Title
Nonlinearities in mating sounds of American crocodiles
Abstract
We use nonlinear time series analysis methods to analyze the dynamics of the sound-producing apparatus of the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus). We capture its dynamics by analyzing a recording of the singing activity during mating time. First, we reconstruct the phase space from the sound recording and thereby reveal that the attractor needs no less than five degrees of freedom to fully evolve in the embedding space, which suggests that a rather complex nonlinear dynamics underlies its existence. Prior to investigating the dynamics more precisely, we test whether the reconstructed attractor satisfies the notions of determinism and stationarity, as a lack of either of these properties would preclude a meaningful further analysis. After positively establishing determinism and stationarity, we proceed by showing that the maximal Lyapunov exponent of the recording is positive, which is a strong indicator for the chaotic behavior of the system, confirming that dynamical nonlinearities are an integral part of the examined sound-producing apparatus. At the end, we discuss that methods of nonlinear time series analysis could yield instructive insights and foster the understanding of vocal communication among certain reptile species.
Year
DOI
Venue
2009
10.1016/j.biosystems.2009.05.011
Biosystems
Keywords
Field
DocType
Nonlinear dynamics,Chaos,Time series analysis,Sound,Reptile behavior,Mating
Attractor,Statistical physics,Time series,Nonlinear system,Determinism,Phase space,Artificial intelligence,Chaotic,Sound recording and reproduction,Machine learning,Lyapunov exponent,Mathematics
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
97
3
0303-2647
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
2
0.59
0
Authors
2
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Tina P. Benko120.59
Perc Matjaž257058.27