Thesis (M.S. in Operations Research)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2005. / Thesis Advisor(s): Jeff Crowson. Includes bibliographical references (p. 37-38). Also available online.

As populações de morcegos são conhecidas por serem afetadas por atividades antropogênicas,njá que os Chiroptera é um grupo extremamente diverso que ocupa quase todos os nichos disponíveis no meio terrestre. Assim, os morcegos são considerados bons bioindicadores para monitorar mudanças no meio ambiente, mas seu valor como tal também depende da facilidade de monitorar e detectar tendências demográficas em suas populações. O interesse a longo prazo dos pesquisadores na acústica dos morcegos resulta do fato de que é um método não-invasivo e eficiente em termos de tempo para monitorar os padrões espaço-temporais da diversidade e atividade de morcegos. A análise dos sons emitidos pelos organismos tem sido útil para a aquisição de conhecimento sobre as interações bióticas e abióticas específicas de cada espécie, e sua aplicação na conservação. Além das identificações manuais de chamados de morcegos, existe atualmente no mercado um conjunto de programas automatizados de identificação que utilizam bibliotecas regionais e se apresentam como uma ferramenta eficiente no monitoramento de populações de morcegos. A maioria desses programas não foi validada usando dados de campo. Este estudo avalia a confiabilidade de dois softwares automatizados, SonoChiro e Kaleidoscope Pro, em comparação com identificações manuais de dados de campo coletados da região Neotropical. Houve um baixo nível de concordância entre os dois métodos automatizados ao nível das identificações específicas, razoável ao nível do gênero e satisfatório ao nível a família. Houve também uma diferença significativa entre a proporção de chamados corretamente identificados entre os dois programas ao nível específico. Os principais desafios para o uso de software de identificação automatizada incluem a necessidade de bibliotecas de chamados abrangentes da diversidade existente nas regiões em foco dos estudos; as principais oportunidades, por outro lado, incluem a ampla possibilidade de monitorar os padrões espaço-temporais da atividade de morcegos. Existem ainda fortes lacunas que impedem uma aplicação generalizada de programas automatizados em estudos ecológicos e de conservação de morcegos, mas há potencial de melhoria. Considerando as limitações dos programas automatizados, é discutida uma estrutura para aplicação em estudos ecológicos e de conservação. / Bat populations are known to be affected by anthropogenic activities because bats are an extremely diverse group occupying almost all available niches in terrestrial environment. Hence, bats are considered bioindicators to monitor changes in the environment, but their value as such also depends on the ease to monitor and detect demographic trends in their populations. The long term interest of researchers in the acoustic of bats results from the fact that it is a non-invasive, time-efficient methods to monitor spatiotemporal patterns of bat diversity and activity.The analysis of sounds emitted by organisms has been considered useful to gain insight into species-specific biotic and abiotic interactions, which can further be applied to conservation. Besides manual identifications of bat calls, a number of automated species identification programs using regional call classfiers have been introduced into the market as an efficient tool in monitoring of bat populations. Most of these programs have not been validated using field data. This study evaluates the reliability of two automated softwares, SonoChiro and Kaleidoscope Pro, in comparison to manual identifications of field data collected from the Neotropical region. There was low agreement between the two automated methods at the species level, fair agreement at the genus level and moderate agreement at the family level. There was also a significant difference between the proportion of correctly identified calls of the two-automated software at the species level identifications. Major challenges for using automated identification software include the need for comprehensive call libraries of the regions under scope; major opportunities, on the other hand, include the widespread possibility to monitor spatiotemporal patterns of bat activity. Overall, there are serious gaps that preclude a widespread application of automated programs in ecological and conservation studies of bats, but there is a potential for improvement. Considering the limitations of the automated programs, a framework for application in ecological and conservation studies is discussed.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:30:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-05-29Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T21:00:38Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 martins_lp_me_rcla.pdf: 1219585 bytes, checksum: 53d3447720b08aa3206a28981bb6b5de (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O gênero Gryllus Linnaeus, 1758 compreende 78 espécies descritas, ocorrendo na América desde o Canadá até a Argentina, bem como em diversas regiões da África, Europa e Ásia. Na América do Sul existem registros da ocorrência de 12 espécies que foram descritas no século XIX e desde então pouca informação foi adicionada à taxonomia desses insetos. Trata-se de um dos gêneros mais complexos de Grylloidea devido à presença de espécies crípticas e à taxonomia confusa, gerada por diferentes critérios taxonômicos e baseada em amostragens reduzidas, desprezando as variações intraespecíficas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi aplicar diversas ferramentas, com destaque à bioacústica e à morfologia da fileira estridulatória, retomando o trabalho taxonômico nos Gryllus da América do Sul, a partir de uma área restrita do extremo sul do Brasil. O trabalho foi dividido em três capítulos: I - Taxonomia de Gryllus Linnaeus, 1758 (Orthoptera, Gryllidae) do extremo sul do Brasil: duas novas espécies e Gryllus argentinus Saussure, 1874; II - Revisão do som de chamado e da fileira estridulatória de Gryllus Linnaeus, 1758 (Orthoptera, Gryllidae); III - Variação intraespecífica no som de chamado de Gryllus sp. n.2 (Orthoptera, Gryllidae): implicações taxonômicas. Os resultados deste trabalho servirão como base para os estudos taxonômicos em Gryllus na América do Sul e facilitarão as revisões do som de chamado e da fileira estridulatória neste gênero. A análise de proles provenientes de fêmeas fecundadas na natureza permitiu delimitar a variação no som de chamado de Gryllus sp. n.2, assegurando a determinação específica desse táxon. / The genus Gryllus Linnaeus, 1758 includes 78 described species, occurring in America from Canada to Argentina, as well as in several areas of Africa, Europe and Asia. There are 12 species in South America described in nineteenth century. Since few data were added to the taxonomy of these insects. This genus is among the most complex of Grylloidea due cryptic species and ancient taxonomy erected by different criteria and based on small samples, despising intraspecific variations. The aim of this work was to apply tools such as bioacoustics and stridulatory file morphology, retaking the taxonomic study in South America’s Gryllus, in a restricted area of Southern Brazil. The work was structured in three chapters: I - Taxonomy of Gryllus Linnaeus, 1758 (Orthoptera, Gryllidae) of the southern Brazil: two new species and Gryllus argentinus Saussure, 1874; II – Revision of the calling song and stridulatory file of Gryllus Linnaeus, 1758 (Orthoptera, Gryllidae); III – Intraespecific variation in the calling song of Gryllus n. sp.2 (Orthoptera, Gryllidae): taxonomic implications. This work presents information about calling song and stridilatory file features supporting new taxonomic studies on Gryllus. The offspring from field inseminated females confirmed that variations on the calling song of Gryllus n. sp.2 were intraspecific improving specific determination of this taxon.

