02138nas a2200121 4500008004100000245008800041210006900129520154000198100002101738700002701759700002101786856020901807 2019 eng d00aSpatiotemporal Patterns of the California Spotted Owl’s Territorial Vocalizations0 aSpatiotemporal Patterns of the California Spotted Owl s Territor3 a

Emerging bioacoustic technology allows researchers to passively record animal vocalizations to study population dynamics at relatively broad spatial scales. Spatiotemporal patterns in vocalization behavior free from direct human influence, which occurs during traditional vocal-lure surveys, may also yield novel behavioral insights. We used passively recorded audio data to examine such patterns in the California Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) across the northern Sierra Nevada. We assessed temporal patterns in the initiation of bouts of four-note calls and the number of such calls, and we used generalized linear mixed models to test whether environmental factors influenced bout-initiation time, bout duration, and the number of calls per unit time. We found that (1) Spotted Owls were most vocally active within three hours of sunset, (2) bouts of calling were longer with fewer calls per unit time in open and young forest, (3) those bouts were concentrated in the middle of the night, and (4) the frequency of occurrence and duration of bouts of territorial vocal activity was reduced in montane riparian forest. These patterns suggest that Spotted Owls may engage in territorial defense in marginal habitat (open and young forest) and minimize their vocal activity in key foraging habitat (montane riparian forest). This application of acoustic monitoring data to behavioral ecology illustrates the broad applicability of the underlying audio data and its potential to yield novel ecological insights.

1 aWood, Connor, M.1 aSchmidt, Stephanie, M.1 aPeery, Zachariah uhttps://www.westernfieldornithologists.org/publications.phphttps://www.westernfieldornithologists.org/archive/V50/journal-50-4.phphttps://www.westernfieldornithologists.org/archive/V50/50(4)-p232-p242.pdf02184nas a2200169 4500008004100000245009200041210006900133520157800202100002201780700002601802700002201828700002701850700003001877700002501907700002101932856006101953 2019 eng d00aAutomated identification of avian vocalizations with deep convolutional neural networks0 aAutomated identification of avian vocalizations with deep convol3 a

Passive acoustic monitoring is an emerging approach to wildlife monitoring that leverages recent improvements in automated recording units and other technolo- gies. A central challenge of this approach is the task of locating and identifying target species vocalizations in large volumes of audio data. To address this issue, we developed an efficient data processing pipeline using a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) to automate the detection of owl vocalizations in spec- trograms generated from unprocessed field recordings. While the project was ini- tially focused on spotted and barred owls, we also trained the network to recognize northern saw-whet owl, great horned owl, northern pygmy-owl, and western screech-owl. Although classification performance varies across species, initial results are promising. Recall, or the proportion of calls in the dataset that are detected and correctly identified, ranged from 63.1% for barred owl to 91.5% for spotted owl based on raw network output. Precision, the rate of true positives among apparent detections, ranged from 0.4% for spotted owl to 77.1% for northern saw-whet owl based on raw output. In limited tests, the CNN performed as well as or better than human technicians at detecting owl calls. Our model output is suitable for developing species encounter histories for occupancy models and other analyses. We believe our approach is sufficiently general to support long-term, large-scale monitoring of a broad range of species beyond our target species list, including birds, mammals, and others.

1 aRuff, Zachary, J.1 aLesmeister, Damon, B.1 aDuchac, Leila, S.1 aPadmaraju, Bharath, K.1 aSullivan, Christopher, M.1 aPettorelli, Nathalie1 aLecours, Vincent uhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/rse2.12502965nas a2200277 4500008004100000022001300041245012000054210006900174260001600243300001200259490000800271520192300279653002202202653001802224653002502242653001602267653002402283653002202307653001402329100002202343700002402365700002302389700002002412700002202432856023302454 2018 eng d a0003347200aBarn owl nestlings vocally escalate when interrupted by a sibling: evidence from an interactive playback experiment0 aBarn owl nestlings vocally escalate when interrupted by a siblin cJan-11-2018 a51 - 570 v1453 a

