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Communication Theories

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Soundscape Ecology

Abstract

A central principle in the communication theory states that biological signals are honest, which means, for an acoustic signal such as a song, that the complexity of the repertoire and all the secondary characters associated are an expression of natural selection.

In communication, a sender and a receiver are connected by an informative signal. A third subject is the eavesdropper or the involuntary receiver that utilizes the information which circulates between the two. Eavesdropping represents an important evolutionary phenomenon. Communication is costly in term of energy budget allocated by vocal individuals, and a well-designed communicative framework should be the result of selective pressure.

Communication is an important component of animal life contributing to reproduction and to survival life traits. Acoustic signals are used in several groups of species, humans included, to find resources, to avoid predators, and to find or adapt locations for reproduction.

To improve the efficacy of a signal, it is important to reduce the loss of energy on one hand and on the other to optimize the information contained in the signal. The efficiency of a signal largely depends on the internal design and on the capacity of an emitter to separate the signal from the background noise.

Analysis of the complexity of acoustic communication codes and specifically the acoustic codes represents an interesting perspective.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Basic Sciences and Foundations, Urbino University, Urbino, Pesaro-Urbino, Italy

    Almo Farina

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  1. Almo Farina
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Farina, A. (2014). Communication Theories. In: Soundscape Ecology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7374-5_4

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