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Acoustic repertoire of Spheniseus humboldti, preliminary report on a small captive colony [abstract]

B. Biasotti, G. Gnone, E. Boccardo and G. Pavan (2002). Acoustic repertoire of Spheniseus humboldti, preliminary report on a small captive colony [abstract]. Bioacoustics, Volume 13 (1): 94

 

Abstract: 

The Humboldt Penguin Spheniscus humboldti is a South American penguin that lives on the pacific coast from the 6th to the 33rd south parallel. It nests in colonies where each pair builds a true nest in a hole dug in the ground and covered with stones. The acoustic behaviour of this specie has never been studied in depth, despite the fact that it is one of the most common penguins housed in captivity. The first aim of the research, carried out at Genova Aquarium since March .98, was to collect as many vocalisations as possible and give a formal description of each acoustic behaviour recorded, completed with spectrograms and images. Vocalisations were recorded with two micro- phones (dynamic cardioid MD7000) connected to a S-VHS video-recorder and a DAT recorder. The video-recorder correlates the sound signals with images collected by a S-VHS video-camera set in front the penguin exhibit. Four acoustic categories were collected and will be described with the visually observable behaviours associated. Some preliminary hypotheses about the function of these vocalisations will also be part of the poster presentation.