IDBR: Developing a Behavioral Acoustic Biome Measurement System

蒙大拿州立大学的罗斯·斯奈德和加州大学圣地亚哥分校的科里·米勒被授予开发一种新的声学和行为记录系统，用于研究野生小型哺乳动物通信网络的持续动态。交流是一种生物学上的需要。没有沟通的能力，人与人之间的互动是不可能的。为此，物种进化出了复杂的通信系统，为它们提供了一系列信号，这些信号的功能是向其他个体传达有意义的信息。目前已知的关于通信基础机制的大部分是从涉及信号生产者和信号接收者的相对简单的相互作用中得出的。虽然这无疑仍然是交流的核心组成部分，但对人类和非人类动物的一系列研究表明，交流往往要复杂得多。通信不限于二元对，而是经常涉及动态网络中的多个个体。研究这些通信网络的一个重要制约因素是方法论。传统的方法可能不足以记录野生环境中多个个体正在进行的声音互动。该项目试图通过开发一种新的基于项圈的记录系统来解决这一限制，该系统允许同时收集社会群体中多个个人的声学和行为数据。以一种非人类灵长类动物--常见的绒猴为模型，该记录系统将提供对物种典型通信网络的复杂性的重要洞察。该项目的跨学科性质为培训和教育提供了几个独特的机会。通过将电气工程和生物生物学的方法结合起来，致力于该项目的研究生获得了独特的机会，不仅可以接受应用各自技术的培训，还可以参与跨学科的整合。工科学生将在开发应用技术方面获得宝贵的经验，而生物专业的学生将获得开发和实施新工具的意义的经验。少数民族学生将参与这一项目，包括研究生和本科生。此外，由于该项目专门涉及交流--这是一个与人类语言有关的重要专题--它为推广教育提供了一个独特的机会，将其作为生物系统中仪器开发和实施的范例。将为多个年龄段的学生创建演示，以便在教室和其他教育环境中使用。该奖项是通过生物基础设施部的生物研究仪器开发和刺激竞争性研究的实验计划(EPSCoR)颁发的。

An award has been made to Ross Snider of Montana State University and Cory Miller of the University of California, San Diego to develop a novel acoustic and behavioral recording system for investigating the ongoing dynamics of communication networks in wild small mammals. Communication is a biological necessity. Without the ability to communication, interactions between individuals would be impossible. To this end, species evolved complex communication systems that provide them with a range of signals that function to convey meaningful information to other individuals. Much of what is currently known about the mechanisms underlying communication is derived from relatively simple interactions involving a signal producer and signal receiver. While this undoubtedly remains a core component of communication, a range of studies in human and nonhuman animals show that communication is often far more complex. Rather than being restricted to a dyadic pair, communication frequently involves multiple individuals in a dynamic network. A significant constraint on investigating these communication networks is methodological. Traditional methods may be inadequate for recording the ongoing vocal interactions of multiple individuals in the wild. This project seeks to address this limitation by developing a novel collar-based recording system that allows the simultaneous acoustic and behavioral data collection on multiple individuals in a social group. Using a species of nonhuman primates, the common marmoset, as a model, this recording system will provide significant insight into the complexities of species-typical communication networks.The interdisciplinary nature of this project provides several unique opportunities for training and education. By combining methods from electrical engineering and organismal biology, the graduate students working on the project are afforded the unique opportunity to not only be trained in applying the respective techniques but to be involved in integrating across the disciplines. Engineering students will gain valuable experience with developing applicable technologies, while the biology students will gain experience in the significance of developing and implementing novel tools. Minority students will participate in this project at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Furthermore, as this project deals specifically with communication - a topic of significance when related to human language - it provides a unique opportunity for outreach education as an example of instrumentation development and implementation in a biological system. A demonstration for students of multiple ages will be created to use in classrooms and other educational settings. This award is made through the Instrument Development for Biological research in the Division of Biological Infrastructure, and through the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).