As populações de morcegos são conhecidas por serem afetadas por atividades antropogênicas,njá que os Chiroptera é um grupo extremamente diverso que ocupa quase todos os nichos disponíveis no meio terrestre. Assim, os morcegos são considerados bons bioindicadores para monitorar mudanças no meio ambiente, mas seu valor como tal também depende da facilidade de monitorar e detectar tendências demográficas em suas populações. O interesse a longo prazo dos pesquisadores na acústica dos morcegos resulta do fato de que é um método não-invasivo e eficiente em termos de tempo para monitorar os padrões espaço-temporais da diversidade e atividade de morcegos. A análise dos sons emitidos pelos organismos tem sido útil para a aquisição de conhecimento sobre as interações bióticas e abióticas específicas de cada espécie, e sua aplicação na conservação. Além das identificações manuais de chamados de morcegos, existe atualmente no mercado um conjunto de programas automatizados de identificação que utilizam bibliotecas regionais e se apresentam como uma ferramenta eficiente no monitoramento de populações de morcegos. A maioria desses programas não foi validada usando dados de campo. Este estudo avalia a confiabilidade de dois softwares automatizados, SonoChiro e Kaleidoscope Pro, em comparação com identificações manuais de dados de campo coletados da região Neotropical. Houve um baixo nível de concordância entre os dois métodos automatizados ao nível das identificações específicas, razoável ao nível do gênero e satisfatório ao nível a família. Houve também uma diferença significativa entre a proporção de chamados corretamente identificados entre os dois programas ao nível específico. Os principais desafios para o uso de software de identificação automatizada incluem a necessidade de bibliotecas de chamados abrangentes da diversidade existente nas regiões em foco dos estudos; as principais oportunidades, por outro lado, incluem a ampla possibilidade de monitorar os padrões espaço-temporais da atividade de morcegos. Existem ainda fortes lacunas que impedem uma aplicação generalizada de programas automatizados em estudos ecológicos e de conservação de morcegos, mas há potencial de melhoria. Considerando as limitações dos programas automatizados, é discutida uma estrutura para aplicação em estudos ecológicos e de conservação. / Bat populations are known to be affected by anthropogenic activities because bats are an extremely diverse group occupying almost all available niches in terrestrial environment. Hence, bats are considered bioindicators to monitor changes in the environment, but their value as such also depends on the ease to monitor and detect demographic trends in their populations. The long term interest of researchers in the acoustic of bats results from the fact that it is a non-invasive, time-efficient methods to monitor spatiotemporal patterns of bat diversity and activity.The analysis of sounds emitted by organisms has been considered useful to gain insight into species-specific biotic and abiotic interactions, which can further be applied to conservation. Besides manual identifications of bat calls, a number of automated species identification programs using regional call classfiers have been introduced into the market as an efficient tool in monitoring of bat populations. Most of these programs have not been validated using field data. This study evaluates the reliability of two automated softwares, SonoChiro and Kaleidoscope Pro, in comparison to manual identifications of field data collected from the Neotropical region. There was low agreement between the two automated methods at the species level, fair agreement at the genus level and moderate agreement at the family level. There was also a significant difference between the proportion of correctly identified calls of the two-automated software at the species level identifications. Major challenges for using automated identification software include the need for comprehensive call libraries of the regions under scope; major opportunities, on the other hand, include the widespread possibility to monitor spatiotemporal patterns of bat activity. Overall, there are serious gaps that preclude a widespread application of automated programs in ecological and conservation studies of bats, but there is a potential for improvement. Considering the limitations of the automated programs, a framework for application in ecological and conservation studies is discussed.

Gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus), while engaged in underwater signalling, circumvent noise in the acoustical channel by the structure and timing of their calls. Data yielding this conclusion were collected during an acoustical study on gray whales and their habitats (1981-1984). Sonographic analyses of tape recordings were used to quantify the acoustical repertoire, the ambient noise characteristics of the area, and the relationship between the animals' calls and the environment. The acoustical responses of whales to artificially increased levels of noise were documented during playback experimentation in Mexico. Nine sound parameters were inspected and compared between control and experimental conditions: calling rates, call types, frequency range of signals (Hz), emphasized frequencies (Hz), received levels of sounds (dB re 1 μPa), call duration (sec), percentage of calls exhibiting frequency modulation, number of pulses per series, and repetition rates of signals. The observed surface behavior of gray whales in response to noise (i.e., dive durations, movements and abundance) was also investigated. Analyses yielded: a description of gray whale call types; a characterization of the acoustical habitats occupied by this species, including a list of sources contributing to the ambient noise and a profile of the propagation characteristics of the study area; a determination of the relationship between whale calls and their habitats; and the acoustical capabilities and strategies of whales in response to noise. The plasticity observed in the overall behavior of this whale is of adaptive significance when considering the dynamic nature of noise in the environment. Typically, the multiple strategies employed by the whales when faced with various noise situations enable them to minimize the detrimental effect that noise has on their underwater signalling. Gray whale responses varied with the sound source and may also differ relative to the geographical range and/or general behavior of the animal. It is concluded that ambient noise (both natural and man-made) has a profound effect on the behavior of this coastal species and that acoustical calling is modified to optimize signal transmission and reception. / Science, Faculty of / Zoology, Department of / Graduate

