@mastersthesis {58464, title = {Notes from the Underground: An Exploration of Burying Beetle Thermal Ecology, Sound Production and Reception, and Brain Morphology.}, volume = {PhD}, year = {2022}, school = {University of New Hampshire}, url = {https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/2698?utm_source=scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/2698}, author = {Michelle Ward} } @mastersthesis {58405, title = {Effect of Anthropogenic Noise on Reef Macroinvertebrates (Lambis lambis and Tridacna maxima)}, year = {2020}, abstract = {

Boat noise has been shown to distract and cause harm to many marine organisms. Most of the study effort has been focused on fish \& marine mammals, even though invertebrates represent 99\% of all living organisms, both terrestrial and aquatic. The small amount of studies conducted on invertebrates have demonstrated a clear negative correlation between anthropogenic noise pollution and invertebrate well-being. The small giant clam Tridacna maxima and the spider conch Lambis lambis are two invertebrate species which play key roles in coral reef ecosystems, and are little studied for the effects of noise disturbance. If their behaviour is significantly affected by boat noise, this could cause a knock on effect on the rest of the reef ecosystem. T. maxima functions as prey to many fish species, contributing up to 9\% of the reef\’s calcium carbonate budget, as well as playing a role in nutrient cycling. L. lambis is essential prey for molluscivore snails and certain elasmobranchs, and through its herbivorous feeding, helps to keep filamentous algae levels low. Moreover, coral reefs are reliant on the biological sound primarily created by invertebrates, such as snapping shrimp, to attract larvae from the pelagic environment for settlement. During experiments conducted in February 2020 in the Red Sea, Daily Diary Monitoring (DDMT) smart tags were used to measure the reactions of T. maxima and L. lambis respectively during underwater playback of boat noise compared with ambient reef sound. It was found that both T. maxima and L. lambis exhibited behavioral changes during the boat noise treatment. The implications of this study is that individuals of L. lambis and T. maxima may spend energy averting the invisible \"threat\" of boat noise, rather than feeding and/or photosynthesizing, in the case of T. maxima. If this hinders the acquisition of food/production, the whole reef ecosystem may be compromised in a knock-on effect from these producers and primary consumers. As boat noise is prevalent on inshore Red Sea reefs, shown by a 24-hour acoustic analysis of a patch reef sound pressure levels (SPL), invertebrates might be affected on a large scale in the Red Sea.

}, doi = {10.25781/KAUST-031Z6}, author = {Michelle-Nicole Havlik} } @mastersthesis {58379, title = {Vibratory Communication in the Black Widow Spider, Latrodectus hesperus (Araneae: Theridiidae)}, year = {2020}, abstract = {

Several studies have described vibration producing behaviours across many web-building spiders, and vibratory communication is thought to play an integral role during male-female interactions. Despite the presumed ubiquity of vibratory communication in this group of spiders, very little is known about the characteristics and functions of the signals involved, how signals are produced and transmitted through webs, or how vibrations are perceived. In this thesis, I used the western black widow spider, Latrodectus hesperus, as my focal organism, to investigate the details of vibratory communication from sender to the receiver. My results show that male L. hesperus courtship vibration signals comprise three distinct components (abdominal tremulation, bounce and web plucks), each produced using different signal production mechanism. Larger males produced bounce and web pluck signals with high power, which suggests that these signals may carry information about male traits. I found that during the early phase of courtship, males produced these different signal components haphazardly, with little temporal organization among the individual components (unstructured signaling). However, during the later phase of courtship, as males approach females, males intermittently organized signal components into a stereotyped temporal sequence (structured signaling). I tested the importance of these composite\ multicomponent signals, and found that males that displayed these structured signals more often\ were more likely to successfully copulate and copulate sooner. Vibrations arriving at the females are transmitted through the legs. My results show that the more distal joints of the legs (i.e. tarsus-metatarsus joint) move more to higher frequencies, and more proximal joints are tuned to lower frequencies. This suggests that female leg-joints play an important role in segregating vibration frequencies, and this may have important implications for prey/mate discrimination, as well as vibration source localization. These results show that L. hesperus males employ multiple signal components during courtship, and provide novel insights into emergent signal complexities in a web-building spider, previously thought to be \‘simple\’ signalers. Additionally, the spider body mechanics can play a key role in influence vibration perception.

}, author = {Senthurran Sivalinghem} } @mastersthesis {58313, title = {Yosemite Soundscape: An Assessment of Anthropogenic Noise in Tuolumne Meadows}, year = {2020}, abstract = {

nthropogenic noise, which consists of human and machine-generated sounds, is one of the least understood and most common threats to the \“natural quiet\” of the National Parks. Anthropogenic noise has the potential to affect human enjoyment of nature. It can be even more noticeable where there is the expectation of quiet and the solitude of nature. Soundscapes are a shared experience between wildlife and human. However, noise can have a greater impact on wildlife, degrading habitat and decreasing breeding success. Soundscapes are a signifier of ecosystem health and have an effect on all living things. This research examined the soundscape at five locations in Tuolumne Meadows of Yosemite National Park to identify and quantify the sources of anthropogenic noise. Based on recordings and analysis, the results indicate that there is no escape from anthropogenic noise in Tuolumne Meadows. The near-constant air traffic overhead spares no part of the Tuolumne Meadows area. This research provides a methodology for evaluating soundscapes and can serve as a baseline for future research.

}, author = {Laurel Golden} } @mastersthesis {58198, title = {Divergent selection and reproductive isolation: an empirical study on reed buntings}, year = {2020}, abstract = {

Divergent selection and local adaptation are responsible for many phenotypic differences between populations, potentially leading to speciation through the evolution of reproductive barriers. Acoustic divergence, in particular, is often the basis of assortative mating and behavioral isolation in birds. However, some species have different singing styles used in distinct social contexts, and songs of each style may change at different rates over time and space. Mate recognition largely depends on learning, generally resulting in discrimination against nonlocal stimuli. Nevertheless, there may also be geographical variation in discrimination, allowing inference on the mechanisms behind recognition. Morphologic divergence can cause reproductive isolation too, and a strong association between bill traits and foraging niche, at a given place and time, may indicate ecological speciation is at play and how.
This thesis focused on reed buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus), a small passerine that breeds in marshlands throughout the Palearctic. Populations of three subspecies were studied: migratory E. s. schoeniclus, breeding in northern and central Europe; and the residents E. s. lusitanica from northwest Iberia and E. s. witherbyi from southeast Iberia and southern France (hereafter schoeniclus, lusitanica and witherbyi, respectively).
Four main objectives were addressed using different approaches: (1) phenotypic divergence was evaluated to determine the extent of local adaptation to migration and diet, using linear measurements and geometric morphometrics; (2) song divergence between subspecies and between the three singing styles of each subspecies were tested searching for effects of sexual selection, using spectral traits and derived synthetic variables; (3) song discrimination level was determined to infer premating reproductive isolation, using playback of fast song to test territorial males; (4) association between bill morphology and foraging niche was evaluated searching for evidence of natural selection, by sampling blood in southwest Europe during the winter (when target subspecies co-occur) and performing stable isotope analyses (carbon and nitrogen).
As predicted, migratory subspecies were smaller and had longer and more pointed wings. Unexpectedly, their tail was longer, probably due to correlation with wing length. witherbyi, which feed on insects hiding inside reed stems during the winter, had a very thick bill; whereas schoeniclus, which feed on seeds, had thinner bills. Although smaller, lusitanica had thicker and longer bill than schoeniclus. Geometric morphometrics revealed that southern subspecies have a more convex culmen than schoeniclus, and that lusitanica and schoeniclus bills differ more in shape than in linear measurements. The two singing styles under sexual selection (dawn and fast songs, related to obtaining extrapair and social mates, respectively) diverged more than the slow songs (an all-clear signal to nest attending females). Multiple song traits differed between subspecies in all styles, with intermediate values for lusitanica. Cluster analyses of populations indicate that sexually selected styles better discriminate subspecies, describing a major split in song features between schoeniclus and the resident subspecies. It was found that witherbyi, and to some extent lusitanica, males largely ignored schoeniclus songs. However, witherbyi reacted less strongly to lusitanica than the converse. In contrast, schoeniclus males reacted equally strongly to all subspecies. schoeniclus showed a broader isotopic niche than southern subspecies, which seemed similar despite witherbyi more divergent bill. Stable isotope ratios were consistent with resident subspecies feeding on C3-plant-feeding insects, whereas schoeniclus diet also included C4 plant material.

