Dear All, This Wednesday (4.30pm) we will have our first research seminar this semester led by Francesco Zambianchi (ENES Bioacoustics Research Laboratory, University of Saint-Étienne, France) entitled "Different chimpanzee call types occupy distinct communication spaces - Methodological Implications for passive acoustic monitoring" - abstract below. The seminar will be held online at 4.30pm this week due to the faculty meeting earlier that day. Please find a link to the meeting below the abstract. Abstract Passive acoustic monitoring (P.A.M.) offers opportunities to investigate vocal communication in wild and unhabituated animals, but recordings obtained at different distances cannot be interpreted independently of sound propagation. We develop a framework to estimate the communication range of chimpanzee vocalisations by combining calibrated acoustic recordings, propagation measurements, source-level reconstruction and species-specific auditory sensitivity. Vocalisations were recorded simultaneously using a six-recorder array deployed at known distances. Two complementary source-level estimators were developed: a broadband estimator based on propagation experiments and a frequency-dependent estimator derived from field recordings using a kNN approach. We propagated reconstructed source spectra using alternative models, and communication active space was estimated from the proportion of auditory bands remaining above the chimpanzee hearing threshold. Source-level and active space estimates differed consistently across call types. Spectral structure contributed beyond overall source level: low-frequency grunts retained greater active space than higher-frequency hoos despite comparable source levels. The results demonstrate that source level, spectral structure, frequency-dependent propagation and receiver sensitivity jointly shape communication space. This framework provides a methodology for extending P.A.M. studies across larger spatial scales and to other taxa. Link to the meeting: https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fteams.microsoft.com%2Fmeet%2F3816460052135%3Fp%3DxsEIefROgXSXlZHxc0&data=05%7C02%7Cpawel.fedurek%40stir.ac.uk%7Cc5af488d315a43b39e2d08de83358e34%7C4e8d09f7cc794ccb9149a4238dd17422%7C0%7C0%7C639092463212179018%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=kmYNJta6BHr9jYZanwe8MQxO5Rt3unfP6OlACegt%2FfQ%3D&reserved=0<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fteams.microsoft.com%2Fmeet%2F3816460052135%3Fp%3DxsEIefROgXSXlZHxc0&data=05%7C02%7Cpawel.fedurek%40stir.ac.uk%7Cc5af488d315a43b39e2d08de83358e34%7C4e8d09f7cc794ccb9149a4238dd17422%7C0%7C0%7C639092463212221033%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=uTNvPVJV%2BwIdswWuJUKdh4sGiGO0UtNAZ5Eb8MrbQ5w%3D&reserved=0<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fteams.microsoft.com%2Fmeet%2F3816460052135%3Fp%3DxsEIefROgXSXlZHxc0&data=05%7C02%7Cpawel.fedurek%40stir.ac.uk%7Cc5af488d315a43b39e2d08de83358e34%7C4e8d09f7cc794ccb9149a4238dd17422%7C0%7C0%7C639092463212257873%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=y0s52IpXIm6E9fxBhLzT5cEBnc%2FTJj1uV%2Bzs6zaDufo%3D&reserved=0<https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3816460052135?p=xsEIefROgXSXlZHxc0> Best wishes, Pawel ------------------------------- Dr Pawel Fedurek (he/his) Senior Lecturer in Psychology Behaviour and Evolution Research Group (BERG) School of Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling, FK9 4LA Scotland, UK @pawel-fedurek<https://bsky.app/profile/pawel-fedurek.bsky.social> @berg-stirling<https://bsky.app/profile/berg-stirling.bsky.social> Staff webpage<https://www.stir.ac.uk/people/1080868> | BERG webpage<https://www.stir.ac.uk/about/faculties/natural-sciences/our-research/research-groups/behaviour-and-evolution-research-group/> I aim to reply within 3 working days (my working days are between Monday and Friday). ________________________________ Scotland's University for Sporting Excellence The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159