Benjamin Benti

Mail : benjamin.benti@etu.unistra.fr

Phone : +33 6 03 79 34 58

Thesis: Quantification of the effects of anthropogenic and heterospecific sounds on the behaviour of Cetaceans

Supervisor: Valérie Dufour,  Co-supervisors: Charlotte Curé, Patrick Miller

In the marine environment, the high travel speed of sounds and their low absorption result in a very complex soundscape. Cetaceans, which have evolved advanced sound emission and reception systems, are able to perceive many different kinds of sounds. The aim of my Ph.D. is to determine to which extent external sounds, and more precisely sounds produced by other Cetacean species and sounds related to human activities, can be informative to Cetaceans, and how they respond to them.

In order to do so, we expose humpback whales and pilot whales to broadcasts of the sounds of different killer whale ecotypes and different military sonar types, while recording their behaviour with animal-borne tags. We’re interested in their horizontal movement patterns and in the alterations of their diving, feeding, and vocal behaviours in response to acoustic disturbances.

Publications

Benti B, Curé C, Dufour V (2019) Individual signature in the most common and context-independent call of the Rook (Corvus frugilegus). The Wilson Journal of Ornithology In-Press

Lam F-P, Kvadsheim PH, Isojunno S, van IJsselmunde S, Wensveen PJ, Hansen RR, Silve LD, Kleivane L, Martin Lòpez LM, Benti B, Dekeling R, Miller PJO (2018) Behavioural response study on the effects of continuous sonar and the effects of source proximity on sperm whales in Norwegian water – the 3S-2017 Cruise report. (TNO 2018 R10958)

Wallace EK, Altschul D, Körfer K, Benti B, Kaeser A et al. (2017) Is music enriching for group-housed captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) ? PLOS ONE 12(3): e0172672. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0172672