Animal communication and bioacoustics lab

We examine sender and receiver strategies for communication in complex, noisy natural acoustic environments. Over the last couple of decades, my research group has worked on an assemblage of acoustically communicating species of crickets and katydids in and around the tropical evergreen forests of Kudremukh National Park in South-Western India. Signal structures, transmission and signaller behaviour have been examined for evidence of sender strategies to avoid masking interference. Receiver strategies are being examined in terms of auditory mechanics, physiology and behaviour. A detailed understanding of senders, signals and receivers provides insights both into the functioning of natural communication networks and the evolutionary forces that do or do not drive them. Potential evolutionary drivers include the transmission medium (examined using habitat acoustics), acoustic competition (via masking interference), phylogenetic constraints and predation.

We are interested in how spatio-temporal patterns of availability of insect prey, together with their movement and signalling behaviour, influence foraging strategies and outcomes for predators, resulting in sex- and species-biased predation. On-going studies focus on the foraging ecology and foraging strategies of the lesser false vampire bat, Megaderma spasma. We also attempt to quantify sex- and species-specific predation risk for insect prey in the wild, as well as examine the effects of predation on prey signalling and mating strategies. Current study systems include bats, katydids and moths, as well as spiders and tree crickets.

Acoustic monitoring of biodiversity