Our work is made possible through deep collaboration with leading ethologists and research labs from around the world. We are proud to be working together to explore new scientific frontiers.
Image courtesy of Friedlaender Lab of Bio-Telemetry and Ecology at UC Santa Cruz
Our work is made possible through deep collaboration with leading ethologists and research labs from around the world. We are proud to be working together to explore new scientific frontiers.
Playbacks are a common technique used to study animal vocalizations, involving the experimental presentation of stimuli to animals (usually recorded calls played back to them) to build an understanding of their physiological and cognitive abilities. With current playback tools, biologists are limited in their ability to manipulate the vocalizations in ways that will establish or change their meaning, and their exploratory power is limited. Senior AI research scientist Jen-Yu Liu is exploring whether it is possible to train AI models to generate new vocalizations in a way that allows us to solve for a particular research question or task.
Jen-yu has been working on generating calls for a number of species, including chiff-chaffs (Phylloscopus collybita) and humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). A new project is now allowing us to test this work through interactive playback experiments with captive zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) in partnership with research scientist Dr. Logan James at the University of McGill. Providing researchers with the ability to control various aspects of the vocalization production process will greatly expand the exploratory and explanatory power of bioacoustics research, and is an important step on our Roadmap to Decode.Given that we may not understand the meaning of the novel vocalizations being generated by the model, there are important ethical considerations related to potentially interfering with animals and their culture. For this reason, we are beginning this research only with captive populations and working exclusively with scientists who follow strict ethical protocols.
Senior AI Research Scientists Benjamin Hoffman, Maddie Cusimano and Jen-Yu Liu are working to map the vocal repertoires of two species of crow. The first one, the Hawaiian crow, is notable for its natural ability to use foraging tools as well as its precarious conservation status – the species sadly became extinct in the wild in 2002 and currently only survives in captivity. With Professor Christian Rutz and collaborators we are investigating how the species’ vocal repertoire has changed over time in two captive breeding populations, to inform ongoing reintroduction efforts. The second species, the carrion crow, is abundant across its European range, but has attracted attention with its unusually plastic social behavior, with groups in some populations breeding cooperatively. We are working with Professors Daniela Canestrari, Vittorio Baglione and Christian Rutz to analyze field recordings to understand the role of acoustic communication in group coordination. Mapping vocal repertoires can help uncover cultural and behavioral complexity, which in some cases has important implications for planning effective conservation strategies.
Studying the role of communication in the cooperative behavior of corvids for 30 years, particularly the relationship between sociality, cooperation and cognition.
Studying a wide range of marine mammal species, including baleen whales, toothed whales, and dolphins. The Friedlaender Lab maintains one of the largest marine motion-sensing tag databases in the world, some of which are the only recorded kinematic data for many species of cetacean.
.avif)
Investigating the intricate social vocalizations of zebra finches and the power of generative AI to test whether birds respond to AI-generated vocalizations as they would to real conspecifics.
Analyzing the vocal repertoires of tool-using Hawaiian crows, and cooperatively-breeding carrion crows. As a leading expert on wildlife tracking technologies, Professor Rutz is also collaborating with ESP on the sourcing, analysis and interpretation of bio-logging datasets — with a focus on terrestrial taxa.
Playbacks are a common technique used to study animal vocalizations, involving the experimental presentation of stimuli to animals (usually recorded calls played back to them) to build an understanding of their physiological and cognitive abilities. With current playback tools, biologists are limited in their ability to manipulate the vocalizations in ways that will establish or change their meaning, and their exploratory power is limited. Senior AI research scientist Jen-Yu Liu is exploring whether it is possible to train AI models to generate new vocalizations in a way that allows us to solve for a particular research question or task.
Jen-yu has been working on generating calls for a number of species, including chiff-chaffs (Phylloscopus collybita) and humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). A new project is now allowing us to test this work through interactive playback experiments with captive zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) in partnership with research scientist Dr. Logan James at the University of McGill. Providing researchers with the ability to control various aspects of the vocalization production process will greatly expand the exploratory and explanatory power of bioacoustics research, and is an important step on our Roadmap to Decode.Given that we may not understand the meaning of the novel vocalizations being generated by the model, there are important ethical considerations related to potentially interfering with animals and their culture. For this reason, we are beginning this research only with captive populations and working exclusively with scientists who follow strict ethical protocols.