Subspecies differing in several traits as theoretically predicted indicate local adaptation through natural selection. Greater song divergence in fast and dawn styles implies that sexual selection is important in this evolutionary process. Differential territorial defense provides evidence of premating reproductive isolation, and discrimination by southern subspecies seems associated with local adaptation. Recognition pattern agrees with ecological rather than neutral divergence, as predicted in ecological speciation processes. Isotopic niche divergence between northern and southern subspecies suggests that bill differentiated by natural selection through competition during winter.

}, keywords = {acoustic divergence, asymmetric recognition, bill, birdsong, Emberiza schoeniclus, geometric morphometrics, isotopic niche, local adaptation, morphologic divergence, playback, singing style, song discrimination, speciation, subspecies}, author = {Lu{\'\i}s de Oliveira Rijo Gordinho} } @mastersthesis {58005, title = {Perception and communication of predator threat in the black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)}, volume = {PhD}, year = {2019}, school = {University of Alberta}, abstract = {

The black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) is a type of North American songbird that produces multiple vocalizations, including their namesake chick-a-dee call. This call is used as a mobbing call to recruit and coordinate conspecifics in the presence of a predator. These parids perceive and respond to avian predators of varying size, as well as elicited conspecific mobbing calls. Specifically, smaller hawks and owls are of higher threat to chickadees as they easily maneuver through the trees, while larger hawks and owls cannot. The chick-a-dee call consists of four note types that can be repeated or omitted (A, B, C, and D), and chickadees produce more D notes per call in response to small, high-threat predators compared to large, low- threat predators. In Chapter 2, I extended work investigating the perception of arousal in vocalizations produced by three biological classes by testing whether two vocal learning species, humans and chickadees, can discriminate vocalizations of high- and low-arousal using operant discrimination go/no-go tasks. Chickadees (Experiment 1) and humans (Experiment 2) learned to discriminate between high- and low-arousal stimuli and significantly transferred the discrimination to additional giant panda, human, and black-capped chickadee vocalizations. I also conducted discriminant function analyses using four acoustic measures, and found that fundamental frequency likely played a role in responding during the task; however, these analyses also suggest roles for other acoustic factors as well as familiarity. Next, in Chapter 3, I conducted an operant go/no-go discrimination task to investigate the effect of signal degradation and anthropogenic noise on perceived threat. The results indicated that chickadees responded to natural low-threat owl stimuli more consistently across distance than high-threat owl stimuli, synthetic tones were responded to similarly compared to natural stimuli but at lower levels, and truck alarms were not responded to as though they were of high-threat suggesting that although\ acoustically-similar, chickadees can discriminate between high-threat owl calls and anthropogenic stimuli. In Chapter 4, I used operant conditioning techniques to investigate referential communication, which has been defined as the exchange of information giving reference to objects or events. Few studies have examined referential alarm calls in songbirds, yet we found that high- and low-threat mobbing calls were not treated similarly to the corresponding predator\’s calls. Since owl stimuli are acoustically distinct in comparison to the conspecific stimuli, chickadees may have found predator stimuli easier to discriminate; this factor may have lead to the asymmetrical results. In Chapter 5, I conducted an operant go/no-go experiment investigating black-capped chickadees\’ acoustic discrimination of predator threat. I confirmed that chickadees can discriminate between high- and low-threat predator calls, and further investigated how chickadees categorize mid-sized species\’ calls via transfer of training according to perceived threat. Specifically, mid-sized broad-winged hawks were perceived to be of high threat whereas mid-sized short-eared owls were perceived to be of low threat. Mid-sized Cooper\’s hawks and northern hawk owls, however, were not significantly differentially responded to, suggesting that they are of medium threat which supports the notion that perception of threat is along a continuum rather than distinct categories of high or low threat. Last, in Chapter 6, I exposed black-capped chickadees to stationary avian and mammalian mounts of various threat levels in the field. This study revealed that only chick-a-dee call production in response to avian mounts significantly differed, chickadees produced more chick- a-dee calls with 4-8 D notes in response to the high-threat avian mount compared to the high- threat mammalian mount, chickadees produced significantly more 4 D note calls in response to the small, sharp-shinned hawk in comparison to the large, red-tailed hawk, and that feeding was most reduced to high- and low-threat avian predator mounts compared to the foam control.\ Taken together, these studies reveal insights into chickadee perception and communication of threat. Specifically, these studies indicate that: chickadees are capable of discriminating between high and low arousal in vocalizations produced by multiple species (Chapter 2); signal degradation affects threat perception (Chapter 3); operant conditioning may not be an ideal paradigm for examining the referential elements of mobbing calls (Chapter 4); there is likely a continuum of threat according to predator size (Chapter 5); and antipredator responses of black- capped chickadees vary in response to avian and mammalian predators that pose a high, low, or no threat (Chapter 6).

}, author = {Jenna V. Congdon} } @mastersthesis {57408, title = {TRANS-GENERATIONAL AND REPRODUCTIVE IMPACTS OF ACUTE EARLY-LIFE RADIATION ON THE HOUSE CRICKET, ACHETA DOMESTICUS}, year = {2019}, abstract = {

Stress is ubiquitous for all organisms, however, impacts vary depending on type and strength of the stressor, as well as the organism\’s tolerance. Moreover, stress responses can be described by several models; linear, threshold, or hormetic. Generally ionizing radiation has been described by a \“linear no threshold\” model where all exposure has negative impacts. However, considerable research, both past and present, suggests that a \“hormetic\” or threshold model may better describe radiation exposure. My research focused on adult male house crickets, (Acheta domesticus), and the effects of early-life radiation on a variety of life history and reproductive traits, molecular biomarkers, and trans-generational impacts. Each life history and reproductive trait was also analyzed for its dose-response relationship.

Males exposed to radiation showed threshold responses in both hatching success (of 200 eggs) as well as mating success. Doses below 7Gy showed no decline in hatching success nor mating success, whereas above this threshold severe declines occurred, with 12Gy males being sterile. Sexual signals, both acoustic and chemical, were also altered by exposure. Life history traits in F0 males included a dose-dependent reduction in growth rate. Hormetic responses emerged in longevity and survivorship in 7Gy and 10Gy males and their offspring. The dose response relationship for most life-history and reproductive traits analyzed were best described by quadratic and non-linear models. Responses to radiation were also reflected by DNA methylation in F0 and F1 offspring. Generally, radiation impacts on life-history and reproductive traits were best described by non-linear modelling. Multiple aspects of sexual signalling were disrupted by radiation, including courtship signalling and pheromone signatures. Finally, radiation impacts emerged in F1 offspring that expressed significantly extended longevity and superior survivorship with no large reduction in growth rate.

}, author = {TAMARA M. FUCIARELLI} } @mastersthesis {57341, title = {Variability in the Repertoires and Singing Behavior of Male and Female {\textquoteleft}I{\textquoteleft}iwi (Drepanis coccinea)}, volume = {Master of Science in Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science}, year = {2019}, school = {University of Hawai{\textquoteleft}i}, type = {Msc}, address = {Hilo}, abstract = {

Oscine passerines (songbirds) are notable for their complex, learned songs and an immense variability of vocal characteristics across the clade. Studying oscine vocal behavior can teach us about the selection forces that drive songbird evolution, but more research is needed on many species, especially with regard to female singing in tropical, monomorphic species. In this study, I cataloged and described the vocalizations and vocal behaviors of \‘i\‘iwi (Drepanis coccinea), a Hawaiian honeycreeper, and compared male and female repertoire size, repertoire content, and vocalization rate. I recorded the vocalizations and behavior of individual \‘i\‘iwi at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, then examined spectrograms of \‘i\‘iwi vocalizations, classified syllable types, and recorded quantitative measurements of time and frequency for each syllable. I selected seven male and six female \‘i\‘iwi for statistical analysis. I observed whisper song, duetting, female solo singing, and females vocalizing from the nest among other behaviors, and was able to characterize a few common modes of \‘i\‘iwi vocal behavior. I found no significant difference between male and female \‘i\‘iwi in repertoire size, rate of vocalization, or proportion of shared syllables. A network analysis for modularity found that \‘i\‘iwi repertoires are significantly modular, but modules mostly comprised single individuals rather than grouping \‘i\‘iwi by sex. Additional measurements showed that \‘i\‘iwi repertoires were highly individualistic. Overall, this study reveals previously unknown details about \‘i\‘iwi vocal behavior and provides a baseline of knowledge that will contribute to \‘i\‘iwi population monitoring tools and provide insight into the evolution of behavioral traits in \‘i\‘iwi, among Hawaiian forest birds, and among songbirds worldwide.

