What Can Vocalization Tell Us about Animal Behavior? A Workshop held at the Henry Vilas Zoo, Madison, Wisconsin

 

Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2018, Volume 39

Kathleen A. Nolan & Jill E. Callahan

Abstract

Animal vocalizations are intimately related to their behavior. Students discussed a. what vocalizations can tell us about behavior, including territory guarding, recognition of cohorts, mating calls, warning calls and b. the kinds of vocalizations that might be recorded at a local zoo such as the Henry Vilas Zoo. Students took laptops and recorders to the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, Wisconsin to record animal vocalizations. Birds and orangutans are very vocal at the Henry Vilas Zoo. Upon our return to the lab, we analyzed the vocalizations with Audacity and Praat (Raven Lite was also discussed) and shared the data with the class. Students learned how to organize their data in Excel and use these data to devise and test further hypotheses. Another discussion that ensued was the value of zoos, which sparked controversial viewpoints. This workshop was similar to one conducted at the Houston Zoo in ABLE 2016.

Keywords:  bioacoustics, animal vocalizations, zoos and aquaria studies

University of Wisconsin, Madison (2017)