Sensor Arrays for Acoustic Monitoring of Bird Behavior and Diversity

该奖项支持开发坚固和适应性强的传感器阵列以及用于观察和分析鸟类多样性和行为的相关软件。鸟类被选为这项工作的试验组，是因为它们在生物多样性方面的重要性，也因为它们在将要探索的特性(即鸟类发声)方面具有很好的特点。该项目将利用加州大学洛杉矶分校嵌入式传感中心(CENS)开发的现有传感器阵列。这项工作将在加州大学洛杉矶分校的实验室和几个现场地点进行：(1)加州伊迪尔怀尔德附近的UCRiverside James保护区。-一个配备大量仪器的现场，有传感器阵列的全职专家。在这里，这些方法将首先进行测试，然后部署到加利福尼亚州蒙特利附近的黑斯廷斯保护区，那里已经对橡子啄木鸟进行了标记和研究。传感器阵列将用于识别单个啄木鸟，定位它们，并识别与它们使用的大约10个呼叫相关的行为模式。阵列还将被部署到墨西哥恰帕斯的Montes Azules生物多样性保护区，那里的热带雨林中有丰富的鸟类物种多样性。在这里，传感器阵列将被开发来识别和定位该地区不同的鸟类物种。该项目开发的传感器阵列、软件和方法将服务于分析生态系统中生物多样性的迫切需要。远程感知、记录和自动分析声学行为所需的工具将对生态学、生物多样性和行为研究有极大帮助。

This award supports the development of robust and adaptable sensor arrays and related software for observing and analyzing bird diversity and behavior. Birds have been selected as the test group for this work because of their importance in biodiversity, and because they are well-characterized with regard to the properties that will be explored (i.e. bird vocalizations). This project will make use of existing sensor arrays developed by the UCLA Center for Embedded Sensing (CENS).The work will be performed in laboratories at UCLA and at several field sites: (1) the UCRiverside James Reserve, near Idyllwild, CA. - a heavily instrumented field site with full-time specialists on sensor arrays. Here, methods will be initially tested, then deployed to either (2) the Hastings Reserve, near Monterey CA, where acorn woodpeckers have been marked and studied. The sensor arrays will be used to identify individual woodpeckers, locate them, and to identify patterns in their behavior associated with the approximately 10 calls they employ. Arrays will also be deployed to (3) the Montes Azules Biodiversity Reserve in Chiapas, Mexico, which has a rich diversity of bird species in a tropical rainforest. Here, the sensor arrays will be developed to identify and locate different bird species in the region. The sensor arrays, software, and methodology developed by this project will serve a severe need to assay biodiversity in ecosystems. The tools needed to remotely sense, record and automatically analyze acoustical behavior will be enormously helpful for studies of ecology, biodiversity and behavior.