}, author = {Angela T. Beck} } @mastersthesis {57332, title = {Bioacoustic monitoring of New Zealand avifauna before and after aerial 1080 operations}, year = {2018}, school = {Victoria University of Wellington}, type = {Msc}, abstract = {

Introduced mammalian predators, namely possums, stoats and rats, are the leading cause of decline in native avifauna in New Zealand. The control of these species is essential to the persistence of native birds. A major component of mammal control in New Zealand is carried out through the aerial distribution of the toxin sodium monofluoroacetate (otherwise known as 1080). The use of this toxin, however, is subject to significant public debate. Many opponents of its use claim that forests will \‘fall silent\’ following aerial operations, and that this is evidence of negative impacts on native bird communities. With the continued and likely increased use of this poison, monitoring the outcomes of such pest control operations is necessary to both address these concerns and inform conservation practice. The recent growth in autonomous recording units (ARUs) provides novel opportunities to conduct monitoring using bioacoustics. This thesis used bioacoustic techniques to monitor native bird species over three independent aerial 1080 operations in the Aorangi and Rimutaka Ranges of New Zealand.

In Chapter 2, diurnal bird species were monitored for 10-12 weeks over two independent operations in treatment and non-treatment areas. At the community level, relative to non- treatment areas, the amount of birdsong recorded did not decrease significantly in treatment areas across either of the operations monitored. At the species level, one species, the introduced chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs), showed a significant decline in the prevalence of its calls in the treatment areas relative to non-treatment areas. This was observed over one of the two operations monitored. Collectively, these results suggest that diurnal native avifaunal communities do not \‘fall silent\’ following aerial 1080 operations.

The quantity of data produced by ARUs can demand labour-intensive manual analysis. Extracting data from recordings using automated detectors is a potential solution to this issue. The creation of such detectors, however, can be subjective, iterative, and time-consuming. In Chapter 3, a process for developing a parsimonious, template-based detector in an efficient, objective manner was developed. Applied to the creation of a detector for morepork (Ninox novaeseelandiae) calls, the method was highly successful as a directed means to achieve parsimony. An initial pool of 187 potential templates was reduced to 42 candidate templates. These were further refined to a 10-template detector capable of making 98.89\% of the detections possible with all 42 templates in approximately a quarter of the processing time for the dataset tested. The detector developed had a high precision (0.939) and moderate sensitivity (0.399) with novel recordings, developed for the minimisation of false-positive errors in unsupervised monitoring of broad-scale population trends.

In Chapter 4, this detector was applied to the short-term 10-12 week monitoring of morepork in treatment and non-treatment areas around three independent aerial 1080 operations; and to longer-term four year monitoring in two study areas, one receiving no 1080 treatment, and one receiving two 1080 treatments throughout monitoring. Morepork showed no significant difference in trends of calling prevalence across the three independent operations monitored. Longer-term, a significant quadratic effect of time since 1080 treatment was found, with calling prevalences predicted to increase for 3.5 years following treatment. Collectively, these results suggest a positive effect of aerial 1080 treatment on morepork populations in the lower North Island, and build on the small amount of existing literature regarding the short- and long-term response of this species to aerial 1080 operations.

}, author = {Roald Egbert Harro Bomans} } @mastersthesis {57295, title = {Vocal Response of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) to a Novel Stimulus}, volume = {MA}, year = {2019}, school = {University of Southern Mississippi}, abstract = {

Bottlenose dolphins utilize acoustic signals as their primary mode of communication. Although some aspects of dolphin vocal behavior are well understood, less is known about vocalizations in different behavioral contexts and how these vocal behaviors may indicate habituation and sensitization. The focus of this study was to investigate how bottlenose dolphins respond vocally to a novel stimulus. Archival data from three populations of bottlenose dolphins (N = 20) living in a human-care facility were exposed to a novel apparatus (a mirror) for 10 trials, each lasting 20 minutes. Five of the trials presented the mirror covered with an opaque cloth whereas the other five trials left the mirror uncovered, exposing the reflective surface. Rates of two distinct vocal types (whistles and burst pulses) were calculated for each trial. Vocal rates were greater on the last (non-novel) trials versus novel trials\—a pattern of sensitization to the novel stimulus. Vocal rates and the degree of sensitization were greater on reflective trials than non-reflective trials. Finally, vocal rates were greater for whistles than burst pulses overall, but sensitization was most apparent with burst pulses. This study identifies how the production of two types of vocalizations change in response to a novel stimulus of varying reflectivity over repeated exposures thereby providing a greater understanding of the contexts in which these utterances are used.

}, author = {Johnson, Lindsey} } @mastersthesis {53568, title = {The influence of bat predation on calling behavior in neotropical forest katydids (Insecta: Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae).}, year = {1990}, school = {University of Florida}, abstract = {

In many animals, members of one sex advertise themselves using acoustic, visual, or chemical cues in order to attract mates. These signals are usually species specific and highly localizable, which helps them function successfully in a mating context, but also means they can be used by predators. How animals resolve the conflict between attracting mates and predators is an intriguing question that has received little attention in the literature.

This study examines a predator-prey system in which acoustically orienting foliage gleaning bats (FGB) in a lowland forest on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, are attracted to the airborne songs of katydids in the subfamily Pseudophyllinae. Aspects of katydid call production that lessen predation by FGB were also studied.

During two years, field and flight cage experiments showed that members of four species of forest-dwelling FGB can use katydid songs to locate these insects as prey. A study of their echolocation calls shows that they are typical of bats that forage in cluttered environments, and probably do not allow the animals producing them to locate insects on foliage. At least one FGB, Micronvcteris hirsuta, was a major katydid predator, and took insects inhabiting the forest understory that were active in the early evening when bats foraged most actively.

Airborne calling songs were recorded from members of 17 pseudophylline species sympatric with FGB. With one exception, their calls were short, sporadically produced and emphasized high audio or ultrasonic carrier frequencies. In flight cage experiments, these calls were more difficult for FGB to localize than were the longer and more frequently produced broadband calls that are typical of katydids in areas without FGB. The exception, Ischnomela pulchripennis , sang from large, spine-covered terrestrial bromeliads, which protect it from predation by FGB.

