Anna Osiecka

University of Gdansk | UG · Department of Vertebrate Ecology and Zoology

Source–filter theory posits that an individual's size and vocal tract length are reflected in the parameters of their calls. In species that mate assortatively, this could result in vocal similarity. In the context of mate selection, this would mean that animals could listen in to find a partner that sounds—and therefore is—similar to them. We inve...

Many seabird species breed in colonies counting up to hundreds of thousands of individuals. Life in such crowded colonies might require special coding–decoding systems to reliably convey information through acoustic cues. This can include, for example, developing complex vocal repertoires and adjusting the properties of their vocal signals to commu...

The dynamics of marine systems at decadal scales are notoriously hard to predict—hence references to this timescale as the “grey zone” for ocean prediction. Nevertheless, decadal-scale prediction is a rapidly developing field with an increasing number of applications to help guide ocean stewardship and sustainable use of marine environments. Such p...

Bioacoustic research spans a wide range of biological questions and applications, relying on identification of target species or smaller acoustic units, such as distinct call types. However, manually identifying the signal of interest is time-intensive, error-prone, and becomes unfeasible with large data volumes. Therefore, machine-driven algorithm...

Ocean research and conservation are still largely exclusive fields, with ongoing issues of racial, gender, class, and geographic underrepresentation. To improve accessibility and retention within these fields, we need to create equitable, just, and welcoming study and work environments. It is therefore crucial to listen to the voices of students an...

Vocal recognition is widespread in the animal kingdom, and a necessary tool for offspring survival in some groups. Temporal patterns of animal vocalisations can facilitate communication and convey information such as identity, emotional state, or motivation of the caller. While pinniped (i.e., walrus, eared and true seals) vocalisations are general...

Capsule Great Cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis use vocal communication during the breeding season, with males being particularly vocal earlier in the breeding cycle and showing individual variation in some calls, which could be used for individual recognition. Aims To identify and describe vocal behaviour of Great Cormorants, to link calls...

The role of marine ecosystems and economy, and the need to make these governed and accessible in an equitable manner, becomes always more important and recognised. To ensure a sustainable, fair and diverse ocean governance, we need to understand the challenges faced by the future ocean scientists and conservationists. To do this, we looked at the t...

Unpaid positions in environmental sciences are common yet controversial. While they exclude already marginalised groups and are detrimental to the entire job market, many voices maintain that these positions are crucial, support science and conservation in economically disadvantaged areas, and allow early-career scientists their first step into the...

Wild harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) mainly forage during the night and, because they rely on echolocation to detect their prey, this is also when they are most acoustically active. It has been hypothesised that this activity pattern is a response to the diel behaviour of their major prey species. To test this hypothesis, we monitored the aco...

Extended nursing periods have been observed in some pinniped species. Here, we document multiple cases of such prolonged nursing in Cape fur seals in Namibia. Over three separate visits to the Cape Cross breeding colony, we observed five unusual nursing interactions. These included animals of estimated age from one to over three years suckling on a...

SEAFARI is a non-profit effort to encourage and facilitate public engagement in marine mammal studies and rescue. Taking advantage of the omnipresence of smart phones, SEAFARI is an app freely available for both iOS and Android. It allows users to log sightings of marine mammals anywhere in the world, and provides them with some information on the...