Boat noise has been shown to distract and cause harm to many marine organisms. Most of the study effort has been focused on fish & marine mammals, even though invertebrates represent 99% of all living organisms, both terrestrial and aquatic. The small amount of studies conducted on invertebrates have demonstrated a clear negative correlation between anthropogenic noise pollution and invertebrate well-being. The small giant clam Tridacna maxima and the spider conch Lambis lambis are two invertebrate species which play key roles in coral reef ecosystems, and are little studied for the effects of noise disturbance. If their behaviour is significantly affected by boat noise, this could cause a knock on effect on the rest of the reef ecosystem. T. maxima functions as prey to many fish species, contributing up to 9% of the reef’s calcium carbonate budget, as well as playing a role in nutrient cycling. L. lambis is essential prey for molluscivore snails and certain elasmobranchs, and through its herbivorous feeding, helps to keep filamentous algae levels low. Moreover, coral reefs are reliant on the biological sound primarily created by invertebrates, such as snapping shrimp, to attract larvae from the pelagic environment for settlement. During experiments conducted in February 2020 in the Red Sea, Daily Diary Monitoring (DDMT) smart tags were used to measure the reactions of T. maxima and L. lambis respectively during underwater playback of boat noise compared with ambient reef sound. It was found that both T. maxima and L. lambis exhibited behavioral changes during the boat noise treatment. The implications of this study is that individuals of L. lambis and T. maxima may spend energy averting the invisible "threat" of boat noise, rather than feeding and/or photosynthesizing, in the case of T. maxima. If this hinders the acquisition of food/production, the whole reef ecosystem may be compromised in a knock-on effect from these producers and primary consumers. As boat noise is prevalent on inshore Red Sea reefs, shown by a 24-hour acoustic analysis of a patch reef sound pressure levels (SPL), invertebrates might be affected on a large scale in the Red Sea.

No description available.

No description available.

Investigations of host-associated differentiation of parasitoids have largely focused on the degree of molecular genetic differentiation, but a true test of species status must examine the mating patterns of differentiated populations to determine if they can interbreed in the wild and produce viable offspring. We examined possible mechanisms of isolation between two genetically distinct host-plant complex races of the braconid, Cotesia congregata, originating from hosts on tobacco and catalpa. We compared male responses to female pheromones, elements of male acoustic courtship signals, and breeding success between the two races. Males responded to pheromones from both sources and male courtship signals showed only subtle differences, suggesting that factors other than courtship behavior may be involved in isolation of the two races. However, nearly 90% of females from one hybrid cross failed to produce offspring, leading to post-zygotic isolation. Development time, emerged brood size, and sex ratios between the races also differed.

Orientador: Itamar Alves Martins / Banca: Fernando Rodrigues da Silva / Banca: Cynthia Peralta de Almeida Prado / Resumo: Neste estudo nós descrevemos pela primeira vez as vocalizações de H. laistriatus (Caramaschi & Cruz, 2004) da localidade tipo, Parque Nacional do Itatiaia (PNI), Itamonte, Minas Gerais, e do Parque Estadual de Campos do Jordão, São Paulo, ambas as localidades situadas na Serra da Mantiqueira. Adicionalmente, as vocalizações de H. laistriatus foram comparadas com os cantos descritos para as espécies do clado H. polytaenius... / Abstract: This study was the first to describe the vocalizations of H. laistriatus (Caramaschi & Cruz, 2004) from the type locality, Itatiaia National Park, Itamonte, Minas Gerais, and Campos do Jordão State Park (PECJ), São Paulo, both located in the Mantiqueira Mountains. In addition, the vocalizations of H. laistriatus were compared with the described vocalizations of the clade H. polytaenius species ... / Mestre