The pseudophyllines studied supplemented their short inconspicuous calls with \"tremulations, \" substrateborne signals that travel from one individual to another through plants but are inaccessible to acoustically orienting predators like FGB. Tremulations appear to be the rule rather than the exception in tropical New World katydids\ that are sympatric with FGB. They represent the first report of widespread behavioral anti-bat defenses in katydids

}, author = {Belwood, Jacqueline Janine} } @mastersthesis {53438, title = {Coral reef soundscapes: The use of passive acoustic monitoring for long-term ecological survey}, year = {2018}, school = {Curtin University}, type = {PhD}, abstract = {

Coral reefs provide ecosystem services to millions of people and are a habitat for almost one third of the world\’s named marine fish species. As the world\’s human population and the demand for natural resources expand, the states of most terrestrial and marine ecosystems continues to decline at an alarming rate. In the past century, coral reefs have suffered significant rates of deterioration, through a combination of stressors, including invasive species, climate change related disturbances and pollution. More recently, El Ni\ño events, combined with several major storm events have been connected with extensive bleaching and significant coral mortality, particularly in Australia\’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR).
The designation of marine protected areas (MPAs) worldwide, covering nearly 3\% of the world\’s oceans, is an example of the world\’s commitment towards safeguarding the future of marine ecosystems. However, to meet the demands and goals of marine management policies, there is a need for implementation of well-structured management plans. Fundamentals of effective management, conservation, research of ecosystems and natural resources are built on the ability to track patterns in space and time. This is where long-term monitoring and research can provide critical ecological insight.
Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) is used to investigate environmental systems through the medium of sound. It permits natural physical, biological and anthropogenic sound sources to be monitored over long time frames and offers an additional approach to visual surveys of coral reefs. However, the full management applicability of PAM remains undetermined.
The aims of this research were to categorise biological reef sounds, identify and investigate temporal patterns of fish choruses, quantify the contribution of anthropogenic (ship) noise and determine how large disturbance events may influence soundscapes over time on Australia\’s Great Barrier Reef.
Lizard Island, situated in the GBR, was chosen as the primary location to conduct field work. The GBR supports over 1500 species of fish, 400 species of hard corals and an enormous variety of other life forms, making it an ideal location for investigating how PAM may have potential as a long-term coral reef monitoring tool. Lizard Island has been, and continues to be, a key location for coral reef research. Over the last 30 years, the Island\’s renowned research station has helped to support and foster a wealth of marine research projects.
Long-term monitoring in coral reefs has always been a significant challenge due to reefs being logistically difficult and expensive to access, highly heterogeneous and a demanding environment for equipment. This has meant that many surveys have been restricted to fine resolution \‘snapshot\’
studies, so that our understanding of larger scale ecosystem dynamics over longer time scales is more limited. Therefore, the combination of logistical support and access to relevant data that Lizard Island research station provides was a deciding factor for choosing this location.

The coral reefs surrounding Lizard Island in the GBR have a diverse soundscape that contains an array of bioacoustic phenomena, particularly biological choruses produced by soniferous fish. Six fish choruses identified around Lizard Island exhibited notable spatial and temporal patterns from 2014 to 2016. Several environmental variables had a significant influence on the timing and received levels of several of the fish choruses. Two out of the six detected choruses exhibited spectral and temporal characteristics similar to choruses produced by planktivorous fish species previously documented at these sites and elsewhere. Three of the six choruses appear to be undocumented and could hold information on the presence, abundance and dispersal patterns of important fish species, which may have long-term management applications. Several choruses displayed high site fidelity, indicating that particular sites may represent important habitat for fish species, such as fish spawning aggregations sites.
The contribution and subsequent impacts that anthropog enic noise may have in marine ecosystems, particularly in coral reefs, has gained substantial attention in the last decade. Vessels (commercial, recreational and research) are the key sources of anthropogenic noise in coral reef soundscapes around Lizard Island. Significant spatial differences in research vessel activity were present around Lizard Island, which led to several vessel traffic hotspots, in areas of high activity. Daily activity of commercial vessels was similar throughout the year, but a notable rise in recreational vessel density occurred during the start of the austral wet season, which coincides with peak biophonic activity in the form of fish choruses. The long-term noise contributions of research vessels were apparent at sites that had high levels of research boat activity, but were not observed at sites with low activity. Noise from commercial vessels raised soundscape sound levels at low frequencies (\< 500 Hz) at five of the six field sites. With commercial ship numbers and size continuing to increase, it is expected that vessel noise will be a growing contributor to coral reef soundscapes. Combined with elevated environmental disturbances from climate change, this is likely to be an important additional threat to coral ecosystems.
Lizard Island was exposed to a Category 4 cyclone in March 2015, which resulted in widespread damage to several areas of reef around the Island. The following year, large parts of the GBR experienced severe bleaching; including around Lizard Island which, resulted in substantial mortality of corals. Fish choruses were still present at sites that sustained significant cyclone damage, but a change in chorus energy attributes was observed. Sound recordings taken close to the start of the bleaching event did not reveal any discernible short-term changes to the soundscape. Recordings taken around Lizard Island in November and December 2016 contained five of the six choruses recorded pre-bleaching, also similar to those measured in the previous two years, which implies at least some short-term resilience. However, the long-term impact of these destructive disturbance events and how soundscapes and their key constituents will be affected is yet to be determined. A notable drop in low-frequency noise in 2016, post-bleaching, corresponds with a reduction in vessel activity in the same area, suggesting PAM may provide an indication of potential socio-economic impacts.

These findings highlight the utility of PAM for long-term monitoring and management of coral reefs, which is highly relevant in light of recent global disturbance events, particularly coral bleaching. Comparison of current and historical soundscape recordings made around Lizard Island over 25 years ago revealed long-term site fidelity of fish choruses. This indicates that soundscapes should be strongly considered as a long-term coral reef monitoring tool, with fish choruses showing potential as an ecological indicator of coral reef condition.
Future research should focus on extricating the temporal patterns associated with bioacoustic activity and determining the potential environmental drivers of biological choruses. Utilising and developing automatic signal processing techniques in pattern recognition would help progress this. This could then support technique development for direct identification of vocalising species, which would strongly increase the management applicability of PAM. Research efforts should also be made towards expanding soundscape monitoring across the GBR, with a focus on sampling areas that contain a range of live coral coverage.

}, author = {Jamie Neish McWilliam} } @mastersthesis {53433, title = {Investigation of fin whales using ocean-bottom recordings}, year = {2018}, school = {UNIVERSIDADE DE LISBOA}, type = {PhD}, address = {Lisbon}, abstract = {

Instruments used for seismic monitoring (OBS) have been recording baleen whales along with the target data. These long-term datasets provide valuable information for the study of large cetaceans that would otherwise be difficult to obtain due to economic and logistic reasons. Fin whales are classified as \‘Endangered\’ species and therefore knowledge about population size and spatial and temporal distribution patterns is essential for good management strategies. In Portugal, sightings of fin whales off mainland waters are rare and are insufficient to assess any kind of trend. In this context, seismic datasets may become one of the primary sources of information on a year-round basis. The general aim of this thesis was to demonstrate the use of acoustic datasets, collected for non-biological focussed studies, such as seismic data, to study fin whales. Between September 2007 and August 2008 a network of 24 OBS was deployed off southwest Portugal with the main aim to obtain data to study the microseismicity originating from potential tsunami sources. During this time fin whale sounds were also recorded. The main acoustic signal produced by fin whales used in this thesis was the 20-Hz call. A detection process to detect the 20-Hz call was developed (Chapter 2) and the resulting dataset of automatic detections was used to: 1) estimate a relative location, i.e. a range from the recording instrument, of the automatic detections with the single-station method and develop a classification scheme that help deciding if a detection was from a 20-Hz call and if the range estimates were inside the critical area of the single station (Chapter 3); 2) characterize the 20-Hz call and assess the existence of different acoustic groups (Chapter 4); 3) obtain an average fin whale density and abundance (Chapter 5); and 4) assess the impact of acoustic interference on the 20-Hz call and infer about the depth of the calling fin whale (Chapter 6). This thesis showed how OBS data can be used in different types of studies about fin whales and provide valuable information for cetacean conservation.

