Our research objects include hunting and non-hunting breeds of dogs and the black grouse, as well as african ungulates and parrots from Indonesia. With the help of sound recordings, we analyze their voices and increase awareness of the sound communication of these animals.
Our work begins in the field, where it is necessary to find target species and ensure recording conditions that enable the data to be used for analysis. Recorders, dictaphones, directional microphones and basic equipment for animal observation, such as binoculars, a camera or a portable stash, help us do this. Up to an hour of recordings are subsequently analysed in acoustic programmes such as Avisoft or Raven. In these programs, individual animal calls can be displayed on spectrograms, thus measuring up to tens of different frequencies, times and other parameters. These are then processed by statistical tests that help us create models and verify hypotheses.
We are currently specifically dealing with the individuality in the voice of the black grouse or long-tailed ground squirrel, the non-vocal component in the expression of the western capercaillie and geese, and the similarities in the barking of dogs across breeds. The results of our research can contribute by attracting attention to endangered species of our planet, proposing new methods for monitoring animals, and improving the understanding of their acoustic expressions.
