Advisor: Christopher Clark Start Date:
Fall 2004
I am interested in understanding the role vocal signals play in maintaining social systems. My current research focuses on African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) whose low-frequency rumbles are thought to connect and maintain social networks over the large areas. Within these networks, family groups represent the core social unit and the environment in which most communication takes place. The multi-female family groups organize around a matriarch and provide cooperative care to their young. Vocalizations among family members appear to function in coordination of group movements, individual recognition, and aid recruitment. Family groups are often observed to split and then rejoin after hours, days or even months indicating that their members have formed long-term social bonds. Using array-based recording techniques, I am testing the hypothesis that certain vocalizations in the forest elephant repertoire are used to maintain contact with family members even when traveling or foraging separately. Because vocalizations also occur in competitive contexts, my work also involves testing whether the frequency of certain call types increases in the presence of limited resources such as watering holes and receptive females. Using game theory models I have also been examining the mating pandemonium phenomenon in which groups of females and their calves attracted to the site of a mating make loud, distinctive calls during and for minutes following the mating. The interest of numerous females in advertising a mating between individuals unrelated to them has proved puzzling to elephant biologists; therefore, careful analysis may lead in interesting directions.
Behavioral work on this species has been lacking as these elephants spend most of their time in the Congo basin’s dense rainforest and are much harder to observe than their savannah counterparts (Loxodonta africana). Field sites such as the Dzanga forest clearing in the Central African Republic where I have been working since the year 2000 provide rare opportunities for behavioral study. In part because the dense vegetation of their habitat precludes monitoring by traditional aerial survey methods, remarkably little is known about the status of forest elephant populations. It is known however that forest elephants continue to be threatened throughout their range by poaching for ivory and bushmeat, as well as by habitat fragmentation due to logging. For this reason I seek to apply the results of this work in conservation efforts. In particular, much of this work may be useful in diagnosing the size and health of forest elephant populations through acoustic monitoring.
If you are interested in learning more please visit the websites listed below.
Hear forest elephant vocalizations:
http://birds.cornell.edu/brp/elephant/ELPcalls.html
Frequently asked questions about elephant infrasound:
http://birds.cornell.edu/brp/elephant/ELPFAQ.html
Letters from the field: http://www.npr.org/programs/re/archivesdate/2002/nov/mya_letters.html
Koto and I with a large mushroom growing alongside an elephant trail.
