Biology
In the biology cluster we address how biological organisms perceive and produce sounds. Currently, all of our work is focused on animals (including humans) though acoustics also play a role in plants and fungi. While hearing and vocalizing is very common in the animal kingdom, how animals interpret what they hear and what kind of sounds they produce can vary greatly. There are many factors that can influence this variation including differences in cognition, acoustic environments, communication needs, physiology, and the level of sociality in a given species. The goal in our cluster is to assess how these factors work together to promote the wide-ranging acoustic behaviours we find across the animal kingdom.
Musicality and Bioacoustics
Musicality and Bioacoustics
Head: Hoeschele
This group merges music and biology to study the origins of music through cross-species studies. Like language, music is found in all cultures around the world. Even isolated cultures have music, and all musical systems share important parallels such as the use of discrete notes and a steady beat.
Here we study other animals to try and understand what aspects of music are uniquely human and why humans may have developed these abilities. Specifically, here are some active research directions of the group:
- Cross-species tests using operant conditioning to train and test human and non-human sound categorization
- Cross-species testing of preferences for different sounds
- Bioacoustic analysis of animal vocalizations using linguistics and numerical methods
The Budgerigar Lab was originally founded in 2013 by Marisa Hoeschele in the Department Cognitive Biology (now Department of Behavioral & Cognitive Biology) at the University of Vienna. Since April 2021, the Budgerigar Lab is located at the Institute of Acoustics Research of the OeAW.
Mammal Communication
Mammal Communication
Head: Stoeger-Horwath
Mammal Communication focuses on the vocal communication of mammals, specifically the diversity of acoustic signals, developed perceptual systems, and underlying cognitive capacities across species. Our work comprises all main thematic complexes of communication, from sound production to the function relevance of communicative signals.
We aim at understanding mechanisms and the selective forces that shaped specific signals, cognitive vocal skills and communication systems. A research focus is on vocal learning, where the group significantly contributed to the field by demonstrating imitative capacities in African and Asian elephants. Vocal learning is critical for the development of speech and language in humans. Using a cross-species comparative approach, research aims at revealing which species, apart from humans, are capable of vocal learning and to what extent. Despite the diversity of vocalizing species, vocal learning has only been detected so far in eight animal groups, including humans, bats, cetaceans, pinnipeds (seals), elephants, and three distantly related bird groups including songbirds, parrots, and hummingbirds.
In addition, we aim to explore the potential for employing artificial intelligence to decipher animal communication and apply this knowledge to conservation efforts (e.g., explore “smart” acoustic monitoring systems)
We are collaborating with many international facilities and researchers, as well as companies supporting our research.