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SUMMARY:Modelling collective whale navigation and migration - Stuart Johns
 ton (University of Melbourne)
DTSTART:20230807T150000Z
DTEND:20230807T160000Z
UID:TALK201436@talks.cam.ac.uk
DESCRIPTION:Collective migration occurs throughout the animal kingdom\, an
 d demands both the interpretation of navigational cues and the perception 
 of other individuals within the group. Navigational cues orient individual
 s towards a destination\, while communication between individuals can enha
 nce navigation through a reduction in orientation error. We develop a math
 ematical model of collective navigation that synthesises navigational cues
  and perception of other individuals. Crucially\, this approach incorporat
 es uncertainty inherent to cue interpretation and perception in the decisi
 on making process\, which can arise due to noisy environments.\nWe apply o
 ur framework to the migration of baleen whales\, which are renowned for ac
 oustic communication. Under pristine conditions\, they can plausibly commu
 nicate and detect signals over hundreds of kilometres. However\, ocean noi
 se has been considerably inflated by human activities. Here we investigate
  the extent to which ambient noise levels inhibit whale migration. Rising 
 ambient noise levels are assumed to impinge on navigation through three me
 chanisms: (i) a diminished communication space\; (ii) reduced quality of i
 nformation from external sound cues and\; (iii) at high levels\, triggerin
 g noise avoidance responses. Comparing navigation between pristine and cur
 rent ocean soundscapes\, we observe reduced efficiency of navigation\, ran
 ging from mild (increased journey time) to extreme (failure to navigate). 
 Interestingly\, the three mechanisms induce qualitatively different impact
 s on migration behaviour. We explore the extent to which migration may be 
 altered under various future shipping and construction scenarios.\nCo-auth
 or: Prof. Kevin Painter
LOCATION:Seminar Room 1\, Newton Institute
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