INDIVIDUAL ACOUSTIC IDENTIFICATION AS A NON-INVASIVE CONSERVATION TOOL: AN APPROACH TO THE CONSERVATION OF THE AFRICAN WILD DOGLYCAON PICTUS(TEMMINCK, 1820)

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Abstract
Individual variation in acoustic signals can be used for discrimination or identification purposes as a valuable supplement to radio-tagging and visual recognition. In this study, 721 hoo-calls from captive and free-ranging African wild dogs Lycaon pictus (n=9) were investigated for individual acoustic cues. The investigation applied a computer-aided sound analysis that allowed measurement of 93 parameters for each hoo-call. Discriminant function analyses demonstrated that the individuals differed in their call parameters primarily measured on the fundamental frequency. Additional discriminant analyses were run in order to find out if individuals can be re-identified once their hoo-calls are recorded and catalogued into a voice library. This procedure yielded an overall 67% correct assignment for the test data (ranging from 37% to 98% per individual), suggesting an above chance level re-recognition of individuals. The results establish the capability of re-identifying wild dogs using specific acoustic characteristics of their hoo-call, and suggest that this technique can be a useful tool in conserving this highly endangered species.

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