Topic: animal communication

Investigate how animal communication shapes coordinated movement and collective behaviour in the Communication and Collective Movement group. Quantitative research combines tracking-collar and passive-acoustic data with computational analysis and, where appropriate, modelling. The fully funded doctorate is based in Konstanz for four years, with a flexible start in summer or autumn 2027, through the IMPRS Quantitative Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution programme.

Hans Slabbekoorn examines animal acoustic communication, from birdsong to low-frequency whale calls. Songs and other signals support courtship and conflict, while the acoustic properties of habitats shape their evolution. Expanding human noise in terrestrial and aquatic environments is changing the conditions under which these signals function. The lecture considers this acoustic environmental change and the attention needed to preserve animal communication, alongside implications for human physical and mental health.

Arik Kershenbaum examines what the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is actually seeking. Finding microbial life would be significant, but the desire for communication with another civilisation raises different questions. Human language already separates us from other intelligent animals on Earth, despite our ability to exchange some signals with them. The lecture compares those barriers with the challenge of recognising and understanding an alien civilisation, asking whether research on animal communication offers reasons for optimism about contact beyond Earth.

Language appears to be the most complex system of animal communication described to date. However, its precursors were present in the communication of our evolutionary ancestors and are likely shared by our modern ape cousins. All great apes, including humans, employ a rich repertoire of vocalizations, facial expressions, and gestures. Great ape gestural repertoires are particularly elaborate, with ape species employing over 80 different gesture types intentionally: that is towards a recipient with a specific goal in mind. Intentional usage allows us to ask not only what information is encod

The rise of interactive AI in contextual information processing has enhanced tools for characterizing audio and speech. Behavioral neuroscientists and ecologists studying animal communication benefit greatly from these advancements. However, a universal solution for categorizing vocalizations is difficult due to audio variability as well as inter-species diversity. Our work aims to provide a more generalizable approach by developing a pipeline to segment field recordings from nightingales, which have a complex vocal repertoire of over 200 songs with 1000 different syllables. To identify bounda