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Acoustic species recognition in delphinids

Objective

Species recognition is a major function of animal communication signals. A lack of recognition can carry fitness costs due to failed breeding attempts and other challenges. Individual recognition can also have fitness implications, as the ability to recognize individuals is important for mother-offspring interactions and in species that form alliances to improve their fitness. Both species and individual identity can be encoded in signal parameters, however species recognition could be compromised by individual recognition when the latter requires large individual signal diversity. Dolphins use whistle modulation patterns for individual recognition, but if and how they use whistles for species recognition is unknown. We propose to study the interaction between individual and species recognition in dolphins. We will do this by investigating whether captive bottlenose dolphins pay attention to species information when listening to whistles and which whistle parameters carry species-specific information. Our main objectives are to a) record and analyse whistles of three species, bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus), common (Delphinus delphis), and Atlantic spotted (Stenella frontalis) dolphins to compare their use of whistle modulation patterns and establish a catalogue of shared whistles, b) test how bottlenose dolphins react to a whistle that is similar to a signature whistle of a close associate but is produced by another species, and c) manipulate whistles digitally to explore the boundaries of species and/or individual recognition in a habituation/dishabituation paradigm. Our results will be significant for the development of species identification algorithms used to analyze acoustic data. Understanding the parameters that dolphins use for species recognition will allow researchers to create more accurate classification algorithms. Improved algorithms will provide the capability to more effectively evaluate and mitigate impacts of anthropogenic activities on dolphins.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2015

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Coordinator

THE UNIVERSITY COURT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 195 454,80
Address
NORTH STREET 66 COLLEGE GATE
KY16 9AJ ST ANDREWS
United Kingdom

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Region
Scotland Eastern Scotland Clackmannanshire and Fife
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 195 454,80
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