Animal CommunicationBSCI 338C/BIOL 708D

Instructor: Dr. Jerry Wilkinson

Office: Room 2223A Biology/Psychology BuildingPhone: 301-405-6942

Fax: 301-314-9358

Email: wilkinso@umail.umd.eduWeb page: www.life.umd.edu/faculty/wilkinson

Office hours: Tuesday 1-2:30 or by appointment

Lectures: Tuesday and Thursday, 11-12:15; 1119 Plant SciencesBuilding

Prerequisites: Required: Biology 106; one semester of physics, one

semester of organic chemistry. Recommended: A course in animal behavior

or biopsychology

Text: Principles of Animal Communication by Jack Bradbury and Sandra

Vehrencamp, Sinauer Press, 1998

Class ScheduleMonth Day Topic Readings

Jan 29 What is animal communication? ch 1

Part I: Production, transmission and reception of signals

31 Properties of sound ch 2

Feb 5 Fourier analysis ch 37 Sound production ch 4

12 Sound propagation ch 5

14 Sound reception ch 619 Properties of light ch 7

21 Production and transmission of light signals ch 826 Light signal reception ch 9

28 Chemical signals ch 10

March 5 Electroreception ch 11

Part II: Optimizing information transfer

7 Economics of animal communication ch 12

12 MIDTERM chs 1-1114 Amount of information in signals ch 13

19 Va lue of information ch 1421 Signal function and coding ch 15

LITERATURE REVIEW PAPER DUE

26 Spring Break!28 Spring Break!

April 2 Signal evolution ch 164 Costs and constraints on signal evolution ch 17

9 Signal design rules ch 18

Part III: Conflict and cooperation in signalling strategies

11 Logic of evolutionary games ch 1916 Signal honesty ch 20

18 Conflict resolution ch 21

23 Social integration ch 2425 Language evolution

30 Environmental signals ch 25May 2 Autocommunication ch 26

PROJECT PROPOSAL PAPER DUE

7 Group presentations9 Group presentations

14 Group presentations

18 FINAL 10:30-12:30

Assignments - Exams

• Midterm, March 12, 25% of grade

• Final, May 18, 35% of grade, not cumulative– All exams will be short answer with some

problem solving– Make-up exams permitted only with a doctor’s

note

Assignments - Papers

• Literature review (no more than 5 pages), due March 21, 15% of grade– BSCI 338C - at least 10 primary references

– BIOL 708D - at least 20 primary references

• Project proposal, due May 2, 15% of grade– State problem, put in context, indicate source of sounds

and type of analysis planned

– Can turn in one proposal/group

Assignments - Group project• 3-4 students will collect and analyze sounds

– Using recordings they make– Using recordings provided or downloaded

• Decide what to measure, use software to digitize and extract measurements

• Present results to the class May 7, 9 or 14

• Presentations will be peer-reviewed and count 10% of grade

Grading policy

• All assignments will be graded on a curve– “A” = understands and can apply all concepts,

papers indicate ability to synthesize material creatively

– “B” = understands most concepts, papers are well-organized and carefully prepared

– “C” = has difficulty with some concepts, papers could use improvement with content and style

Goals• Acquaint you with the diversity of ways in

which animals communicate

• Reinforce evolutionary thinking

• Improve your ability to read and write synthetically and critically

• Illustrate how computers have revolutionized sound analysis

Suggestions for success

In my experience, a strong predictor of success in any class is attendance. Iurge you to always come to class. If you miss class, ask a neighbor for their

notes and/or see me. I will be happy to review material covered in classwith you. If you have any questions or comments during the course, please

ask or tell me. I am most easily be reached by email, but I am also available

during office hours and by appointment.

Academic code of conductDefinitions of academic dishonesty include:

CHEATING: Intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorizedmaterials, information or study aids in any academic exercise.

FABRICATION: Intentional and unauthorized falsification or invention ofany information or citation in an academic exercise.

FACILITATION: Intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to help

another to violate any provision of the Code of Academic Integrity.

PLAGIARISM: Intentionally or knowingly representing the words or ideas

of another as one's own in any academic exercise. You will be asked to signan honor pledge on all exams and papers.

Definitions of communication

• Wilson (1975) {sociobiology} “..communication occurs when the action of or cue given by one organism is perceived by and thus alters the probability pattern of behavior in another organism in a fashion adaptive to either one or both of the participants.”

Definitions of communication

• Hailman (1977) {ethology} “Communication is the transfer of information via signals sent in a channel between sender and a receiver. The occurrence of communication is recognized by a difference in the behavior of the reputed receiver in two situations that differ only in the presence or absence of the reputed signal… the effect of a signal may be to prevent a change in the receiver’s output, or to maintain a specific internal behavioral state of readiness.

Definitions of communication

• Dusenbery (1992) {sensory ecology} “The term ‘true communication’ is restricted to cases in which the transmitting organism engages in behavior that is adaptive principally because it generates a signal and the interaction mediated by the signal is adaptive to the receiving organism as well.”

Definitions of communication

• Krebs and Davies (1993) {behavioral ecology} “..the process in which actors use specially designed signals or displays to modify the behavior of reactors.”

• Kimura (1993) {neuropsychology} “The term is used here in a narrower sense, to refer to behaviors by which one member of a species conveys information to another member of the species.”

Definitions of communication

• Johnson-Laird (1990) {cognitive psychology} “Communication is a matter of causal influence…the communicator (must) construct an internal representation of the external world, and then..carry out some symbolic behavior that conveys the content of that representation. The recipient must first perceive the symbolic behavior, i.e. construct its internal representation, and then from it recover a further internal representation of the state that it signifies. This final step depends on access to the arbitrary conventions governing the interpretation of the symbolic behavior.

What is communication?

• Sender intentionally produces signal to convey information to a receiver

Benefits Possible detriment

Benefits Truecommunication

Manipulation

Possibledetriment

Eavesdropping Ignore

Who benefits?

Receiver

Sender

Conspiratorial whispers vs exaggerated advertisements

Manipulation: cuckoos fool reed warblers

Exploitation: frog mating calls

True communication: food signalling

How is information transferred?

• Signal must be perceived by receiver despite attenuation or degradation caused by transmission through the environment

• Receiver must discriminate among signal variants and infer meaning as appropriate

• Signal transmission depends on sensory modality used

Sensory modalities and signals

• Sound - hearing

• Light - vision

• Chemicals - olfaction

• Electric field - electro-reception

Transmission of signals in different sensory modalities

When are signals honest?

• Sender is closely related to receiver

• Signal production is condition dependent, i.e. costs of signalling can only be borne by some individuals

• Signal production is constrained

Honesty: signal production is constrained

Condition-dependent signal costs

Sage grouse displays are costly

What to communicate about?

• Parental care– Recognition– Begging

• Sexual advertisement

• Transfer environmental information– Predator alarms– Food location

• Territory defense and conflict resolution

• Social integration - contact calls