Senior AI Research Scientists Benjamin Hoffman, Maddie Cusimano and Jen-Yu Liu are working to map the vocal repertoires of two species of crow. The first one, the Hawaiian crow, is notable for its natural ability to use foraging tools as well as its precarious conservation status – the species sadly became extinct in the wild in 2002 and currently only survives in captivity. With Professor Christian Rutz and collaborators we are investigating how the species’ vocal repertoire has changed over time in two captive breeding populations, to inform ongoing reintroduction efforts. The second species, the carrion crow, is abundant across its European range, but has attracted attention with its unusually plastic social behavior, with groups in some populations breeding cooperatively. We are working with Professors Daniela Canestrari, Vittorio Baglione and Christian Rutz to analyze field recordings to understand the role of acoustic communication in group coordination. Mapping vocal repertoires can help uncover cultural and behavioral complexity, which in some cases has important implications for planning effective conservation strategies.
Carrion crows are highly intelligent, cooperative breeders that raise their young in family groups. This social complexity makes them an ideal species for exploring how communication, both vocal and behavioral, enables cooperation.
.webp)
Through our partnership with Dr. Vittorio Baglione and Dr. Daniela Canestrari at the University of León, we’re combining their field recordings, video, biologger data and AI-driven analysis to map their vocal repertoire for the first time.
While still in early stages, this work has the potential to reshape how we study animal communication and could offer new insights into conservation and the evolution of communication.
Playbacks are a common technique used to study animal vocalizations, involving the experimental presentation of stimuli to animals (usually recorded calls played back to them) to build an understanding of their physiological and cognitive abilities. With current playback tools, biologists are limited in their ability to manipulate the vocalizations in ways that will establish or change their meaning, and their exploratory power is limited. Senior AI research scientist Jen-Yu Liu is exploring whether it is possible to train AI models to generate new vocalizations in a way that allows us to solve for a particular research question or task.
Jen-yu has been working on generating calls for a number of species, including chiff-chaffs (Phylloscopus collybita) and humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). A new project is now allowing us to test this work through interactive playback experiments with captive zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) in partnership with research scientist Dr. Logan James at the University of McGill. Providing researchers with the ability to control various aspects of the vocalization production process will greatly expand the exploratory and explanatory power of bioacoustics research, and is an important step on our Roadmap to Decode.Given that we may not understand the meaning of the novel vocalizations being generated by the model, there are important ethical considerations related to potentially interfering with animals and their culture. For this reason, we are beginning this research only with captive populations and working exclusively with scientists who follow strict ethical protocols.
Senior AI Research Scientists Benjamin Hoffman, Maddie Cusimano and Jen-Yu Liu are working to map the vocal repertoires of two species of crow. The first one, the Hawaiian crow, is notable for its natural ability to use foraging tools as well as its precarious conservation status – the species sadly became extinct in the wild in 2002 and currently only survives in captivity. With Professor Christian Rutz and collaborators we are investigating how the species’ vocal repertoire has changed over time in two captive breeding populations, to inform ongoing reintroduction efforts. The second species, the carrion crow, is abundant across its European range, but has attracted attention with its unusually plastic social behavior, with groups in some populations breeding cooperatively. We are working with Professors Daniela Canestrari, Vittorio Baglione and Christian Rutz to analyze field recordings to understand the role of acoustic communication in group coordination. Mapping vocal repertoires can help uncover cultural and behavioral complexity, which in some cases has important implications for planning effective conservation strategies.
Our AI models are being used across a wide range of species and ecosystems:
Our work is made possible through deep collaboration with leading ethologists and research labs from around the world. We are proud to be working with them to superpower their research and to explore new scientific frontiers together. We are also working with a range of thought leaders, ethicists and philosophers to explore the myriad implications of our work for nature and the future of humanity.
Our work is made possible through deep collaboration with leading ethologists and research labs from around the world. We are proud to be working with them to superpower their research and to explore new scientific frontiers together. We are also working with a range of thought leaders, ethicists and philosophers to explore the myriad implications of our work for nature and the future of humanity.