}, keywords = {bioacoustics, cetacean, fin whale, Ocean-bottom seismometer (OBS), wildlife conservartion}, author = {Andreia Filipa da Pereira} } @mastersthesis {53423, title = {Listening to whales: Tying acoustics to ecology}, volume = {PhD}, year = {2018}, school = {University of Victoria}, type = {PhD}, abstract = {

The acoustic sense is vital to all life processes for whales. It defines their \‘active space\’, and the extent and nature of interactions with their surroundings. Yet, we are still learning the basics of most species\’ acoustic behaviours and vocal repertoires.
The ecology of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) is well known, however vocal behaviours are not well described outside of breeding lagoons. Bottom-stationed acoustic monitoring devices were deployed in Clayoquot Sound, west coast Vancouver Island to explore acoustics use outside of these areas. During migration the use of low frequency moan calls are prevalent, perhaps for group cohesion, with lead whales guiding followers. During the summer more inter-group calls (knocks, upsweeps) are employed. Here I explored the use of \‘motherese\’ calls between cow-calf pairs, and how this may mirror the weaning process. Photoperiod, increased ambient noise, threat perception, and vessel and aircraft presence elicited acoustic responses. Calling was also altered by social, behavioural, and physiological state. These results begin to show gray whales to be acoustically sensitive, with highly nuanced vocalising behaviours.
Acoustic methods afford monitoring at times and in places that would otherwise be impossible, and lends themselves to the study of rare or cryptic species. Ocean gliders with passive acoustic capacity were used to explore deep-coastal and shelf-break waters for large whale species. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) were common on the shelf, whereas calls from fin (Balaenoptera physalus), blue (Balaenoptera musculus), sperm (Physeter macrocephalus), and possibly sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis) were heard in more offshore locations. Concurrent habitat data steams help establish area use and importance to these species. The surveys focus on submarine canyons that are thought to aggregate prey. Calls denote whale presence, whereas call type may suggest behaviour and habitat use. Calls described for feeding and breeding were heard for fin and blue whales, with distinct temporal distribution.

Acoustic techniques complement other ecological methods and can fill existing knowledge gaps in whale life histories. It can also help quantify the effect of human activities on whale populations and ocean soundscapes. These findings will inform management actions. I provide examples of management links to acoustic-ecological research.

}, author = {Rianna E. Burnham} } @mastersthesis {53422, title = {IoT Platform for Soundscape Monitoring in Colombia}, volume = {Master on Engineering}, year = {2018}, school = {Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali}, type = {Masters}, address = {Cali, Colombia}, abstract = {

Soundscape monitoring is a method used to assess the state of ecosystems. This new approach has advanced with technology. However, it still has many aspects to improve, such as the dif- ficult equipment maintenance, the cumbersome processing of thousands of hours of recording, and the strenuous task of analyzing acoustic information. This project presents the design and implementation of a system based on the concept of Internet of Things (IoT) for the soundscape monitoring, which automates and simplifies the process of capturing acoustic information. The method of harmonic functions is used to reduce the cost of memory and energy in the embedded system. As a result, it was possible to implement a platform that allows to monitor several geo- graphic points simultaneously, with a lower cost than current technologies.

}, keywords = {Bioacoustics indices, Harmonic functions, Internet of Things (IoT), Soundscape}, author = {Luis Alfredo Quiroz Prada and Jhon Jairo Valderrama Mu{\~n}oz} } @mastersthesis {53416, title = {Acoustic monitoring of wildlife in inaccessible areas and automatic detection of bird songs from continuous recordings}, volume = {PhD}, year = {2018}, school = {The University of Tennessee}, type = {PhD}, address = {Knoxville}, abstract = {

The use of new technology for wildlife monitoring comes with both possible benefits and challenges. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and automatic recording units (ARUs) can allow researchers to automatically record videos, photographs, and audio recordings of animals in unusual or inaccessible locations. However, new acoustic monitoring techniques require innovative methods to extract and utilize data from acoustic recordings. In this project we developed novel technology to record bird songs in inaccessible areas and demonstrated a useful method for extracting and classifying songs from continuous recordings. The autonomous aerial acoustic recording system (AAARS) was a UAV developed at the University of Tennessee capable of generating high-quality WAV recordings of bird songs in a variety of landscapes. The AAARS was completely silent in flight controlled by a ground-based computer monitoring station. I developed a model to convert the AAARS GPS-based flight path into a microphone exposure surface to relate species-specific acoustic signals recorded to area of microphone coverage. The vocalizations per unit area per unit time for a given focal species could then be used as an index of relative abundance or as an input in density estimation. Once collected, extraction and classification of birdsongs from acoustic recordings remains a major technological challenge. I used quadratic discrimination analysis to differentiate between inter- and intra-specific bird songs using up to sixteen acoustic measurements on human-extracted signals from audio spectrograms of five focal songbird species. Measurement-based classification was successful at separating the five species apart with only \≤5\% classification error. I\ then used a template-matching model to extract target birdsongs from continuous field recordings and investigated the efficiency of different analytical options for classification of five focal songbird species. Decision trees, neural networks, and quadratic discriminant analysis all produced similar classification results. The means to optimize the analytical approach varied by species. I concluded that a species-specific approach should be used to accurately extract and classify songs from continuous recordings.

}, url = {https://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6415}, author = {Hockman, Emily Vera} } @mastersthesis {53406, title = {Acoustic classification of Australian frogs for ecosystem surveys}, year = {2017}, school = {Queensland University of Technology}, type = {PhD}, abstract = {

Frogs play an important role in Earth\’s ecosystem, but the decline of their population has been spotted at many locations around the world. Monitoring frog activity can assist con- servation efforts, and improve our understanding of their interactions with the environment and other organisms. Traditional observation methods require ecologists and volunteers to visit the field, which greatly limit the scale for acoustic data collection. Recent advances in acoustic sensors provide a novel method to survey vocalising animals such as frogs. Once sensors are successfully installed in the field, acoustic data can be automatically collected at large spatial and temporal scales. For each acoustic sensor, several gigabytes of compressed audio data can be generated per day, and thus large volumes of raw acoustic data are collected. To gain insights about frogs and the environment, classifying frog species in acoustic data is necessary. However, manual species identification is unfeasible due to the large amount of collected data, and enabling automated species classification has become very important. Previous studies on signal processing and machine learning for frog call classification often have two limitations: (1) the recordings used to train and test classifiers are trophy recordings ( signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) (\≥ 15 dB); (2) each individual recording is assumed to contain only one frog species. However, field recordings typically have a low SNR (\< 15 dB) and contain multiple simultaneously vocalising frog species. This thesis aims to address two limitations and makes the following contributions.
(1) Develop a combined feature set from temporal, perceptual, and cepstral domains for im- proving the state-of-the-art performance of frog call classification using trophy recordings (Chapter 3).
(2) Propose a novel cepstral feature via adaptive frequency scaled wavelet packet decompo- sition (WPD) to improve cepstral feature\’s anti-noise ability for frog call classification using both trophy and field recordings (Chapter 4).
(3) Design a novel multiple-instance multiple-label (MIML) framework to classify multiple simultaneously vocalising frog species in field recordings (Chapter 5).
(4) Designanovelmultiple-label(ML)frameworktoincreasetherobustnessofclassification results when classifying multiple simultaneously vocalising frog species in field recordings (Chapter 6).

Our proposed approaches achieve promising classification results compared with previous studies. With our developed classification techniques, the ecosystem at large spatial and tem- poral scales can be surveyed, which can help ecologists better understand the ecosystem.

}, keywords = {Acoustic event detection, Acoustic feature, bioacoustics, Frog call classification, Multiple-instance multiple-label learning (MIML), Multiple-label learning (ML), Soundscape ecology, Syllable segmentation, Wavelet packet decomposition (WPD)}, author = {Jie Xie} } @mastersthesis {53400, title = {SMART SAMPLING OF ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIO RECORDINGS FOR BIODIVERSITY MONITORING}, year = {2018}, school = {Queensland University of Technology}, type = {Phd}, abstract = {

In order to safeguard our environment, we must first have tools that give us information about its health. Biodiversity monitoring is crucial for providing this information. One form of this is bird species richness surveys, which have traditionally been conducted by having an experienced bird-watcher travel to a location to make observations. This is a time-consuming and expensive task.
An emerging alternative approach is to record audio from an ecologically significant location and then listen to it at a later stage for species identification. Unlike on-site surveys, using audio recordings allows the capture of long periods of audio that can then be listened to non-sequentially. Samples can be chosen from throughout the long recording and presented to an ecologist in any order. By selecting this set of samples intelligently, the listener will be able to observe more species in less overall time, increasing the efficiency of their labour.
This thesis investigates methods to make this selection of samples from a long recording in order to maximise the number of bird species contained in a given number of selected samples. The task of species identification remains with the human listener, but the process of selecting the rich subset of the recording is performed by a machine.
We first lay out the framework whereby the problem is decomposed into two parts: how to estimate the internal variety of call types within each candidate sample, and how to estimate the inter-sample dissimilarity. The former allows us to find samples with a high overall number of species and the latter to avoid selecting samples whose species overlap heavily with previously selected samples.
The primary way that these objectives are achieved, and the main contribution of this thesis, is through clustering short segments of audio and using the clusters contained within each sample to estimate the internal variety of call types as well as comparing clusters between samples to estimate their dissimilarity. Two methods of segmentation are used, and, for each one, an appropriate set of preprocessing steps and feature representation was developed. Arising from this pipeline of computational steps is also a novel visualisation tool that can allow a user to rapidly scan long-duration recordings by filtering out parts with low activity and repetition of the same call types.

