itsfm

itsfm segments and measures frequency-modulated sounds to separate Constant Frequency (CF) and Frequency Modulated (FM) components of echolocating bat vocalizations for objective bioacoustic analyses of biomechanics, decision-making, and sensory mechanisms.

Key Features:

• Segmentation of CF-FM Calls: Specializes in segmenting Constant Frequency (CF) and Frequency Modulated (FM) components of bat calls, including high-duty cycle species, with CF and FM components corresponding to prey detection and target ranging, respectively.
• Methodologies: Implements two segmentation algorithms: a peak-percentage method that segments components based on peak frequency characteristics and a pseudo-Wigner-Ville distribution (PWVD) method for robust segmentation across diverse recording conditions.
• Performance Assessment: Provides a synthetic dataset to evaluate segmentation effectiveness and reports that the PWVD method consistently outperforms the peak-percentage method in component segmentation.
• Species-Agnostic Application: Although developed for bat calls, the approach is species-agnostic and applicable to vocalizations across different animal taxa.
• Supporting Methods: Includes automatic measurement and analysis routines to quantify features of segmented sounds.

Scientific Applications:

• Behavioral Studies: Enables analysis of how bats alter CF and FM call components across behavioral contexts such as flight and prey capture.
• Bioacoustics Research: Supports bioacoustic studies across varied recording conditions and species by providing robust segmentation and measurement of vocalizations.
• Automated Analysis: Automates segmentation and measurement to reduce human error and standardize quantitative analysis in ecological and behavioral sound studies.

Methodology:

Segmentation uses a peak-percentage algorithm based on peak frequency characteristics and a pseudo-Wigner-Ville distribution (PWVD) method; performance is assessed with a synthetic dataset and includes automatic measurement and analysis routines.