Analiza pjesme grbavog kita s Istočnih Kariba

master's thesis

• Title (english): Analysis of humpback whale song from the Eastern Caribbean
• Author: Sara Nikšić
• Mentor: Ivana Maguire (mentor)
• Committee member: Ivana Maguire (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Duje Lisičić (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Antun Alegro (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Jasna Lajtner (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Science; (Department of Biology); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2014-05-23, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: NATURAL SCIENCES; Biology

Abstract

Mužjaci grbavih kitova proizvode hijerarhijski strukturirane i kompleksne pjesme. Ove pjesme su naučene i konstantno se mijenjaju kroz evolucijske i revolucijske procese vodoravnog prijenosa kulture. Populacije iz istog oceana pokazuju sličnosti u svojim pjesmama, dok geografski odvojene populacije imaju potpuno različite pjesme. Iako su detaljne analize varijacija unutar pjesama istih i različitih jedinki rijetke, prijeko su potrebne za razumijevanje kako individulno učenje pjesama utječe na kulturne promjene na razini populacija, koje se proučavaju od 1970-ih godina. U ovom istraživanju analizirane su pjesme grbavih kitova iz sjevernog Atlantika i južnog Pacifika. Za klasifikaciju jedinica pjesme je testirana automatizirana metoda, ali, budući da se pokazala nezadovoljavajućom, podjela pjesmi se oslanjala na ljudsku procjenu. Pjesme su podijeljene na jedinice, fraze i teme, koje su onda uspoređene metodom Levenshteinove udaljenosti. Rezultati su pokazali da pjesme iz sjevernog Atlantika dijele značajan dio materijala, ali da pjesma iz Australije ne pokazuje nikakve sličnosti na razini fraza i tema s pjesmama iz sjevernog Atlantika. Ovaj rad pruža dokaze o vodoravnom prijenosu pjesama grbavih kitova unutar istog oceana, koji se ne događa između geografski udaljenih područja.

Abstract (english)

Male humpback whales produce hierarchically structured and complex songs. These songs are learned, and are constantly changing at both evolutionary and revolutionary tempos through horizontal cultural transmission processes. Populations within the same ocean basin share similarities in their song displays, whereas geographically distinct populations have completely different songs. However, fine-scale analyses of variation in song production within and between individuals are sparse, but essential for understanding the details of how individual song learning can produce the population level cultural changes that have been observed since the 1970s. In this study, songs of humpback whales from the North Atlantic and South Pacific Ocean were analysed. An automated method for song unit classification was tested, against classification by a human observer, and the latter proved more effective. All songs were divided into unit, phrase and theme sequences which were then compared using the Levenshtein distance metric. The results showed that songs from North Atlantic shared a significant portion of their material, and that the Australian song had no similarity at phrase and theme level with any of the North Atlantic songs. This study provides evidence of horizontal cultural transmission of humpback whale songs within the same ocean basin that does not occur with a wider geographical separation.

• Keywords: kitova pjesma; prijenos kulture; vokalna komunikacija; Levenshteinova udaljenost
• Keywords (english): whale song; cultural transmission; vocal communication; Levenshtein distance
• Language: croatian
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:217:340079
• Study programme: Title: Ecology; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra ekologije i zaštite prirode (magistar/magistra ekologije i zaštite prirode)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2017-04-24 11:48:26