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SUMMARY:  What and where is the information on animal vocalisations? - Ari
 k Kershenbaum (NIMBS Tennessee)
DTSTART:20140305T120000Z
DTEND:20140305T130000Z
UID:TALK51114@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dieter Lukas
DESCRIPTION: A wide range of species use acoustic communication\, increasi
 ng their own fitness by transmitting signals to alter the behaviour of con
 - or hetero-specifics. These signals contain "information" of some sort - 
 but what is the nature of that information\, and how is it represented aco
 ustically?  By understanding how information is encoded\, and how animal p
 erception is converted into understanding\, we can uncover clues to the co
 gnitive processes taking place in the animals' brains\, and also gain clue
 s to the evolution of human language.  In this talk\, I will present some 
 of my recent work on animal acoustic sequences\, and some novel mathematic
 al techniques for analysing them.  How can we define complexity in acousti
 c communication\, and what role does vocal complexity play in social behav
 iour\, such as in the highly diverse mimicry of the mockingbird?  How do d
 olphins process subtle acoustic differences\, to distinguish between their
  individually characteristic signature whistles?  Can we decode species-sp
 ecific acoustic information to aid conservation of endangered animals such
  as the red wolf?  And what is the process by which many species generate 
 long sequences of distinct syllables?  These sequences may appear random\,
  but by comparing them to different stochastic models\, we find that tradi
 tional assumptions of Markovian vocal sequence production poorly describe 
 the sequence repertoire\, challenging traditional models of language evolu
 tion.  Mathematical methods for analysing animal acoustic communication of
 fer the potential of unlocking the information contained within\; allowing
  us to develop and test new hypotheses of behavioural ecology\, and social
  and behavioural evolution.
LOCATION:Part II Lecture Theatre\, Department of Zoology
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