthor Kaitlin Frasier, an oceanographer at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif. A cheaper alternative is to sift through seafloor recordings — which pick up the echolocation clicks that dolphins make to navigate, find food and socialize. By comparing different click types to recordings at the surface — where researchers can see which animals are making the noise — scientists can learn what different species sound like, and use those clicks to map the animals' movements deep underwater.

Related: Dolphins Have a Language That Helps Them Solve Problems Together
Another Study Identifies Complex Social and Cultural Behaviors Seen in Dolphins

Original Submission