The bioacoustics of wild bats and mice.

陆地系统中生态声景的概念主要取决于我们对鸟类等可听动物的理解，尽管蝙蝠和老鼠提供了令人难以置信的多样性和重要的生态系统服务，它们是夜间活动的，在超声波范围内发声。我的长期研究目标是确定个体状态和环境如何影响蝙蝠和老鼠的交流和相关行为，以及景观、地声和人声在多个生态尺度上的变化如何影响信号者和接受者。我的长期计划与行为、种群和生态系统生态相关，并测试生物声学假说，即信号可以通过表型可塑性(声学适应假说；AAH)或通过生物音中的竞争过程(声学利基假说；ANH)调整到声环境的各个方面。在小范围内，我通过直接观察和实验来跟踪个体，以确定呼叫的背景，并了解生物和非生物因素如何影响行为。在大范围内，我的工作与保护有关，因为声信号可以用来非侵入性地采样生物多样性。我最近从美国搬到了艾伯塔大学。利用已经在艾伯塔省建立的站点网络，我将致力于两个短期目标，这两个短期目标将利用现有的鸟类记录站点网络，这些站点将扩展到蝙蝠和老鼠，并建立/重新建立传统的老鼠活体诱捕网格。第一个目标将建立景观级声音记录，作为整个艾伯塔省NABAT监测方案的一部分，以审查1)蝙蝠物种存在/丰度的景观模式/决定因素，以及1)蝙蝠物种全年的活动模式和社会呼唤使用模式。监测程序还将使我能够确定鹿鼠在整个景观中使用叫声的模式，并首次确定叫声使用和结构如何随景观规模的植被而变化。第二个目标将使用综合USARU的现场诱捕网格和网络来确定2a)生理和生态环境，包括自然和人类噪音，如何影响鹿鼠的叫声结构和使用，以及2b)沿着海拔梯度的植被如何改变叫声结构和使用。这些研究将培养2名博士生和2名硕士研究生，除了发现目标外，还将1)向与生物医学研究相关的老鼠生物学提供信息；2)为濒危蝙蝠的保护政策提供信息；3)利用联邦和省级对现有生物多样性监测项目和机构的投资；4)为我的外联和参与计划“蝙蝠和老鼠在你的后院”做出贡献；5)通过培训和支持STEM中寻求股权的团体，通过卓越的研究来优先考虑EDI；以及6)使用和促进长期数据集(Nabat和Kanaskis鼠标网格)和开放数据平台(Wildtrax和Nabat)。

The concept of the ecological soundscape in terrestrial systems is dominated by our understanding of audible animals such as birds, in spite of incredible diversity and important ecosystem services provided by bats and mice that are nocturnal and vocalize in ultrasonic ranges. My long-term research goal is to determine how individual state and context influence communication and related behaviours of bats and mice, and how changes in the landscape, geophony and anthropophony, at multiple ecological scales, influence signalers and receivers. My long-term program is relevant to behavioural, population, and ecosystem ecology, and tests bioacoustic hypotheses that signals can be adjusted to aspects of the acoustic environment through phenotypic plasticity (Acoustic Adaptation Hypothesis; AAH) or through competitive processes in the biophony (Acoustic Niche Hypothesis; ANH). At small scales, I follow individuals through direct observations and experiments to contextualize calls and understand how biotic and abiotic factors influence behaviours. At large scales my work is relevant to conservation because acoustic signals can be used to non-invasively sample biodiversity. I have recently moved to the University of Alberta from the USA. Using a network of sites already established throughout Alberta, I will work on two short term objectives that  leverage a network of existing recording sites for birds that will be expanded to bats and mice and establish/reestablish legacy mouse live trapping grids. The first objective will establish landscape level acoustic recording as part of the NABat monitoring program across Alberta to examine 1a) landscape-level patterns/determinants of bat species presence/abundance and 1b) patterns of activity and social call use by bat species through the year. The monitoring program will also allow me to determine the 1c) pattern of call use by deer mice across the landscape and to determine how call use and structure vary with vegetation at the landscape scale, for the first time. The second objective will use live trapping grids and networks of integrated USARUs to determine 2a) how physiological and ecological context, including natural and human noise, influence call structure and use by the deer mouse and 2b) how calls structure and use varies with vegetation along an altitudinal gradient. These studies will train 2 PhD and 2 MSc students and beyond the discovery objectives will also 1) inform the biology of mice relevant to biomedical research; 2) inform conservation policy for endangered bats; 3) leverage federal and provincial investments into existing biodiversity monitoring programs and agencies; 4) contribute to my outreach and engagement program "Bats and Mice in your Backyard"; 5) prioritize EDI through research excellence by training and support of equity-seeking groups in STEM; and 6) use and contribute to long term data sets (NABat and Kananaskis mouse grids) and open data platforms (Wildtrax and NABat).