scholarly journals Biodiversity in Music Scores

Challenges ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
David G. Angeler
Keyword(s):  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Potential Application ◽  
Alpha Diversity ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Gamma Diversity ◽  
Structural Differentiation ◽  
Science System ◽  
Quantitative Ecology ◽  
Art Form ◽  
Musical Genres

Nature has inspired music since the dawn of humankind and has contributed to the creation and development of music as an art form. However, attempts to use the science of nature (i.e., quantitative ecology) to inform music as a broader art-science system is comparatively underdeveloped. In this paper an approach from biodiversity assessments is borrowed to quantify structural diversity in music scores. The approach is analogous in its nature and considers notations with distinct pitches and duration as equivalents of species in ecosystems, measures within a score as equivalents of ecosystems, and the sum of measures (i.e., the entire score) as a landscape in which ecosystems are embedded. Structural diversity can be calculated at the level of measures (“alpha diversity”) and the entire score (“gamma diversity”). An additional metric can be derived that quantifies the structural differentiation between measures in a score (“beta diversity”). The approach is demonstrated using music scores that vary in complexity. The method seems particularly suitable for hypothesis testing to objectively identify many of the intricate phenomena in music. For instance, questions related to the variability within and between musical genres or among individual composers can be addressed. Another potential application is an assessment of ontogenetic structural variability in the works of composers during their lifetime. Such information can then be contrasted with other cultural, psychological, and historical variables, among others. This study shows the opportunities that music and ecology offer for interdisciplinary research to broaden our knowledge of complex systems of people and nature.

scholarly journals Ecological Approaches to Quantifying (Bio)Diversity in Music

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Angeler ◽  
José Benavent-Corai
Keyword(s):  
Hypothesis Testing ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Beta Diversity ◽  
Alpha Diversity ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Ecological Approach ◽  
Gamma Diversity ◽  
Knowledge Gaps ◽  
Structural Differentiation ◽  
Modeling Approaches

This paper introduces an ecological approach to quantifying diversity in musical compositions. The approach considers notations with distinct pitches and duration as equivalents of species in ecosystems, measures within a composition as equivalents of ecosystems, and the sum of measures (i.e., the entire composition) as a landscape in which ecosystems are embedded. Structural diversity can be calculated at the level of measures (“alpha diversity”) and the entire composition (“gamma diversity”). An additional metric can be derived that quantifies the structural differentiation between measures in a composition (“beta diversity”). We demonstrate the suitability of the approach in music using specifically composed examples and real songs that vary in complexity. We discuss the potential of the approach with selected examples from a potentially ample spectrum of applications within musicology research. The method seems particularly suitability for hypothesis testing to objectively identify many of the intricate phenomena in music. Because the approach extracts information present in the compositions – it lets the songs tell their structure – it can complement more complex modeling approaches used by music scholars. Combined such approaches provide opportunities for interdisciplinary research. They can help to fill knowledge gaps, stimulate further research and increase our understanding of music.

scholarly journals Unimodal Relationships of Understory Alpha and Beta Diversity along Chronosequence in Coppiced and Unmanaged Beech Forests

Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sándor Bartha ◽  
Roberto Canullo ◽  
Stefano Chelli ◽  
Giandiego Campetella
Keyword(s):  
Beta Diversity ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Multiple Scales ◽  
Forest Succession ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Alpha Diversity ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Diversity Indices ◽  
Alpha And Beta Diversity ◽  
Coppice Management

Patterns of diversity across spatial scales in forest successions are being overlooked, despite their importance for developing sustainable management practices. Here, we tested the recently proposed U-shaped biodiversity model of forest succession. A chronosequence of 11 stands spanning from 5 to 400 years since the last disturbance was used. Understory species presence was recorded along 200 m long transects of 20 × 20 cm quadrates. Alpha diversity (species richness, Shannon and Simpson diversity indices) and three types of beta diversity indices were assessed at multiple scales. Beta diversity was expressed by a) spatial compositional variability (number and diversity of species combinations), b) pairwise spatial turnover (between plots Sorensen, Jaccard, and Bray–Curtis dissimilarity), and c) spatial variability coefficients (CV% of alpha diversity measures). Our results supported the U-shaped model for both alpha and beta diversity. The strongest differences appeared between active and abandoned coppices. The maximum beta diversity emerged at characteristic scales of 2 m in young coppices and 10 m in later successional stages. We conclude that traditional coppice management maintains high structural diversity and heterogeneity in the understory. The similarly high beta diversities in active coppices and old-growth forests suggest the presence of microhabitats for specialist species of high conservation value.

