Modelling and investigation of the effects of anthropogenic noise on the collective movement of animals

越来越多的证据表明，海洋和陆地动物的健康受到人为噪声暴露的影响(由各种工业活动引起；关于人为噪声的一个主要问题是难以评估其影响，并估计其对动物行为的影响。本研究的目的是利用数学模型，结合分析技术和现有的实验数据，提出关于人为噪声(例如，石油和天然气行业产生的)对小、中或大型动物群体成员之间的个体间交流的影响的假设。该项目将看到2D多尺度数学模型的发展，这些模型通过声音信号描述动物之间的空间相互作用(这些模型将是文献[2，3]中模型的推广)。为了研究这个项目中开发的模型，将使用各种分析和数值技术。对于生物现实主义，模型将使用关于动物运动(例如，速度、转向行为)和动物交流(例如，交流声级、频率)的可用数据进行参数化。最后，这些模型将被用来测试人为噪声对扰乱群体水平沟通的影响，以及对个体生存的潜在后果。这个项目不仅将导致开发新的计算和分析技术来研究这些数学模型，而且还将增加我们对人为噪声在扰乱动物运动和行为的生物机制上的作用的理解，并最终导致更好的缓解方法来提高种群存活率。注意、噪音和对野生动物保护和管理的影响。应用动物行为科学，131，1-7.[2]I.D.Couzin，J.Krause，R.Jamesm G.D.Ruxton，N.R.Franks，2002.动物群体的集合记忆和空间分类。J·西奥。比奥尔。218，1-11.[3]R.Eftimie，G.de Vries，M.A.Lewis，2007，不同动物交流机制产生的复杂空间群模式，PNAS，104(17)，6974-6979

There is increasing evidence that the wellbeing of marine and terrestrial animalsis affected by the exposure to anthropogenic noise (arising from variousindustrial activities; e.g., the Oil & Gas industry), which interferes with signalprocessing or animal communication, or can directly harm animals [1].A major issue regarding the anthropogenic noise is the difficulty of assessing itsimpact, and estimating behavioural effects on animals.The goal of this research is to use mathematical modelling, combined withanalytical techniques and available experimental data, to propose hypothesesregarding the effect of anthropogenic noise (e.g., generated by the Oil & Gasindustry) on the inter-individual communication between the members of small,medium or large animal aggregations. The project will see the development of2D multiscale mathematical models that describe the spatial interactionsbetween animals via sound signals (the models will be generalizations of modelsin [2,3]). To investigate the models developed in this project, various analyticaland numerical techniques will be used. For biological realism, the models will beparametrised with available data regarding animal movement (e.g., speed,turning behaviours) and animal communication (e.g., communication soundlevels, frequency). Finally, the models will be used to test the effect ofanthropogenic noise on disrupting group-level communication, and the potentialconsequences regarding the survival of individuals.This project will not only lead to the development of new computational andanalytical techniques to investigate these mathematical models, but will alsoincrease our understanding of the role of man-made noise on the biologicalmechanisms that disrupt animal movements and behaviour, and eventually leadto better mitigation methods to increase population survival.[1] A.A. Yim-Hol Chan, D.T. Blumstein, 2011. Attention, noise, and implications forwildlife conservation and management. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 131,1-7.[2] I.D. Couzin, J. Krause, R. Jamesm G.D. Ruxton, N.R. Franks, 2002. Collectivememory and spatial sorting in animal groups. J. Theor. Biol. 218, 1-11.[3] R. Eftimie, G. de Vries, M.A. Lewis, 2007, Complex spatial group patterns resultfrom different animal communication mechanisms, PNAS, 104(17), 6974-6979