Brent Meister- I love answering questions.

     Elizabeth S. sec. 51: I was wondering about your hydrophone. Maybe you said this already but are you able to record the sound or do you just listen to it and evaluate it somehow? If you can record it, are you also able to upload it so we can hear what it sounds like? And once you record it, how do you evaluate or measure the sound? How do you use it in your research?

     To start, with my hydrophone and the use of the ISHMAEL software I am able to record sound and save it to my computer so I can listen and evaluate it later. I have recently gone out and recorded some sound which I am not to pleased with and will have to go out again. Once I am happy with my recording I will post it to the blog spot so every one can listen to the sounds of the inter-coastal waterway. Now how I measure sound is by frequency in the units of Hertz. All marine mammals rely on frequencies to communicate. Frequencies are sound waves and there are ranges we can't hear and certain animal can, for instance a dog whistle can be quit loud to dogs but it doesn't bother us. A lot of people get confused when they see something expressed in decibels. Don't be worried by this as this is just a measurement of how intense the sound is, or how loud. Its kind of like if someone pulled up next to you in a car with their stereo turned up all the way; you can hear the sound so its in the frequency that people can hear however the music is really loud or intense because its right next to you and that is a measurement in decibels. I use this in my research by collecting and evaluating sound, on a frequency standpoint, and seeing if it is within the auditory range of marine mammals. this could cause a problem if the mammals cant communicate they can run into boats mare frequently or just leave the area completely disrupting the balance in the ecosystem.

This is some of the stuff I can look at in ISHMAEL