Chris -- Think submarine warfare. Essentially all detections are by sound of both enemy and friend and much is at stake. In wartime, would a submarine commander launch a strike against an object which is not identified with an adequate level of certainty? I don't think so, but yes, I am sure it is often possible and will be increasingly justifiable to use sound-based data to make reliable detections of biological phenomena. To get there, we need adeqaute baseline data, validation, and experience in utilization plus resolving uncertainties one way or another. The ivory-bill situation is pretty unique for obvious reasons but many ornithologists, for instance, could readily detect a song sparrow by sound only.
This reminds me of a story I heard about a friend who is an ecologist in Southern California. He was leading a crew to the nest of a golden eagle and someone heard sounds that were interpreted to be calls of a mountain lion. The senior ecologist cupped his hands and duplicated the sounds, and the "lion" continued to respond. But someone noticed that when certain overhead wires suspended from a transmission tower blew in the breeze, the sound occurred and the revelation became soon apparent that there was no local mountain lion involved. Of course, this problem occurs relentlessly in the visual identifcation mode as well. Many raptorphiles have reported seeing raptors on poles that turned out to be ceramic insulators and not rough-legs or gyrfalcons. Often little is at stake when making identifications in the field, and single errors are mostly unimportant, but sometimes much is at stake. Stan Moore San Geronimo, CA [EMAIL PROTECTED] >From: Christopher J Wells <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: Christopher J Wells <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: [email protected] >Subject: Re: new paper ivory-bill double raps could be gadwall wings >colliding >Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2007 15:16:22 -0500 >Received: from listserv.umd.edu ([128.8.10.60]) by >bay0-mc10-f5.bay0.hotmail.com with Microsoft SMTPSVC(6.0.3790.2668); Thu, >21 Jun 2007 13:34:44 -0700 >Received: from listserv.umd.edu (IDENT:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >[128.8.10.60])by listserv.umd.edu (8.12.11.20060308/8.12.11) with ESMTP id >l5L701Tw001002;Thu, 21 Jun 2007 16:34:42 -0400 (EDT) >X-Message-Info: >oG9qAjD2BNH3mxalO6ZyXs7P3emGQf7hs6ye4FHjd5RCCU2fyuqFcvJwDk/+QMQQ >Precedence: list >List-Help: <http://listserv.umd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?LIST=ECOLOG-L>, ><mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ECOLOG-L> >List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >List-Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >List-Owner: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >List-Archive: <http://listserv.umd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?LIST=ECOLOG-L> >Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >X-OriginalArrivalTime: 21 Jun 2007 20:34:44.0661 (UTC) >FILETIME=[9A396650:01C7B443] > >For argument's sake, why is a visual record considered superior to an >aural record? In one case we're using a pattern interpreted by >electromagnetic radiation and in the other, sonic pattern recognition. Is >it a bias of being visual organisms? I'm thinking that Bat-People from >the planet Tralfamadore might disagree and sing the virtue of sound >patterns. Or the Anteater-People of Lower Slobovia might emit noxious >aromas in heated disagreement. > >No insult to the fragrance-enhanced Lower Slobovians was intended by this >response. > >---chris > >Christopher J Wells, Geographer >National Wetlands Research Center, USGS >700 Cajundome Blvd >Lafayette, LA 70506 > >Office: 337 266 8651 >Cell: 337 288 0737 >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > >David M Bryant <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Sent by: "Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news" ><[email protected]> >06/21/2007 11:24 AM >Please respond to >David M Bryant <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > >To >[email protected] >cc > >Subject >Re: new paper ivory-bill double raps could be gadwall wings colliding > > > > > > >Stan, > >While I agree that audio recordings cannot provide absolute >identification of any avian species, it seems that a network of >recording devices in suspected habitat could be helpful. First, >they could establish where they are not. Also would not audio >recording provide efficient narrowing of sites for visual corroboration? > >Also I suspect that analysis of recordings using digital methods >could help to rule out gadwall wings or other impostors. It seems >like a prudent method that could aid in the search and avoid alot of >futile tramping about. > >David Bryant > >On Jun 21, 2007, at 9:41 AM, stan moore wrote: > > > Ivory-bill woodpecker researchers at Cornell seem to have placed a > > lot of > > faith in technology to locate the species through sound recordings, > > among > > other methods. I think that Dr. Jerry Jackson referred to this > > approach as > > "faith based ornithology". In Biblical terms, faith may be > > described as > > belief in things unseen (or not photographed with acceptable > > quality) yet > > hoped for.... But it appears that faith has its weaknesses in the > > scientific sense, as demonstrated by a recent paper in The Wilson > > Bulletin > > as described below from the BirdWatch website in the blogosphere: > > > > > > Clark Jones and colleagues ..., writing in The Wilson Journal of > > Ornithology > > (119(2): 259-262), say that the confusion with woodpecker raps may > > arise > > because of ?close similarities in amplitude ratios, peak-to-peak times > > between raps, and auditory quality between ARU recordings and wing > > collisions from a Gadwall?. > > > > > > In other words, the technology is not as reliable as some had > > hoped, and > > thus neither is some of the evidence for the continued existence of > > this > > species. > > > > Of course, the (scientific) jury is still out, the hope prevails > > that the > > existence of ivory-bills can and will be adequately verified and > > documented. > > Yet one has to wonder, with all the alleged sightings in Florida > > and yet > > no documentation of a nest or nests, where do the researchers think > > these > > birds are going from and to? Is there a non-breeding population > > and not a > > breeding one? > > > > > > Stan Moore San Geronimo, CA [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > > Get a preview of Live Earth, the hottest event this summer - only > > on MSN > > http://liveearth.msn.com?source=msntaglineliveearthhm _________________________________________________________________ Dont miss your chance to WIN $10,000 and other great prizes from Microsoft Office Live http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/aub0540003042mrt/direct/01/
