Spring Break
What 'woof' means: OSU hosts animal communication event
Scientists hear presentations and trade international ideas on animal communication
Gail Cole
Issue date: 8/13/08 Section: News
Whittington said she and her department would use the information gathered at the conference to gain a better understanding of the reports provided by outside sources on the communication and effects of noise on wildlife.
"This is my first [conference] related to acoustics," she said. "It's very exciting to learn about the new technologies and detect the individuality in noises."
The presence of young people was very important to conference organizers.
"A lot of the participants are relatively young, less than 30," Au said. "The kind of meeting like this is very important, especially for students."
"A lot of funding was provided for students to come here, so that allows them to meet with a lot of the experts," said Charles Schmid, executive director of ASA.
Au and Schmid believe greater communication between the disciplines is the goal of the conference.
"We've been pretty heavy on the physical acoustics, and not as many biologists as we would like," Schmid said of the field of animal acoustics. He said that communication between the disciplines is important because of the physical, biological and psychological aspects of animal communication.
According to Schmid, an example of animal communication related to physics is how sound travels through the air to the animal, an example of biology is how the animal processes the sound, and an example of psychology is how the animal interprets the sound.
"In a situation like this where everyone is together, you find [communication] happening," said Au.
Au also commented on how grateful he was to hear one of Tuesday's presentations from a woman from South America who attended because of outside financial support.
"If she wouldn't have come, a lot of us wouldn't have realized she has done this type of work," said Au.
"This is my first [conference] related to acoustics," she said. "It's very exciting to learn about the new technologies and detect the individuality in noises."
The presence of young people was very important to conference organizers.
"A lot of the participants are relatively young, less than 30," Au said. "The kind of meeting like this is very important, especially for students."
"A lot of funding was provided for students to come here, so that allows them to meet with a lot of the experts," said Charles Schmid, executive director of ASA.
Au and Schmid believe greater communication between the disciplines is the goal of the conference.
"We've been pretty heavy on the physical acoustics, and not as many biologists as we would like," Schmid said of the field of animal acoustics. He said that communication between the disciplines is important because of the physical, biological and psychological aspects of animal communication.
According to Schmid, an example of animal communication related to physics is how sound travels through the air to the animal, an example of biology is how the animal processes the sound, and an example of psychology is how the animal interprets the sound.
"In a situation like this where everyone is together, you find [communication] happening," said Au.
Au also commented on how grateful he was to hear one of Tuesday's presentations from a woman from South America who attended because of outside financial support.
"If she wouldn't have come, a lot of us wouldn't have realized she has done this type of work," said Au.
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