Author summary Many animals move not only by activating skeletal muscles, but also by pushing air or fluids into and out of cavities like air sacs. Such cavities can become part of the visible signals emitted by a species and may perform several functions, such as for example sound production or gas exchange. A most notable example of elastic cavities that move in the context of communication is the laryngeal air sac in a small Asian ape called the siamang. There are currently a lot of open questions about the function of these air sacs for primates in general, but the exceptionally visible air sacs in siamang have never been dynamically studied to gain a better understanding of air sacs and their role in vocalizations and communication. To date, no adapted technology exists to track dilating movements of these inflating balloon-like structures. Here we provide a method to perform tracking of elastic circular structures alongside an open access data set of singing siamang with close-ups of the air sac. The techniques overviewed here can be applied to other inflatable structures that are abundant in other animals too.
Our paper on tracking air sacs in siamang with wider applications for other animals is now out! https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012222
With sound (WARNING: siamang are loud!)! https://wimpouw.com/videos/air_sac_output_with_sound.mp4
Special thanks to Jaderpark Tierpark for allowing us to do the research: https://www.jaderpark.de/home.html
Led by the amazing Lara Burchardt https://www.bcp.fu-berlin.de/en/biologie/arbeitsgruppen/Archiv/ag_knoernschild/mitarbeiter/burchardt/index.html
Author summary Many animals move not only by activating skeletal muscles, but also by pushing air or fluids into and out of cavities like air sacs. Such cavities can become part of the visible signals emitted by a species and may perform several functions, such as for example sound production or gas exchange. A most notable example of elastic cavities that move in the context of communication is the laryngeal air sac in a small Asian ape called the siamang. There are currently a lot of open questions about the function of these air sacs for primates in general, but the exceptionally visible air sacs in siamang have never been dynamically studied to gain a better understanding of air sacs and their role in vocalizations and communication. To date, no adapted technology exists to track dilating movements of these inflating balloon-like structures. Here we provide a method to perform tracking of elastic circular structures alongside an open access data set of singing siamang with close-ups of the air sac. The techniques overviewed here can be applied to other inflatable structures that are abundant in other animals too.
At the request of our faculty board I drafted some basic guidance on generative AI and research integrity (v1). With valuable input from @Iris @olivia @andreasliesenfeld among others. Primarily aimed at academics and written from a values-first rather than a tech-first perspective
Produced for @Radboud_uni Faculty of Arts but since some folks asked for a shareable version I've preprinted it at https://osf.io/2c48n/
#GenAI #ethics
Academic publishing is one of the most profitable sectors in the modern world. There are increasingly alarming calls that the outsourcing of this core scientific practice has led to malpractices that go against core scientific values.
Academic publishing is one of the most profitable sectors in the modern world. There are increasingly alarming calls that the outsourcing of this core scientific practice has led to malpractices that go against core scientific values.
The first being Bartosz Ciechanowski's blog, with beautifully done interactive visualizations and clear explanations of a number of everyday technologies, from bikes, to combustion engines, optics, watches, etc.
Really excellent work here - imagine if academic papers were more like this, and less like ~ jumbled up PDFs ~
MPI for Psycholinguistics
Mark Dingemanse
Kirk Smith, PhD