Methods in multimodal communication

• Grant number: 19/02277-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: May 20, 2019
• End date: October 29, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Experimental Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Patrícia Ferreira Monticelli
• Grantee: Paula Verzola Olivio
• Supervisor: Michael Joseph Ryan
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Texas at Austin (UT), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 16/14730-9 - Mating choice in caviomorph rodents: is it a multimodal decision?, BP.DR

Abstract

Most of the animal courtship displays are composed by complex signals from the combination of more than one component or from the overlapping of different multiple sensory modalities. Cavia species are a rare example of mammals that use a complex courtship display, in which at least three signals from different modalities are used: acoustic, visual and chemical.The main goal of this internship is to establish a robust methodology (data collection and analysis) to investigate the interaction between different signals from different modalities used in guinea pig's (Cavia porcellus) courtship display. To achieve this goal, I intend to discuss the methodology and results of preliminary tests involving different signals (acoustic, visual and chemical) presentation to females guinea pigs and to follow the experiments of Prof. Ryan's current research project to improve my knowledge about the techniques employed in communication studies in a multimodal approach.