An algorithm was developed that scores samples based on a combination of their cluster content with other estimates of the internal variety and intra-sample dissimilarity. These other estimates are based on prior knowledge about the daily patterns of vocal activity and durations that species call for at a given time, as well the overall acoustic activity of each sample. The best combination of methods outperforms existing methods, such as randomly sampling from the dawn chorus.
Together, these contributions help to advance the field of ecoacoustics for bird species monitoring and offer a way forward towards developing valuable tools for the exploration of ecological audio recordings.

}, keywords = {acoustic sensin, avian monitoring, bioacoustics, Biodiversity monitoring, bird species richness, Clustering, e-science, ecoacoustics, g environmental monitoring, R Language, sampling, scientific workflow}, url = {https://eprints.qut.edu.au/123022/1/Philip_Eichinski_Thesis.pdf}, author = {Philip Eichinski} } @mastersthesis {53399, title = {ANALYSIS AND VISUALISATION OF VERY-LONG-DURATION ACOUSTIC RECORDINGS OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT}, year = {2018}, school = {Queensland University of Technology}, type = {Phd}, abstract = {

Advances in technology and reduction in data storage costs enable the autonomous collection of large quantities of continuous audio recordings. While the collection of very long environmental recordings has become easier, the analysis of these recordings remains challenging. A very-long-duration audio recording is defined as one with a minimum length of one day, but may have durations of weeks, months, or years. This thesis provides methods for data reduction and visualisation that enable the ecological interpretation and navigation of very-long-duration audio recordings.
The major theme of data reduction commenced after the establishment of protocols and the collection of two thirteen-month continuous audio recordings from two separate Southeast Queensland forest ecosystems. The acoustic indices calculated on one-minute audio segments were used to develop two new techniques to visualise the contents of very- long-duration recordings. An acoustic index is a mathematical expression used to measure a particular aspect of the energy distribution in audio recordings. Microphone failure in one channel was noticed shortly after the recording commenced. A method was established to detect microphone problems in long recordings.
A novel error measure was developed to detect seasonal and site differences and enable optimisation of the clustering based on seasonal and site differences in the data. Cluster interpretation on very-long-duration audio recordings is problematic because listening to large amounts of audio is time-consuming and therefore impractical. To overcome this, a series of five methods were developed to build on the interpretations made through listening. These methods enabled the allocation of an acoustic label to each cluster, resulting in a labelled acoustic sequence. This acoustic sequence was used to develop three additional visualisation techniques.
The culmination of the methods developed in this thesis was the six case studies. These extended the ecological interpretation of the acoustic sequence beyond those that were made through the visualisations. The case studies demonstrated that clustering can facilitate ecological interpretation of very-long-duration audio recordings.

}, keywords = {acoustic indices, Anthropophony, bioacoustics, biophony, Cicadas, Clustering, Data reduction, Diel plots; Dot-matrix plots, ecoacoustics, Ecological Monitoring, Geophony, Long-duration false-colour spectrograms, Microphone malfunction, Principal Components Analysis, Soundscape ecology, Very-long-duration audio recording, Visualisation}, url = {https://eprints.qut.edu.au/123020/1/Yvonne_Phillips_Thesis.pdf}, author = {Yvonne Phillips} } @mastersthesis {53286, title = {How Developmental and Behavioural Plasticity in the Field Cricket is Influenced by the Acoustic Social Environment and Anthropogenic Noise}, volume = {PhD}, year = {2018}, school = {Carleton University}, type = {phd}, abstract = {

The social environment is an important driver of developmental plasticity in juveniles and behavioural plasticity in adults. An individual\’s ability to accurately assess cues during development and predict its future social dynamics plays an important role in ensuring that its phenotype at adulthood will match their anticipated environment. However, because the overall plasticity of an individual is the result of a concomitant interaction between development, environment, and behaviour over the entire lifetime, constraints arising from development may hinder adult behaviour. My dissertation examines the influence of the developmental social environment on life-history traits and fitness-conferring adult behaviours to enhance our understanding of how these two life phases interact in the fall field cricket Gryllus pennsylvanicus. Through play-back experiments that altered the density of adult male acoustic signals, my findings reveal that male and female development time decreases and female residual mass at adulthood increases in higher perceived population densities. Contrary to my expectations, neither adult male aggressive nor mate attraction signalling were significantly influenced by developmental social environments. Adult female mate preference behaviour was influenced by developmental social environment, as females raised in social isolation were more responsive than females raised exposed to signals. Furthermore, the acoustic social environment experienced during development had significant indirect effects on all adult behaviours through constraints imposed on adult body size. Crickets reared in the high density environments developed faster, and a faster development time resulted in larger body sizes. Because body size significantly influenced male aggression and signalling behaviour, and female mate preference behaviour, the ability to express\ behavioural plasticity at adulthood may have been limited. However, my experiment that switched acoustic social environments between juvenile and adult stages showed that males who experienced a switched environment were able to adjust specific aspects of their signalling to match the unanticipated adult social dynamics. I also examined whether anthropogenic noise pollutes the bioacoustics network. Anthropogenic noise influenced male development time and signalling behaviour, and female residual mass and preference functions. Further, anthropogenic noise sometimes interacted with the acoustic social environment experienced during rearing, causing individuals to be mismatched with their social environment in adulthood.

}, author = {Ferguson, Genevieve} } @mastersthesis {53116, title = {Using Bioacoustics to Examine the Effects of Industrial Disturbance on Owls and their Prey}, year = {2018}, school = {University of Alberta}, type = {PhD}, abstract = {

Anthropogenic disturbance is known to have negative population consequences and alter animal behaviour, and a growing body of research on the effects of anthropogenic noise is finding similar negative impacts on wildlife. Noise in natural environments can mask important acoustic signals used for animal communication. Owls use vocal communication to attract mates and defend territories, and rely on acoustic cues to locate their prey. Industrial noise has been shown to negatively affect owl hunting success and reduce foraging efficiency by affecting their ability to detect prey, but whether this results in reduced habitat suitability for owls in areas near industrial noise sources is largely unknown. It is also not known if the abundance of small mammals, the primary prey of owls, is affected by industrial noise. Communication between small mammals is unlikely to be directly affected by noise because they primarily communicate using olfactory rather than vocal signals, but small mammals could be indirectly affected through altered predation dynamics. I sought to determine if owls avoid the areas surrounding chronic industrial noise sources, if prey availability is affected by chronic industrial noise, and the relative importance of noise compared to other types of disturbance resulting from industrial development on owl habitat use. I used autonomous recording units and automated recognizers to survey for owls and scan recordings for owl vocalizations, to assess the impacts of disturbance from industrial development on owls in northeastern Alberta, a region that has seen increased development in the oil and gas industries in recent years. I found that barred owls (Strix varia), great horned owls (Bubo virginianus), and boreal owls (Aegolius funereus) were equally likely to occupy noisy sites compared to sites with no noise, indicating that site-level occupancy (representing a home range scale) was unaffected by the presence of noise sources on the landscape. I found no difference in abundance or activity of red-backed voles (Myodes gapperi)\ and deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), indicating that these important prey species are not strongly affected by noise. Finally, I found each owl species responded differently to the different disturbance types. Barred owls were less likely to be present in areas with greater proportions of human footprint and roads, whereas great horned owls were more tolerant to disturbance and were more likely to be present in areas with greater proportions of soft linear features (e.g. seismic lines, pipelines), though they did avoid areas with large industrial facilities. Boreal owl presence was more strongly affected by forest composition than disturbance; they prefer more coniferous forests, and it was less clear if they were sensitive or relatively tolerant to disturbance. Assessing the relative impacts of multiple types of disturbance and how the accumulation of disturbances can impact wildlife is important in understanding species declines and can help focus conservation efforts. My thesis contributes to research on the impacts of anthropogenic disturbance and suggests the effect of noise on barred owls, great horned owls, and boreal owls is minimal at the spatial scales I looked at. Similarly, the effect of noise on abundance and activity of red-backed voles and deer mice was weak, suggesting similar prey availability for owls. For the owl species I studied, forest composition and other types of disturbance on the landscape are more likely to influence their habitat use.