Alpha, beta, or gamma: where does all the diversity go?

Paleobiology ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 221-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. John Sepkoski
Keyword(s):  
Beta Diversity ◽  
Alpha Diversity ◽  
Taxonomic Richness ◽  
Soft Bottom ◽  
Gamma Diversity ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Alpha And Beta Diversity ◽  
Community Or ◽  
Global Diversity ◽  
Measured Change

Global taxonomic richness is affected by variation in three components: within-community, or alpha, diversity; between-community, or beta, diversity; and between-region, or gamma, diversity. A data set consisting of 505 faunal lists distributed among 40 stratigraphic intervals and six environmental zones was used to investigate how variation in alpha and beta diversity influenced global diversity through the Paleozoic, and especially during the Ordovician radiations. As first shown by Bambach (1977), alpha diversity increased by 50 to 70 percent in offshore marine environments during the Ordovician and then remained essentially constant for the remainder of the Paleozoic. The increase is insufficient, however, to account for the 300 percent rise observed in global generic diversity. It is shown that beta diversity among level, soft-bottom communities also increased significantly during the early Paleozoic. This change is related to enhanced habitat selection, and presumably increased overall specialization, among diversifying taxa during the Ordovician radiations. Combined with alpha diversity, the measured change in beta diversity still accounts for only about half of the increase in global diversity. Other sources of increase are probably not related to variation in gamma diversity but rather to appearance and/or expansion of organic reefs, hardground communities, bryozoan thickets, and crinoid gardens during the Ordovician.

Using the Supercomputer to Visualize Higher Dimensions: An Artist's Contribution to Scientific Visualization

Leonardo ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 390-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna J. Cox
Keyword(s):  
Broad Spectrum ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Visual Representations ◽  
Higher Dimensions ◽  
Common Goal ◽  
Research Environment ◽  
Mathematical Theorem ◽  
Art Form ◽  
Aesthetic Form ◽  
Agricultural Entomology

The interdisciplinary research environment coupled with supercomputer graphics is affording new opportunities for collaborations between artists and scientists. The author has collaborated with specialists in such fields as agricultural entomology, topology and astrophysics to render visual representations of multidimensional computations. One collaboration has resulted in a single, aesthetic form encompassing both a new art form and the discovery of a suggested mathematical theorem. These team efforts provide interesting examples of research dynamics between artist and scientist as they work toward a common goal: visualization of the invisible. Such interaction serves as a prototype of the ‘Renaissance team’ where specialists provide a broad spectrum of skills in the quest for discovery. Artists can and will make important contributions to this research.

scholarly journals Bacterial physiological adaptations to contrasting edaphic conditions identified using landscape scale metagenomics

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashish A. Malik ◽  
Bruce C. Thomson ◽  
Andrew S. Whiteley ◽  
Mark Bailey ◽  
Robert I. Griffiths
Keyword(s):  
Alpha Diversity ◽  
Gamma Diversity ◽  
Organic C ◽  
Edaphic Conditions ◽  
Acquisition Strategies ◽  
Physiological Adaptations ◽  
Geographically Distributed ◽  
C And N ◽  
Functional Profiles ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractEnvironmental factors relating to soil pH are widely known to be important in structuring soil bacterial communities, yet the relationship between taxonomic community composition and functional diversity remains to be determined. Here, we analyze geographically distributed soils spanning a wide pH gradient and assess the functional gene capacity within those communities using whole genome metagenomics. Low pH soils consistently had fewer taxa (lower alpha and gamma diversity), but only marginal reductions in functional alpha diversity and equivalent functional gamma diversity. However, coherent changes in the relative abundances of annotated genes between pH classes were identified; with functional profiles clustering according to pH independent of geography. Differences in gene abundances were found to reflect survival and nutrient acquisition strategies, with organic-rich acidic soils harboring a greater abundance of cation efflux pumps, C and N direct fixation systems and fermentation pathways indicative of anaerobiosis. Conversely, high pH soils possessed more direct transporter-mediated mechanisms for organic C and N substrate acquisition. These findings show that bacterial functional versatility may not be constrained by taxonomy, and we further identify the range of physiological adaptations required to exist in soils of varying nutrient availability and edaphic conditions.

