April 18, 2001: Headlines: COS - Chile: University Education: Biology: Ecology: Evolution: Acoustical Society of America: Chile RPCV Professor Peter Narins speaks on Vibration Communication in Vertebrates

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Chile: Peace Corps Chile : The Peace Corps In Chile: April 18, 2001: Headlines: COS - Chile: University Education: Biology: Ecology: Evolution: Acoustical Society of America: Chile RPCV Professor Peter Narins speaks on Vibration Communication in Vertebrates

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Chile RPCV Professor Peter Narins speaks on Vibration Communication in Vertebrates

Chile RPCV Professor Peter Narins speaks on Vibration Communication in Vertebrates

Chile RPCV Professor Peter Narins speaks on Vibration Communication in Vertebrates

Date: WEDNESDAY, April 18, 2001
Time: 7:00 P.M.

(Pre-meeting Dinner at 6:00 PM with the Speaker at Chinatown Restaurant in Irvine - Map.
Reserve by phone before 3 pm on the meeting day at 714.898-9099.)

Location:
University of California at Irvine (Map)
Medical Sciences I, Room F-108
Irvine, CA 92705

Important UCI Parking Instructions
Vibration Communication in Vertebrates

Peter M. Narins, PhD
Department of Physiological Science, UCLA, 405 Hilgard Avenue,
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Phone 310.825.0265
E-Mail: pnarins@ucla.edu


ABSTRACT

This talk explores the ways in which several groups of vertebrates utilize vibrational or seismic signals and describes the specific adaptations of the inner ear, which have evolved to process vibrational information under natural conditions. Specifically, I hope to encourage the study of animals other than the standard mammalian preparations by emphasizing that the natural acoustic behavior of an animal often leads to insights into the underlying physiological mechanisms. This neuroethological approach has yielded much information about a wide range of vertebrate groups including bat echolocation, sound localization by owls, electrolocation and communication in weakly electric fishes, song learning in passerine birds and frog acoustic and vibrational communication. Among the vertebrates, strong evidence for seismic communication is shown for the white-lipped frog of Puerto Rico (Leptodactylus), the Blind mole-rat (Spalax) of Israel, the Cape mole-rat of South Africa (Georychus), the western rattlesnake (Crotalus) of the United States, the sandfish lizard (Scincus) of the Sahara Desert, the Golden mole of Namibia (Eremitalpa), the bannertail kangaroo rat (Dipodomys) of southwestern USA and perhaps Yemen’s Veiled Chameleon (Chamaeleo). Future candidates for the list of vertebrate seismic communicators are the common Malaysian treefrog (Polypedates) and the Bushveld rain frogs (Breviceps) of southern Africa. With the exception of Polypedates and Chamaeleo, these animals appear to rely on surface (Rayleigh) waves to transmit vibrational signals. In Leptodactylous and perhaps in Crotalus, the apparatus for detecting these signals resides both in the sensory epithelium of the inner ear and in its associated sensory structures and appears to take advantage of the multimodal response properties of the sensory hair cells. Methods used to explore these responses and new behavioral evidence for seismic cue detection in several animal groups is discussed. (Supported by NIDCD Grant DC00222).

Background on our speaker ...

Peter Narins is very much a product of Cornell University, having received from there a BS degree in 1965, an MS degree in 1966, and a PhD in 1976. His BS and MS degrees in electrical engineering prepared him well for an interdisciplinary PhD in Neurobiology and Behavior.

Dr. Narins served as a Postdoctoral Fellow from 1976-78 at the University of Keele, Dept. of Communication & Neuroscience in the U. K. His teaching experience includes:

1966-1970 Instructor, Dept. of Elec. Eng., Catholic U., Santiago, Chile (U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer).

1970-1973 Instructor, Dept. of Elec. Eng., Cornell U., Ithaca, NY

1976-1978 Post-doctoral Fellow, Dept. of Communication and Neuroscience, Univ. of Keele, U.K.

1978-1983 Assistant Professor, Dept. of Biology, UCLA.

1983-1987 Associate Professor, Dept. of Biology, UCLA

1987-1994 Professor, Dept. of Biology, UCLA.

1994-present Professor, Dept. of Physiological Science, UCLA.

His has taught courses at UCLA in animal physiology, animal communication, and principles of neuro-biology, neuroscience, and other physiological subjects. He was elected to Fellowship in Acoustical Society of America in 1993 with the citation: "For contributions to understanding animal bioacoustics" He was elected to Fellowship in the Animal Behavioral Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science in the same year (‘97), and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation in ‘93.

Dr. Narins’ list of honors and awards for teaching and research is too extensive to recount here. The numbers of his former students who have gained recognition and high academic posts at universities throughout the world is most impressive to me (DL).
AGENDA
Time:
6:00 PM

7:00 - 7:30 PM . . . . . . . . . .

7:30 - 8:45 PM . . . . . . . . . .

8:45 PM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Event:
Optional Dinner at Chinatown Restaurant, University Center, Irvine
Social and Speaker Reception in Meeting Room F108
Presentations and Discussion

Adjourn





When this story was prepared, this was the front page of PCOL magazine:

This Month's Issue: August 2004 This Month's Issue: August 2004
Teresa Heinz Kerry celebrates the Peace Corps Volunteer as one of the best faces America has ever projected in a speech to the Democratic Convention. The National Review disagreed and said that Heinz's celebration of the PCV was "truly offensive." What's your opinion and who can come up with the funniest caption for our Current Events Funny?

Exclusive: Director Vasquez speaks out in an op-ed published exclusively on the web by Peace Corps Online saying the Dayton Daily News' portrayal of Peace Corps "doesn't jibe with facts."

In other news, the NPCA makes the case for improving governance and explains the challenges facing the organization, RPCV Bob Shaconis says Peace Corps has been a "sacred cow", RPCV Shaun McNally picks up support for his Aug 10 primary and has a plan to win in Connecticut, and the movie "Open Water" based on the negligent deaths of two RPCVs in Australia opens August 6. Op-ed's by RPCVs: Cops of the World is not a good goal and Peace Corps must emphasize community development.





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Story Source: Acoustical Society of America

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Chile; University Education; Biology; Ecology; Evolution

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