|
SPEAKER: |
|
|
TITLE: |
"Statistical Analysis of Harp Seal Vocalizations" |
|
DAY: |
Wednesday, January 28, 1998 |
|
TIME: |
3:30 p.m. [Coffee in BSB-202 at 3:00 p.m.] |
|
PLACE: |
BSB-108 |
Seals possess varied repertoires of underwater vocalizations. Geographic variation in call types has been reported for the harp seal, and the variations have been attributed to the isolation of breeding populations within these species. In this study, we are interested in herds from Jan Mayen Island, the Gulf of St Lawrence, and from the Front. Tagging and morphometric studies suggest little exchange between the Jan Mayen Island (north of Iceland and east of Greenland), Gulf of St. Lawrence, and another herd, designated "Front", which is near the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Vocalization differences among these three herds could provide evidence that the groups are reproductively isolated. The data available to us contained 12 variables measured on 3000 seals (1000 seals per herd). The study was supported by the National Geographical Society and the governments of Norway and Canada, and led by Professor Jack M. Terhune from the Department of Biology at University of New Brunswick. The data were chosen for analysis at the Case Studies Session, Annual Meeting of the Statistical Society of Canada (SSC), Fredericton, New Brunswick, June 1997.
We used logistic regression and tree-based methods to establish objective rules for discrimination among the three herds. We found no significant difference between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Front herds, but the Jan Mayen Island herd had little commonality with the other herds. A variety of graphs were produced to illustrate these issues and to investigate other features of the data.
Mr. Joseph Farruggia obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Statistics from McMaster University. He is presently enrolled in the Graduate Program in Statistics at McMaster. His interests are in applied statistics and statistical consulting. Currently, he is tackling a project involving the identification of improvement opportunities in the hot rolling process at Dofasco. Mr. Farruggia is a member of the Statistical Society of Canada (SSC) and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. He gave a talk at the SSC Annual meeting in Fredericton, New Brunswick this past summer.
The following articles have been provided by Mr. Farruggia to be used as background for his talk. They are on reserve at Thode Library (STATS 770: Statistics Seminar).
[1] Terhune, J.M. (1994). "Geographical Variation of the Harp Seal Underwater Vocalizations," CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY 72, pp. 892-897.
[2] Watkins, W.A., and Schevill, W.E. (1979). "Distinctive Characteristics of Underwater Calls of the Harp Seal, Phoca Groenlandica, During the Breeding Season," JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 66, pp. 983-988.