Research Interest

My research prioritizes a multidisciplinary approach combining tools from signal processing, ethology, neurobiology, ecology, with the aim to understand the acoustic communication systems of different categories of animals. I was first, and up to the mid ‘90s, interested by the coding-decoding process of territorial songs and of alarm calls of birds. Later, my main research interest have turned towards problems of communication in constraining environments and particularly in noisy environments (studied mainly in penguin colonies) and absorbent environments (studied mainly in tropical forest birds). At present, I am also interested by acoustic communication networks in leks or small communities of territorial birds.

Biological models: Insects (Drosophila, cicadas, cockroaches), frogs, songbirds, seabirds (penguins, gulls, shearwaters), mammals (sheep, seals, walruses).


Current Projects & Grants

- Bird Impact Repellent & Deterrent sYstem R&T project (BIRDY). Study of a method to reduce bird strike risk thanks to an acoustic system embedded on aircraft. Airbus Industry Group.

- Automatic acoustic recognition of pheasants. National Hunting and Wildlife Office (ONCFS)

- Acoustic communication in Walrus (project supervised by Isabelle Charrier). French Polar Institute (IPEV).


Collaborations

- Pr. Malu Da Silva (Universidad do Para, Bélem, Brazil)
- Dr.Etienne Danchin (Toulouse 1 University, France)
- Dr. Catherine del Negro (Paris XI University, France)
- Dr. Manfred Gahr (Max-Planck Institute Munich, Allemagne).
- Dr. Martine Hausberger (Rennes University, France )
- Pr. Laurent Nagle (Paris X University, France)
- Dr. Tomasz Osiezuk (Univ Mickiewicz, Pologne)
- Pr. Jacques Vielliard (Campinas University, Brazil)


Teaching

Behavioral biology, Bioacoustics.


Some Selected Publications

Mulard H., Aubin T., White J.F. , Hatch S. A., Danchin E. (In press). Experimental evidence of vocal recognition in young and adult black-legged kittiwakes. Anim. Behav.

Briefer E., Aubin T., Lehongre K., Rybak F. (2008). How to identify dear-enemies: the group signature in the complex song of the skylark Alauda arvensis. J. of Exp. Biol.211, 317-326.

Sebe F., Aubin T., Nowak R., Poindron P. (2007). Acoustic discrimination between ewes and lamb in the first two days after parturition. Dev. Psychobiol. 49, 375–386.

Sueur J., Aubin T. (2006).When males whistle at females: complex FM signals in cockroaches. Naturwissenschaften, 93, 500-505.

Aubin T., Jouventin P. (1998). Cocktail-party effect in king penguin colonies. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 265, 1665-1673.