Title: Complexity in Communication: Perceiving Fear in the Modern World

Speaker: Jessica Owens (Cooperative Predator Vocalization Consortium, South Daytona, Florida)

Abstract:
Data from a diverse array of species indicate that anthropogenic noise may be perceived as a threat. This talk provides an overview of the literature and considers how anthropogenic disturbance influences the behavior of the individual and its social system. This concept is explored through the analysis of data collected from Tufted Titmice in Eastern Tennessee. Changes to normative social and vocal behavior provide comparative insight into the perceptual world of a species exposed to a modern evolutionary challenge, traffic noise.

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Title: Communication among Island Cat Populations

Speaker: Sara Waller (Montana State University, Bozeman)

Abstract:
Biologically based information transfer takes many forms. This talk will be an overview of preliminary research on the communication strategies of cats on a few islands near Tokyo, with an emphasis on vocal communication. I survey communicative behaviors observed in these animals with an eye toward understanding the commonalities and differences between human language and feline communication. Is human language special (and if so, how so?) or is it reducible to information transfer common to many living social organisms?