Giovanni Petri
Professor of NetSI London
Mon, Oct 23, 2023
6:00 PM UTC
Mon, Oct 23, 2023
6:00 PM UTC
In-person
4 Thomas More St
London E1W 1YW, UK
London E1W 1YW, UK
The Roux Institute
Room
100 Fore Street
Portland, ME 04101
Portland, ME 04101
Network Science Institute
2nd floor
2nd floor
Network Science Institute
11th floor
11th floor
177 Huntington Ave
Boston, MA 02115
Boston, MA 02115
Room
58 St Katharine's Way
London E1W 1LP, UK
London E1W 1LP, UK
Talk recording
In this seminar, I will present a quantitative analysis of acoustic data collected from sperm whale populations in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, with a focus on the phenomenon of social learning. Traditionally, these populations have been categorized into clans based on vocal repertoire, particularly identity codas.
Our research introduces a computational modeling approach that explores the role of vocal style, specifically within non-identity codas.
Through the analysis of clicking pattern data and the generation of 'subcoda trees' using variable length Markov chains, we provide evidence of social learning across clan boundaries. This leads us to propose a refined concept of vocal identity, one that encompasses both vocal repertoire and style. Our findings indicate that clans with overlapping territories exhibit similar vocal styles for non-identity codas, suggesting the presence of social learning across cultural boundaries. Furthermore, we discuss the broader implications of our method, offering a new framework for comparative studies of communication systems in animal species and its potential significance for understanding cultural transmission in animal societies."
About the speaker
Giovanni Petri, PhD is a Professor in the Network Science Institute at Northeastern University London. He also holds affiliations as Principal Researcher at CENTAI, and as Guest Scholar in the Networks Units of IMT Lucca. Previously, he was Senior Research Scientist in the "Mathematics and Complex Systems" lab of ISI Foundation since 2016. He is a theoretical physicist that shortly after graduating decided that complex systems – in the broadest sense – were more intriguing than cosmology. He fell in love with the idea of high-order interactions, of emergent properties and ended up earning a PhD on complex networks at Imperial College London in 2012. Theoretical approaches never stopped fascinating him, and he continues this research today working at the interface between complex systems and algebraic topology. His research spans the analysis of neuroimaging data and AI systems with topological techniques, the formalization of cognitive control models with tools of statistical mechanics and network theory, and the study of the predictability of socio-technical systems.
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