To resolve conflicts of interest, animals can vocally signal their resource-holding potential and motivation to compete. This allows conspecifics to adjust their behaviour to each other without fighting physically. Making sure that competitors correctly assess each other's vocal information requires mechanisms to prevent signal interference. Alternating calls with those of an opponent (i.e. waiting until the opponent's call has ended before starting to vocalize) is widely observed in animals and could be partly acquired through learning. Regardless of whether competitors interrupt conspecifics as a signal of dominance or by accident, the information transferred by the interrupted individual is likely to be partly blurred. Interrupted individuals would hence benefit from counterattacking by calling more intensely, indicating to their competitors that calling simultaneously is counterproductive. We tested this ‘social feedback’ hypothesis in the barn owl, Tyto alba, in which young siblings negotiate vocally over which individual will have priority access to the next food item delivered. It has already been shown that nestlings actively avoid interrupting each other, but it remains untested whether nestlings give social feedback when interrupted. To test this, we developed an ‘automated interactive playback’ which broadcast calls that either interrupted or did not interrupt the calls of a singleton nestling. When a playback call interrupted a nestling, this individual immediately intensified vocal communication by quickly producing a long call and by producing more calls. As previously shown, this reaction tends to silence competitors and thereby increases the individual's likelihood of obtaining the next food item. Such social feedback could reinforce the evolutionary stability of vocal sibling negotiation as a nonaggressive way to share food.

10aauditory feedback10acommunication10ainteractive playback10aoverlapping10asibling negotiation10atemporal dynamics10aTyto alba1 aDucouret, Pauline1 aDreiss, Amélie, N.1 aGémard, Charlène1 aFalourd, Xavier1 aRoulin, Alexandre uhttps://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0003347218302732https://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0003347218302732?httpAccept=text/xmlhttps://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0003347218302732?httpAccept=text/plain03990nas a2200109 4500008004100000245009500041210006900136260002600205520358400231100002103815856004403836 2018 eng d00aUsing Bioacoustics to Examine the Effects of Industrial Disturbance on Owls and their Prey0 aUsing Bioacoustics to Examine the Effects of Industrial Disturba bUniversity of Alberta3 a

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.

1 aShonfield, Julia uhttps://bio.acousti.ca/pt-pt/node/5311602246nas a2200349 4500008004100000245010300041210006900144260001600213300001400229490000800243520124400251653001401495653001401509653001201523653001801535653001601553653002101569653001601590653001401606100002401620700002201644700002601666700002201692700002201714700002001736700002301756700001801779700001901797700002201816700001501838856004301853 2017 eng d00aNo need to shout: Effect of signal loudness on sibling communication in barn owls Tyto alba0 aNo need to shout Effect of signal loudness on sibling communicat cJan-06-2017 a419 - 4240 v1233 a

In animal communication, signal loudness is often ignored and seldom measured. We used a playback experiment to examine the role of vocal loudness (i.e., sound pressure level) in sibling to sibling communication of nestling barn owls Tyto alba. In this species, siblings vocally negotiate among each other for priority access to parental food resources. Call rate and call duration play key roles in this vocal communication system, with the most vocal nestlings deterring their siblings from competing for access to the food item next delivered by parents. Here, we broadcast calls at different loudness levels and call rate to live nestlings. The loudness of playback calls did not affect owlets' investment in call rate, call duration or call loudness. The rate at which playback calls were broadcast affected owlets' call rate but did not influence their response in terms of loudness. This suggests that selection for producing loud signals may be weak in this species, as loud calls may attract predators. Moreover, given that owlets do not overlap their calls and that they communicate to nearby siblings in the silence of the night, loud signals may not be necessary to convey reliable information about food need.

10aacoustics10aamplitude10abegging10acommunication10acompetition10amultiple signals10anegotiation10aplaybacks1 aDreiss, Amélie, N.1 aDucouret, Pauline1 aRuppli, Charlène, A.1 aRossier, Virginie1 aHernandez, Lucile1 aFalourd, Xavier1 aMarmaroli, Patrick1 aCazau, Dorian1 aLissek, Hervé1 aRoulin, Alexandre1 aFusani, L. uhttp://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/eth.12612