}, author = {Julia Shonfield} } @mastersthesis {52858, title = {Sources of Variation in Social Plasticity in Female Mate Preferences and Male Traits}, volume = {PhD}, year = {2018}, school = {The University of Milwaukee}, abstract = {

Female preferences are an important cause of selection on male traits, and exploring the sources of variation in these preferences has been the focus of intense behavioral research. This is due to the fact that understanding this variation is integral to understating the maintenance of variation and complexity in male traits, as well as the evolution and divergence of populations. This project aims to explore the sources of variation in these mating preferences, as well as examine whether similar sources affect components of male traits. This was accomplished using the well-studied mating system of the Green Treefrog, Hyla cinerea that features female preferences for the male advertisement call. Using playback experiments, I dissect the constituent parts of female preferences \– preference functions and choosiness, and demonstrate that sources of variation in preferences can be due to interactions between choosiness and social experience, as well as interactions between female body size and the shape of a female\’s preference function and the constituent traits of the preference function curve. Further, I demonstrate that social experience also affects the male trait, and can drive variation in the presentation of advertisement calls. This work demonstrates that while sexual selection can be a strong and directional driver of the evolution of mating behaviors, substantial variation can arise from a number of sources that may have profound effects for the evolution of species.

}, url = {https://search.proquest.com/openview/a7b1ba820ceb30df89153941c3725206}, author = {Daniel Neelon} } @mastersthesis {52857, title = {The Auditory Sensitivity and Active Space of the Northern Grasshopper Mouse (Onychomys leucogaster) in Relation to Woody Plant Encroachment}, volume = {MSc}, year = {2018}, school = {Northern Arizona University}, abstract = {

Vocal communication is a critical component of mate choice and territoriality in many animals. The efficacy of communication depends on signal transmission through an often- cluttered environment. Anthropogenic-induced changes in vegetation structure may impact sound propagation and thus habitat quality, but few studies have explored this hypothesis. In the American Southwest, fire suppression and cattle grazing have facilitated displacement of grasslands by pinyon-juniper woodlands. Northern grasshopper mice (Onychomys
leucogaster) produce long-distance vocalizations to advertise their presence to rivals and potential mates and inhabit regions impacted by juniper encroachment. Here, we coupled acoustic recordings and physiological measurements of hearing sensitivity in the laboratory with sound transmission experiments in the field to estimate the active space of grasshopper mouse calls. We found that receivers are sensitive to loud (ca. 85 dB re: 20 \μPa at 1 m) 11.6 kHz calls at 30 dB and that calls travel 30 m (range: 20 \– 60 m). However, we found no effect of shrub encroachment on call propagation as juniper and grass density were inversely associated and\ both present barriers to a 9 cm mouse advertising at ground level. Our findings suggest that juniper encroachment does not affect sound propagation but may influence habitat quality through alternative mechanisms.

}, url = {https://search.proquest.com/openview/e347237ef0544cf639c2d95e4d50a22b}, author = {Dana M. Green} } @mastersthesis {52812, title = {Impacts of Ambient Noise on Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) Habitat Use and Behavior}, year = {2018}, pages = {171}, type = {phd}, abstract = {

This study examines the soundscape of minke whale habitat in the Scottish Inner Hebrides around the islands of Mull, Coll and Muck and near the Ardnamurchan Peninsula of the Scottish mainland. To compare the soundscape with minke whale presence and behavior, acoustic recordings were paired with behavior and respiration data. Acoustic recordings were taken using a Soundtrap 300, deployed from a whale watching vessel. Data was taken from June - September 2016. The soundscape was analyzed by comparing power spectral density averaged into octave bands (center frequencies from 16 Hz \– 128 kHz). The soundscape of the region is ephemeral, with some locations having very different acoustic patterns depending on transient animal and human activity. Humans contribute to the soundscape through movement of small ships and dredging. Notable biological contributors to the soundscape include dolphins and snapping shrimp. Outside the island of Coll is quieter at mid-frequencies (2-8 kHz octave bands). Inside Coll is quieter at frequencies in the 16-128 kHz octave bands. Ardmore point, in the Sound of Mull, is louder for most frequencies. These differences create a potential way for animals to navigate or orient based on sound. Observed minke whale behaviors were categorized into behavior states to create a behavior budget. Minke whales in this area spend 56\% of their daytime feeding, 7\% traveling and 39\% in other activities. The average inter-breath interval for minke whales in this study was 60.7s. Minke presence and behavior were compared with sound levels in 1/3rd octave bands using generalized linear models. Minke whale presence and behavior both correlate with changes in the Soundscape. Minke whales are less likely to be seen with higher levels of low (31 Hz) and high (25.4 kHz) frequency sound. Higher levels of sound at low (63 Hz) frequencies were associated with lower probability of minke whales feeding. Higher probability of minke whales feeding in higher levels of high (25.4 kHz) frequency sound may indicate that minke whales are optimizing that time which is spent in regions with higher levels of noise at these frequencies.

}, keywords = {acoustics, ambient noise, Balaenoptera acutorostrata, Behavior, biological sciences, Conservation biology, Environmental science, Health and environmental sciences, Minke, Pure sciences, Soundscape}, isbn = {9780355660500}, url = {https://search.proquest.com/docview/2020840628?accountid=15181}, author = {Roland, Adele} } @mastersthesis {52612, title = {AUTOMATIC BIRD IDENTIFICATION AND VERIFICATION}, volume = {PhD}, year = {2016}, school = {University of West Bohemia}, author = {Ladislav Pt{\'a}{\v c}ek} } @mastersthesis {52594, title = {Do forests {\textquoteleft}fall silent{\textquoteright} following aerial applications of 1080 poison? Development and application of bird monitoring methods using automated sound recording devices}, volume = {Master of Science in Ecology and Biodiversity}, year = {2017}, school = {Victoria University of Wellington}, type = {MSc}, abstract = {

Electronic bioacoustic techniques are providing new and effective ways of monitoring birds and have a number of advantages over other traditional monitoring methods. Given the increasing popularity of bioacoustic methods, and the difficulties associated with automated analyses (e.g. high Type I error rates), it is important that the most effective ways of scoring audio recordings are investigated. In Chapter Two I describe a novel sub-sampling and scoring technique (the \‘10 in 60 sec\’ method) which estimates the vocal conspicuousness of bird species through the use of repeated presence-absence counts and compare its performance with a current manual method. The \‘10 in 60 sec\’ approach reduced variability in estimates of vocal conspicuousness, significantly increased the number of species detected per count and reduced temporal autocorrelation. I propose that the \‘10 in 60 sec\’ method will have greater overall ability to detect changes in underlying birdsong parameters and hence provide more informative data to scientists and conservation managers.
It is often anecdotally suggested that forests \‘fall silent\’ and are devoid of birdsong following aerial 1080 operations. However, it is difficult to objectively assess the validity of this claim without quantitative information that addresses the claim specifically. Therefore in Chapter Three I applied the methodological framework outlined in Chapter Two to answer a controversial conservation question: Do New Zealand forests \‘fall silent\’ after aerial 1080 operations? At the community level I found no evidence for a reduction in birdsong after the 1080 operation and eight out of the nine bird taxa showed no evidence for a decline in vocal conspicuousness. Only one species, tomtit (Petroica macrocephala), showed evidence for a decline in vocal conspicuousness, though this effect was non-significant after applying a correction for multiple tests.
In Chapter Four I used tomtits as a case study species to compare manual and automated approaches to: (1) estimating vocal conspicuousness and (2) determine the feasibility of using an automated detector on a New Zealand passerine. I found that data from the automated method were significantly positively correlated with the manual method although the relationship was not particularly strong (Pearson\’s r = 0.62, P \< 0.0001). The automated method suffered from a relatively high false negative rate and the data it produced did not\ reveal a decline in tomtit call rates following the 1080 drop. Given the relatively poor performance of the automated method, I propose that the automatic detector developed in this thesis requires further refinement before it is suitable for answering management-level questions for tomtit populations. However, as pattern recognition technology continues to improve automated methods are likely to become more viable in the future.

