AI tool will be able to trace dolphins by their regional accent

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Sea mammal expert Dr Julie Oswald, of the University of St Andrews’ Scottish Oceans Institute, created the tool, known as the Real-time Odontocete Call Classification Algorithm, using AI. Rocca has made it easier by using machine learning to reveal subtle acoustic differences to match sounds to species with regionally specific settings to account for accents. Dolphins develop region-specific accents, meaning a bottlenose dolphin in the North Sea may produce different sounds compared with one in the Pacific. open image in gallery Dolphins develop region-specific accents, meaning a bottlenose dolphin in the North Sea may produce different sounds compared with one in the Pacific Rocca accounts for these regional differences to help conservationists identify dolphin species more accurately and assess the impact of human activities such as fishing and sonar disturbances.