Detection and Estimation of Complexity and Contextual Flexibility in Nonhuman Animal Communication

McCowan, Brenda; Doyle, Laurance R.; Kaufman, Allison B.; Hanser, Sean F.; Burgess, Curt

doi:10.7551/mitpress/9780262151214.003.0013

Cited by 6 publications

(23 citation statements)

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“…"Pod ID" was included to account for any acoustic variation due to pod differences in acoustic behavior, and "year" to account for any variation due to time between recordings. In addition, Shannon entropies were calculated [21][22][23] on the usage of feeding call types within sequences classified by noise conditions. Monte Carlo simulated probabilities (iterations = 1000, using "@RISK" [23]) were generated from the usage of call types within sequences from high vessel noise and low background noise conditions to determine whether the differences found in the original data set, with respect to noise conditions, could be considered significantly different using a two-sample heteroscedastic t-test [30,23].…”

Section: Materials and Methods For Humpback Whale Signal Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, Shannon entropies were calculated [21][22][23] on the usage of feeding call types within sequences classified by noise conditions. Monte Carlo simulated probabilities (iterations = 1000, using "@RISK" [23]) were generated from the usage of call types within sequences from high vessel noise and low background noise conditions to determine whether the differences found in the original data set, with respect to noise conditions, could be considered significantly different using a two-sample heteroscedastic t-test [30,23]. Figure 1. (A) Spectrogram of a bout or sequence of feeding calls, (B) representative spectrograms of six of the seven statistically discrete feeding call types; and (C) representative spectrograms and spectral profiles of noise under high vessel noise and low noise conditions.…”

Section: Materials and Methods For Humpback Whale Signal Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the latter strategy, humpback whales could increase their overall rate of calling (repetition rate) and/or increase the repetitiveness of call usage in individual sequences or bouts of calls. The information rate of repetitive call usage can be quantitatively measured using an "entropic orders" application [21][22][23], one of the tools developed from information theory [24], which was initially designed to efficiently encode information for transfer across telephone lines. The equations for the information entropy applied in this selfreferential way (i.e., an "auto-correlation" approach [23]) are given in Equations 1 through 4.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The second-order (approximation to the) entropy measures the decrease in number of bits in the overall entropy of the signaling system by taking into account the amount of dependency (conditional probabilities) that exists between any two call types (i.e., di-gram structure in human languages) within sequences of calls in a repertoire. Any decrease in the entropy of a signaling system is measurable at the nth-order structural level using the nth-order approximation to the entropy, where n is an integer [21][22][23][24][25]. Repetitiveness (and other additional n-gram structure) in call usage is evident if entropic values substantially drop with increasing order, thereby producing a higher negative slope when entropic values are regressed against their orders (the "entropic slope"; see [21,23]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Any decrease in the entropy of a signaling system is measurable at the nth-order structural level using the nth-order approximation to the entropy, where n is an integer [21][22][23][24][25]. Repetitiveness (and other additional n-gram structure) in call usage is evident if entropic values substantially drop with increasing order, thereby producing a higher negative slope when entropic values are regressed against their orders (the "entropic slope"; see [21,23]). Decreasing entropy with higher order is a direct quantification, then, of less "freedom of choice" (conditional probabilistic independence) of signals from each other.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Applicability of Information Theory to the Quantification of Responses to Anthropogenic Noise by Southeast Alaskan Humpback Whales

Doyle

McCowan

Hanser

et al. 2008

Entropy

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Abstract:We assess the effectiveness of applying information theory to the characterization and quantification of the affects of anthropogenic vessel noise on humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) vocal behavior in and around Glacier Bay, Alaska. Vessel noise has the potential to interfere with the complex vocal behavior of these humpback whales which could have direct consequences on their feeding behavior and thus ultimately on their health and reproduction. Humpback whale feeding calls recorded during conditions of high vessel-generated noise and lower levels of background noise are compared for differences in acoustic structure, use, and organization using information theoretic measures. We apply information theory in a self-referential manner (i.e., orders of entropy) to quantify the changes in signaling behavior. We then compare this with the reduction in channel capacity due to noise in Glacier Bay itself treating it as a (Gaussian) noisy channel. We find that high vessel noise is associated with an increase in the rate and repetitiveness of sequential use of feeding call types in our averaged sample of humpback OPEN ACCESSEntropy 2008, 10 34 whale vocalizations, indicating that vessel noise may be modifying the patterns of use of feeding calls by the endangered humpback whales in Southeast Alaska. The information theoretic approach suggested herein can make a reliable quantitative measure of such relationships and may also be adapted for wider application to many species where environmental noise is thought to be a problem. Keywords

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Section: Materials and Methods For Humpback Whale Signal Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Materials and Methods For Humpback Whale Signal Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Applicability of Information Theory to the Quantification of Responses to Anthropogenic Noise by Southeast Alaskan Humpback Whales

Doyle

McCowan

Hanser

et al. 2008

Entropy

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Plant-insect chemical communication in ecological communities: an information theory perspective

García‐García

Schuman

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Cross-species communication, where signals are sent by one species and perceived by others, is one of the most intriguing types of communication that functionally links different species to form complex ecological networks. Yet, global changes and human activities can affect communication by increasing the fluctuations of species composition and phenology, altering signal profiles and intensity, and introducing noises. So far, most studies on cross-species communication have focused on a few specific species isolated from ecological communities. Scaling up investigations of cross-species communication to the community level is currently hampered by a lack of conceptual and practical methodologies. Here, we propose an interdisciplinary framework based on information theory to investigate mechanisms shaping cross-species communication at the community level. We use plants and insects, the cornerstones of most ecosystems, as a showcase; and focus on chemical communication as the key communication channel. We first introduce some basic concepts of information theory, then we illustrate information patterns in plant-insect chemical communication, followed by a further exploration of how to integrate information theory into ecological and evolutionary processes to form testable mechanistic hypotheses. We conclude by highlighting the importance of community-level information as a vehicle to better understand the maintenance of ecological systems, especially when facing rapid global changes.

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Plant–insect chemical communication in ecological communities: An information theory perspective

García‐García

Schuman

et al. 2022

J of Sytematics Evolution

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Cross-species communication, where signals are sent by one species and perceived by others, is one of the most intriguing types of communication that functionally links different species to form complex ecological networks. Global change and human activity can affect communication by increasing fluctuations in species composition and phenology, altering signal profiles and intensity, and introducing noise. So far, most studies on cross-species communication have focused on a few specific species isolated from ecological communities. Scaling up investigations of cross-species communication to the community level is currently hampered by a lack of conceptual and practical methodologies. Here, we propose an interdisciplinary framework based on information theory to investigate mechanisms shaping cross-species communication at the community level. We use plants and insects, the cornerstones of most ecosystems, as a showcase and focus on chemical communication as the key communication channel. We first introduce some basic concepts of information theory, then we illustrate information patterns in plant-insect chemical communication, followed by a further exploration of how to integrate information theory into ecological and evolutionary processes to form testable mechanistic hypotheses. We conclude by highlighting the importance of community-level information as a means to better understand the maintenance and workings of ecological systems, especially during rapid global change.

show abstract

Detection and Estimation of Complexity and Contextual Flexibility in Nonhuman Animal Communication

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Applicability of Information Theory to the Quantification of Responses to Anthropogenic Noise by Southeast Alaskan Humpback Whales

Applicability of Information Theory to the Quantification of Responses to Anthropogenic Noise by Southeast Alaskan Humpback Whales

Plant-insect chemical communication in ecological communities: an information theory perspective

Plant–insect chemical communication in ecological communities: An information theory perspective

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