}, author = {Asher Cook} } @mastersthesis {51474, title = {WAVELET-BASED BIRDSONG RECOGNITION FOR CONSERVATION}, volume = {PhD}, year = {2017}, school = {Massey University}, address = {Palmerston North, New Zealand}, abstract = {

According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red Data List nearly a quarter of the world{\textquoteright}s bird species are either threatened or at risk of extinction. To be able to protect endangered species, we need accurate survey methods that reli- ably estimate numbers and hence population trends. Acoustic monitoring is the most commonly-used method to survey birds, particularly cryptic and nocturnal species, not least because it is non-invasive, unbiased, and relatively time-effective. Unfortu- nately, the resulting data still have to be analysed manually. The current practice, manual spectrogram reading, is tedious, prone to bias due to observer variations, and not reproducible.

While there is a large literature on automatic recognition of targeted recordings of small numbers of species, automatic analysis of long field recordings has not been well studied to date. This thesis considers this problem in detail, presenting experiments demonstrating the true efficacy of recorders in natural environments under different conditions, and then working to reduce the noise present in the recording, as well as to segment and recognise a range of New Zealand native bird species.

The primary issues with field recordings are that the birds are at variable distances from the recorder, that the recordings are corrupted by many different forms of noise, that the environment affects the quality of the recorded sound, and that birdsong is often relatively rare within a recording. Thus, methods of dealing with faint calls, denoising, and effective segmentation are all needed before individual species can be recognised reliably. Experiments presented in this thesis demonstrate clearly the effects of distance and environment on recorded calls. Some of these results are unsurprising, for example an inverse square relationship with distance is largely true. Perhaps more surprising is that the height from which a call is transmitted has a significant effect on the recorded sound. Statistical analyses of the experiments, which demonstrate many significant environmental and sound factors, are presented.

Regardless of these factors, the recordings have noise present, and removing this noise is helpful for reliable recognition. A method for denoising based on the wavelet packet decomposition is presented and demonstrated to significantly improve the qual- ity of recordings. Following this, wavelets were also used to implement a call detection algorithm that identifies regions of the recording with calls from a target bird species. This algorithm is validated using four New Zealand native species namely Australasian bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus), brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli), morepork (Ninox no- vaeseelandiae), and kakapo (Strigops habroptilus), but could be used for any species. The results demonstrate high recall rates and tolerate false positives when compared to human experts.

}, author = {Nirosha Priyadarshani} } @mastersthesis {50813, title = {WASIS - Bioacoustic Species Identication based on Multiple Feature Extraction and Classication Algorithms}, year = {2017}, school = {Universidade Estadual de Campinas}, abstract = {

Automatic identication of animal species based on their sounds is one of the means to conduct research in bioacoustics. This research domain provides, for instance, ways to monitor rare and endangered species, to analyze changes in ecological communities, or ways to study the social meaning of animal calls in their behavioral contexts. Identi cation mechanisms are typically executed in two stages: feature extraction and classi cation. Both stages present challenges, in computer science and in bioacoustics. The choice of e ective feature extraction and classi cation algorithms is a challenge on any audio recognition system, especially in bioacoustics. Considering the wide variety of animal groups studied, algorithms are tailored to speci c groups. Audio classi cation techniques are also sensitive to the extracted features, and conditions surrounding the recordings. As a results, most bioacoustic softwares are not extensible, therefore limiting the kinds of recognition experiments that can be conducted. Given this scenario, this dissertation proposes a software architecture that allows multiple feature extraction, feature fusion and classi cation algorithms to support scientists and the general public on the identi cation of animal species through their recorded sounds. This architecture was implemented by the WASIS software, freely available on the Web. Since WASIS is open-source and expansible, experts can perform experiments with many combinations of pairs descriptor-classi er to choose the most appropriate ones for the identi cation of given animal sub-groups. A number of algorithms were implemented, serving as the basis for a comparative study that recommends sets of feature extraction and classi cation algorithms for three animal groups.

}, author = {Leandro Tacioli} } @mastersthesis {50740, title = {Investigating an adaptive radiation in temperate Neoconocephalus}, year = {2013}, school = {University of Missouri{\textendash}Columbia}, type = {phd}, author = {Frederick, Katherine H} } @mastersthesis {50651, title = {An Exploration of Rhythm perception in African Penguins (Spheniscus demersus)}, volume = {Master of Science}, year = {2017}, school = {Rochester Institute of Technology}, abstract = {

Rhythmic properties in penguin vocalizations may be unique to individuals. Rhythm perception is a cognitive ability previously thought to be exclusive to vocal-learning species who have the neurological complexities required to mimic conspecific and heterospecific vocalizations. Discovering rhythm perception in penguins would provide insight on penguins\’ ability to recognize kin using auditory cues, and discount theories constraining rhythm perception to vocal-learning animals. The goal of this study was to learn if African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) could perceive changes in rhythm using a habituation-dishabituation paradigm. Subjects were 32-38 African penguins housed at the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, NY. Penguins were presented with four rhythms at 4 kHz and head turns per bird were counted in 24 sessions. Each session was composed of ten familiarization trials followed by six test trials that alternated between the familiar and novel rhythm. The number of head turns per bird did not significantly increase from the last three familiarization trials to the first novel test trial. Results did not provide evidence for auditory rhythm perception in penguins. This may be because subjects met the habituation criterion in only 9 out of 24 sessions or because of other limitations of the method. It is also possible that a habituation-dishabituation methodology was not ideal for discovering rhythm perception in penguins. More research on auditory rhythm perception in penguins is needed.

}, author = {Fobe, Irene A.} } @mastersthesis {11959, title = {Incipient Speciation In The Meadow Grasshopper, Chorthippus parallelus (Orthoptera: Acrididae).}, volume = {PhD}, year = {1997}, school = {University of East Anglia}, address = {Norwich, UK}, abstract = {

This thesis examines the evolutionary divergence between northern European and Italian populations of Chorthippus parallelus. Several differing approaches were taken, which identified the inception of various components of the speciation process between these parapatric populations which meet in the Alps.

Firstly, partial post-zygotic reproductive isolation was demonstrated using hybrid crosses. The male hybrid offspring of both reciprocal crosses were sterile, displaying severe testicular dysfunction, while the female hybrids showed no deleterious effects of hybridisation. In this grasshopper the males are the heterogametic sex, possessing a single X chromosome, and so this pattern of hybrid sterility conforms to Haldane{\textquoteright}s rule. Secondly, investigation of the calling song of the male grasshopper, a component of the mate recognition system, suggested the presence of pre-mating reproductive isolation. Males from the different races were found to sing calling song of a significantly different structure. Finally, examination of DNA sequence divergence in a mitochondrial DNA marker demonstrated Significant levels of genetic differentiation between the races. This population divergence and incipient reproductive isolation parallels that found between the north European and Iberian populations of this grasshopper, and provides further evidence that the divergent geographical races have resulted from allopatric divergence while in isolated refugial populations during the glacial periods of thePleistocene Epoch.

These approaches were repeated to investigate genetic divergence between localised populations within the Italian peninsula. No hybrid dysfunction was observed between these populations, suggesting that they are recently derived from one continuous population. This was probably the refugial population of the last ice-age. Additionally, investigation with the mtDNA marker gave preliminary evidence for population expansion from the south to the north of Italy. Interestingly, the male calling song was Significantly different in populations from the north and the south of Italy, suggesting that a component of pre-mating reproductive isolation may have evolved prior to post-mating isolation in allopatric populations of C. parallelus.

}, author = {Nicola S. Flanagan} }