Interdisciplinary Center for Bioacoustics and Environmental Research

Director: Agnese Marchini

Headquarters: Via S. Epifanio 14

CIBRA was founded in 1989 as the "Interdisciplinary Center for Bioacoustics" thanks to Professor Mario Pavan (1918-2003), then Director of the Institute of Entomology, and Rector Roberto Schmid. The center was born from the experiences of the Laboratory of Numerical Bioacoustics started nine years earlier by Gianni Pavan, and quickly established itself as a cutting-edge laboratory at the international level in the field of bioacoustics and the nascent discipline of Computational Bioacoustics. Subsequently, the laboratory changed its name and became the "Interdisciplinary Center for Bioacoustics and Environmental Research" to better indicate the value and applications of bioacoustics in the environmental sector, in particular for the monitoring and protection of biodiversity. In the early 1990s, the working group, under the leadership of Gianni Pavan, consisted of Fabrizio Borsani, Claudio Fossati, Michele Manghi, Marco Priano e successivamente Giovanni Caltavuturo

In 1994, the first research cruise dedicated to marine mammals took place, equipped with cutting-edge hardware and software. Since then, work at sea has been a constant. The laboratory designed and developed instruments, data collection protocols, and analysis systems, including the SeaPro spectrographic visualization software. The resulting solutions were applied and tested at sea. This approach, based on the development and practical application of hardware and software, has enabled the group to acquire comprehensive and effective expertise, which is now reflected in the numerous environmental noise and noise pollution surveys that CIBRA conducts in collaboration with external organizations. Over the course of more than 30 years of activity, the Center has established a strong reputation in Italy and abroad for research related to underwater acoustics and the study and protection of marine mammals. This latter topic, in particular, has developed primarily in relation to the problem of the impact of human-generated noise, for example from naval sonar, geophysical surveys with airguns, naval traffic, and even from the ever-increasing number of industrial activities at sea, such as offshore wind farms. This broader research approaches the topics of acoustic ecology and environmental acoustics, leading CIBRA to participate in the creation of a new discipline, Ecoacoustics, in 2014, which combines bioacoustics and ecology, and in the founding of the International Ecoacoustic Society.

In 2006, the "Terrestrial and Marine Bioacoustics" course was established as part of the Master's Degree in Natural Sciences. Given the unique nature of the course—taught by Gianni Pavan, a researcher at the University of Pavia since 2005—it opened up new educational opportunities for students, not only from Pavia but also from other universities. Subsequently renamed "Bioacoustics," it is now a 6-credit elective course in the Master's Degree Programs in Biodiversity Conservation, Teaching and Scientific Communication and in Experimental and Applied Biology. Numerous undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral theses have been completed at CIBRA, including in collaboration with other Italian and international universities.

After the passing of Gianni Pavan in 2023, the course is currently taught, on a contract basis, by one of the center's longtime members, Claudio Fossati. The lessons guide students into the world of bioacoustics, starting with the physical foundations of sound and its propagation, then providing an overview of the vocalizations of various animal classes and their ethological and evolutionary significance. The topics of noise pollution and related mitigation techniques are addressed. Finally, sound recording and analysis tools are illustrated, with numerous practical references related to ongoing research.

Over the years, CIBRA has developed important national and international collaborations: the Italian Navy; NATO SACLANT (then NURC, now CMRE) in the international SOLMAR/MMRMP project; from 1999 to 2003, it was funded by the Office of Naval Research (USA) to conduct underwater bioacoustics research in partnership with NURC and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

It has collaborated with Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, participating in numerous seismic cruises to monitor marine mammals and provide advice on implementing mitigation policies required by the US government to protect these species; with the US Navy's SPAWAR Center for studies on Ziphius cavirostris strandings; and with the International Whaling Commission. It has also collaborated with the European Defence Agency (EDA) for the protection of marine mammals during military exercises. It has contributed substantially to the drafting of the Mitigation Policies of ACCOBAMS, NATO, and NMFS (National Marine Fishery Service, USA).

Since 2004, CIBRA has collaborated with ACCOBAMS and the Ministry of the Environment on the protection of marine mammals in the area of ​​underwater noise. CIBRA has acquired significant expertise, often inviting it to participate in oceanographic cruises with its own personnel and instruments. In this context, its personnel have been invited to Brazil and Taiwan (on behalf of the European Commission) during the preliminary authorization phases for offshore wind farms.

In Italy, it collaborates with the Natural History Museum of Milan; the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences of the University of Padua; the Aquarium of Genoa; the Tethys Institute; CONISMA (National Interuniversity Consortium for Marine Sciences); the Carabinieri Biodiversity Group (formerly the State Forestry Corps); ISPRA (Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research).

Since 2000, it has collaborated with the INFN (National Institute for Nuclear Physics) and the INGV (National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology) on the NEMOKM3NET, EMSO, and SMO projects for acoustic monitoring of the underwater environment with fiber-optic cable platforms.

The Ministry of the Environment has commissioned the Interdisciplinary Center for Bioacoustics and Environmental Research of the University of Pavia to create and maintain the National Database of Marine Mammal Strandings (Banca Dati Nazionale sugli Spiaggiamenti di Mammiferi Marini) along the Italian coasts, under the aegis of ACCOBAMS (Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area) and PELAGOS, currently curated by Dr. Michela Podestà, Natural History Museum of Milan. It also participated in the initial phases of the creation of the National Register of Impulsive Noises.

Since 2014, the Center has collaborated with several National Parks and the network of State Nature Reserves managed by the Carabinieri Biodiversity Units. The research began in the protected area of ​​the Sasso Fratino Integral Nature Reserve, in the Foreste Casentinesi National Park—the first integral nature reserve created in Italy in 1959 and the forerunner of the national network, which has repeatedly received the European Diploma for Nature Conservation, as well as UNESCO recognition for the ancient forest at its heart.

She currently collaborates with the University of Toulon and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique-CNRS (France) on the EUROPAM project and with PELAGOS on the TURSIONET and CLAPS projects.

CIBRA's current and longtime collaborators would like to remember Gianni on this page. With his expertise, helpfulness, and smile, he made it possible to build all this and share unforgettable years together.