Guest Lecture: “Bioacoustics: Methods, Applications, and Research Directions (continued)”

27.2.2025

The Department of Landscape Gardening and Ecology hosted the second guest lecture dedicated to a unique research direction in Ukraine – bioacoustics.

The second guest lecture on the topic “Bioacoustics: Methods, Applications, Research Directions (Continued)” was held at the Department of Horticulture of the National Research Institute of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, led by Yevgenia Yablonovska-Gryshchenko, Senior Research Fellow of the Kaniv Nature Reserve of the National Research Center “Institute of Biology and Medicine” of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. The meeting was attended by students and teachers of all specialties of the National Research Institute of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

The lecture was based on a presentation that covered key aspects of bioacoustics — a field that studies the sound signals of animals, in particular birds. During the lecture, Yevhenia reviewed the main methods of bioacoustic research, such as recording sound signals, analyzing their structure and classification. Special attention was paid to the study of intraspecific variability of sound signals, including geographical variability and individual recognition of individuals. The lecturer emphasized the importance of creating song catalogs to study geographical variability and the use of long-term recordings to identify individual individuals.

One of the key topics of the lecture was the study of the structure of bird songs, in particular, using the example of the chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs). The concepts of dialects, subdialects and song mixing zones were considered, which allow us to determine the place of recording and trace the history of species settlement. The lecturer also emphasized the importance of cultural transmission and song evolution, which allow us to study bird settlement routes and historical landscape changes.

An important aspect of the lecture was the discussion of biodiversity conservation through the preservation of song complexes. The lecture also covered new areas of research in bioacoustics, such as the impact of anthropogenic noise on bird song activity, the use of bioacoustic methods for managing animal behavior, and retrospective analysis of the distribution of song complexes. The lecture participants actively discussed these topics and asked questions, in particular regarding methods of recording sounds in natural conditions and the possibilities of applying bioacoustics in nature conservation.

The lecture aroused great interest among those present, who were impressed by the wide range of applications of bioacoustics in various scientific disciplines. The event became an important step in popularizing this unique area of ​​research in Ukraine.

We sincerely thank Ms. Yevhenia for an interesting and informative lecture! We hope for further cooperation and new meetings!

Department of Landscape Gardening and Ecology