XII SYMPOSIUM OF THE INTERNATIONAL BIOACOUSTICS COUNCIL

ABSTRACT

Phonemic restoration, a form of temporal induction, occurs when the human brain compensates for masked or missing portions of speech by filling in obscured or nonexistent sounds. We tested for temporal induction and related abilities in females of the Gray Treefrog Hyla versicolor. The number of pulses in calls is used by females for assessment of males. Accordingly, an ability to “restore” or interpolate between masked or otherwise sonically degraded portions of calls could help females during mate choice in noisy choruses. In phonotaxis experiments, we employed unmodified calls and those that had a centrally placed gap, a region overlapped by a portion of another call or filtered noise, or replaced with filtered noise. When offered call alternatives with equivalent numbers of clear pulses, we found that females discriminated against calls with gaps two or more times greater than the natural 25 ms interpulse interval. When a gap was replaced with a zone of call overlap or noise (so, again the call durations of the alternatives were unequal), females discriminated either in favour (overlap) of the modified stimuli or failed to discriminate (noise). However, when the unmodified and modified stimuli were the same duration, females discriminated against the latter. Normal calls were also chosen when paired against calls with multiple noise sections. Pulses formed from noise bursts were attractive, but less so than normal pulses. In single speaker tests, standardized rates of movement did not differ between calls containing noise segments of different duration. Our results therefore do not indicate that females of the Gray Treefrog employ a form of temporal induction that is fully restorative. However, the data indicate that acoustically anomalous sections of calls can retain attractive potential provided acoustic energy and pulses are present.     

ACOUSTIC COMMUNICATION AND MATING BEHAVIOUR IN WATER BUGS OF THE GENUS MICRONECTA

ABSTRACT

The role of male sounds in attracting females and in mating was investigated in the three most common species of Micronecta found in ponds 60 km NE of Melbourne, Australia: M. concordia, M. tasmanica and M. robusta. In playback experiments using recorded male signals, females were attracted to signals of conspecific males, in preference to signals of heterospecific sympatric males. Studies of mating behaviour, using video recording, showed that signals were obligatory for mating. These findings strongly suggest that acoustic signalling is important in reproductive isolation in Micronecta. Comparisons between matings and rejected matings showed that, within each species, copulation only occurred following a certain minimum number of acoustic signals with more pulse-trains than the mean for the species. Low amplitude sounds (after signals) were also important in courtship, immediately preceding mating. No sounds occurred during copulation.     

SPECIES-SPECIFIC SOUNDS IN WATER BUGS OF THE GENUS MICRONECTA. PART 2, CHORUSING

ABSTRACT

Although chorusing behaviour has been reported previously in six species of corixid water bugs, including one European species of Micronecta, no analysis of chorusing has been published for Micronecta. Studies of a large pond in SE Australia show that chorusing occurred in the most common species of Micronecta in the study area, M. concordia. Pulse-trains synchronized with those of other individuals nearby were the predominant acoustic output of M. concordia males throughout the stridulating season, from mid-winter to mid-summer. At the start of the season, chorusing began with an exponential increase in the percentage of synchronized signals over a period of six days.     

Ontogenesis of agonistic vocalizations in the cichlid fish Metriaclima zebra

While acoustic communication has been described in adults of various fish species, our knowledge about the ontogeny of fish sound production is limited. In adults, sound signals are known to be involved during aggressive interactions. However, aggressive behaviour may appear early in the life of fishes due to the possible competition for food and space. If acoustic signals are used to send information to competitors, sounds are likely to play a role during interactions between juvenile fish as well. The apparition and evolution of sound production were monitored in a group of juveniles of the cichlid fish Metriaclima zebra from hatching to 4months of age. In addition, the link between vocalizations and agonistic behaviour was studied during dyadic interactions at three different ages. Sounds production appeared to be present early in the development of this fish and increased along with the number of aggressive behaviours. Recorded sounds consisted, in juveniles, in isolated pulses showing a decrease in frequency and duration as the fish grew. In adults, sounds became bursts of pulses but the transition from isolated to repetitive pulses was not observed. These results are compared to the existing literature on sound production ontogeny in fishes.     

蝽类昆虫在地球生命中的主干种演化历程

以支系和进化主干的视角看待某一类群的系统发育地位更有利于将前进进化与分支进化的认识相结合.关于蝽类昆虫在生命树中的支系位置,近年来积累的证据已经在对于若干节点的认识上有了新的观点.随着现生类群生命树的构建以及化石类群与现生类群系统发育关系的整合,每个支系所经过的系统发育历程将逐渐变得清晰,并对相关的个体发育研究具有一定参考价值.本文致力于将近10年来的各种主流意见更迭完整地体现在对于蝽类昆虫支系地位的认识上.     

DETECTION OF THE RED PALM WEEVIL RHYNCHOPHORUS FERRUGINEUS USING ITS BIOACOUSTICS FEATURES

ABSTRACT

The Red Palm Weevil (RPW) is the most destructive pest of the date palm in the world and a serious pest of coconuts. The insect has caused up to 20% loss of these plantations in Asia and the Middle East. The economic damage to palm crops due to RPW could be mitigated significantly by bioacoustics recognition in an earlier phase of infestation and by applying the appropriate treatment. This study is conducted under the hypothesis that distinctive spectral and temporal features in RPW larval sounds can be combined to construct improved indicators for automated detection of infestations. In this paper, a signal processing system is developed with available acoustic technology to detect the existence of RPW in a tree through its feeding sounds. A large set of features are extracted, including unconventional features such as temporal roll-off, temporal slope and temporal spread. Additionally, an analysis is provided of the criteria for the choice of the optimum frame length, as well as the selection of the suitable window function. The results confirm the efficiency of the developed system with the selected representative features, window functions and frame length to detect the existence of the RPW.