U.S.-Western Europe Cooperative Research on the Communication Network of Territorial Songbirds

该奖项支持康奈尔大学的克里斯托弗·克拉克教授和一名研究生与两组欧洲生物学家合作，研究鸣禽的交流。克拉克教授开发了一种被动声学系统，利用一组麦克风来定位会发声的动物。该系统计算出在阵列中心200米范围内发声的单个鸟的位置。这项技术使他能够同时跟踪一个群体中许多不同鸟类的运动和声音行为，并研究它们声音互动的细节。他将通过与诺丁汉大学的Peter McGregor博士和哥本哈根大学的Torben Dabelsteen博士在英国和丹麦的实地工作，将这一系统应用于两个已被标记和研究过的欧洲鸟类种群。这些合作者标记了黑鹂和其他物种的种群，并开创了具有生物学意义的交互式回放系统。领地鸟类的鸣叫和鸣叫行为是一个非常复杂而又鲜为人知的现象。本研究计划介绍创新的技术，将有助于克服与研究通信网络相关的技术问题。这一结果应该是关于动物如何通过发声进行交流的重要新信息。

This award supports Professor Christopher Clark of Cornell University and a graduate student to collaborate with two groups of European biologists in a study of songbird communication. Professor Clark has developed a passive acoustic system for locating vocalizing animals using an array of microphones. The system computes the locations of individual birds which are vocalizing anywhere within 200 meters of the center of the array. This technique allows him to simultaneously follow the movements and acoustic behaviors of many different birds within a community and study the details of their vocal interactions. He will apply this system to two well marked and studied populations of European birds through field work in England with Dr. Peter McGregor of the University of Nottingham and in Denmark with Dr. Torben Dabelsteen from the University of Copenhagen. These collaborators have marked populations of blackbirds and other species, and have pioneered interactive playback systems that are biologically meaningful. Bird song and singing behavior among territorial birds are very complex and poorly understood phenomena. This research plan introduces innovative techniques that will help surmount technical problems associated with studying communication networks. The results should be significant new information about how animals communicate with their vocalizations.