Transcript Slide 1
Tools: Data Loggers for Movement and Vocalization Janeen L. Salak-Johnson, PhD University of Illinois Lecture: April 5, 2007 Why Animal Vocalization and Movement? 4 “WHYs” in biology (Tinbergen, 1963) Survival value or function Causation Development Evolutionary history Why do starlings sing in the spring? Why Study Animal Locomotion? Function Move for variety of reasons Causation Brain Development Walk, foraging, social Evolutionary history Selection based on necessity or need How do we Study Locomotion? Numerous ways Primarily behavioral Must be relevant Question Species Situation (Lab vs. Field) Environment (pen vs. behavioral apparatus) Example Time and energy budgets Simple Behavior Monitoring and Sources of Error Observer Error & Bias Error of recording Computational Error Results Need More Information…. Arboreal Primate Support it prefers to move along Height of the forest Types of locomotion Increase information, more specific Complex methodology (i.e., distance/mo.) Map of position at regular intervals (spatial position) Tracking systems – fitted w/ data logging systems w/ GPS Direct reflection of locomotor state of animal Radio collars Why do Animals Vocalize? Communication Who? Says What? Which Channel? To Whom? With What Effect? Lasswell’s, 1964 – Message Transmission Theory Signaling Echolation Defensive Mating reactions How do Animals Vocalization? Sophisticated vocal system Control -- brainstem centers Input - higher sensory, emotional, & homeostatic regions Sensory cortex, limbic system, and cingulate cortex Mechanism of selection is not well understood Intact midbrain is critical Cats – hissing, howling, growling, meowing Removed telencephalon & diencephalon BUT midbrain – dramatically reduced Vocalization a Hallmark of Emotional Reactions? Measure of welfare? Emotional stress and psychological well being Individual Conspecifics Emotional state = vocal pattern? For example, Confined rat – 22 kHZ cry Rhesus macaques – emitting anticipatory “coos” Wild-captured mongoose – “screams” Vocalization a Hallmark of Emotional Reactions? Fear, elation, and anger are express via vocalization of these 3 species of captive animals Is this enough to make this statement? What if I told you… ? What if I told you..? What if I told you..? Vocalization a Hallmark of Emotional Reactions? What information is absolutely necessary to be able to use vocalizations as a measure of well being? Can vocalization by itself be used as an indicator? Rodent’s cry Monkey’s coos Tools: Measure Vocalization Techniques of sound analysis Discriminate Analyze Classify specific vocalizations Records Informatively rich Relatively inexpensive Digital or analog Continuous or discrete time segments Isolated individuals or group Tools: Measure Vocalization Data analyzed in variety of ways (dependent upon information desired Frequencies of occurrence Patterns of amplitude and frequency (behavioral and environmental event) Manteuffel et al., 2004. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 88:163-182 Procedures used in farm animals bioacoustics Extraction of information Distinguish and characterize Tools: Measure Vocalization Microphones, recording devices (human range) Bat detectors UltraVox (Noldus) Measures ultrasonic Low cost Real time Multiple animals Software being developed (Delphi5) Data Loggers Advantages Benefits to science and animal welfare Real time and precise location Free ranging animals Less labor, longer duration Less disturbances by observer Less observer error Less variation among observers More data points, more accurate, more reliable? Data Loggers - Disadvantages Costly Not always practical Validation, Durability, Repeatability Limitations Information obtained Species practicality Physical impact of device (mass, shape, location) Extra mass – physiological impact (body mass, energy cost) Shape – inappropriate or incorrectly fitted Location – balance Data Loggers - Disadvantages Welfare implications Attachment Psychological – pain, suffering and distress Sutures or glues Color of harnesses, devices and marker (social status or attract predator or prey) Capture and handling (wild animals) Physiological impact (more wild than lab) – foraging, grooming Limited monitoring and human intervention Physiological Energetics Performance (diving or breeding) Contact logger collars Tracking equipment Activity Mortality Heart rate Temperature Sound Proximity detector – detects when animals come w/in a defined distance of each other Actiwatch and Actical Mini Mitter® Actiwatch – non-invasive Track activity levels High sensitivity to small movements High intensity range Track changes in activity patterns (i.e., sleep) Determine circadian rhythms Measure activity and circadian rhythms Food, drugs, pain, health, well-being Activity patterns relative to observe, thus correlate (time and duration) Data Loggers: Ethovision (Noldus) http://www.noldus.com/site/content /files/shorttours/ethovision-xt.html See short tour Case studies Van Oort et al., 2004. Appl. Anim. Behav. 88:299-308 Would it have been important to determine if collar’s interfered with behavior? How could they have assessed? How could they have controlled? Van Oort et al., 2004. Appl. Anim. Behav. 88:299-308 Is determining active and inactive behavior enough? Why or Why not? Can they use historical data to make the assumption that inactivity is lying and the rest is grazing? How could they have better characterized these behavioral categories? Swain and Bishop-Hurley, Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 2007 Does data support their conclusion? “Contact logging devices have the potential to provide useful data on animal affiliations? What other information would have enabled them to better quantify cow-calf interactions? Page 9-