scholarly journals Making the invisible visible: visualization of music and lyrics for deaf and hard of hearing audiences

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Fourney
Keyword(s):  
Hard Of Hearing ◽  
Auditory Modality ◽  
Emotional Information ◽  
Star Wars ◽  
Art Form ◽  
Emotional Component ◽  
Music Information ◽  
Music Lyrics ◽  
Musical Genres ◽  
The Invisible

Music is a major art form present in all cultures. It is nearly ubiquitous in Western culture. As a shared social experience, music is a shared knowledge space. Some music is so well recognized that people may refer to it by name (e.g., Beethoven’s 5th symphony, the Star Wars theme). Signing Deaf communities have indigenous forms of lyrical music. While these may not be melodic in the Western expectation, they still conform to the idea of music as metrical lyrics accompanied by instrumentation. Music is a system made up of several elements and attributes containing discrete information chunks that can be perceived by a human listener. Music communicates complex emotional signals and, in some cultures, has specific conventions designed to manipulate emotions. However, deaf, deafened, and hard of hearing people are unable to fully access the richness of the aural musical experience. This dissertation explores ways to make information that is presented in an auditory modality accessible to those who cannot fully perceive it due to hearing loss or environmental barriers; making the invisible visible. A multi-disciplinary, multi-method project, this research examines the design of visualizations intended to present different kinds of otherwise invisible music information in a visible, entertaining form. Ninety-four people, 66 women and 28 men, who identified themselves as Hard of Hearing (46), Deaf (38), Cochlear Implantees (8), or Deafened (2), participated in one of four experiments. Eight of the 94 participated in a fifth experiment. Research questions included determining the fundamental properties of music that visualizations must present, determining what emotional responses users might have to visualizations of music information, and determining whether a music experience similar to that of hearing audiences can be experienced via visualizations of music information. Among several findings, this project learned that many deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people are active consumers of music; lyrics represent a key piece of music information hard of hearing people require of any visualization; different visualizations might be better suited to different musical genres or emotional moods; and the set of music visualizations tested convey some types of emotional information but do not obviously communicate the emotional component of the music.

scholarly journals Making the invisible visible: visualization of music and lyrics for deaf and hard of hearing audiences

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Fourney
Keyword(s):  
Hard Of Hearing ◽  
Auditory Modality ◽  
Emotional Information ◽  
Star Wars ◽  
Art Form ◽  
Emotional Component ◽  
Music Information ◽  
Music Lyrics ◽  
Musical Genres ◽  
The Invisible

Music is a major art form present in all cultures. It is nearly ubiquitous in Western culture. As a shared social experience, music is a shared knowledge space. Some music is so well recognized that people may refer to it by name (e.g., Beethoven’s 5th symphony, the Star Wars theme). Signing Deaf communities have indigenous forms of lyrical music. While these may not be melodic in the Western expectation, they still conform to the idea of music as metrical lyrics accompanied by instrumentation. Music is a system made up of several elements and attributes containing discrete information chunks that can be perceived by a human listener. Music communicates complex emotional signals and, in some cultures, has specific conventions designed to manipulate emotions. However, deaf, deafened, and hard of hearing people are unable to fully access the richness of the aural musical experience. This dissertation explores ways to make information that is presented in an auditory modality accessible to those who cannot fully perceive it due to hearing loss or environmental barriers; making the invisible visible. A multi-disciplinary, multi-method project, this research examines the design of visualizations intended to present different kinds of otherwise invisible music information in a visible, entertaining form. Ninety-four people, 66 women and 28 men, who identified themselves as Hard of Hearing (46), Deaf (38), Cochlear Implantees (8), or Deafened (2), participated in one of four experiments. Eight of the 94 participated in a fifth experiment. Research questions included determining the fundamental properties of music that visualizations must present, determining what emotional responses users might have to visualizations of music information, and determining whether a music experience similar to that of hearing audiences can be experienced via visualizations of music information. Among several findings, this project learned that many deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people are active consumers of music; lyrics represent a key piece of music information hard of hearing people require of any visualization; different visualizations might be better suited to different musical genres or emotional moods; and the set of music visualizations tested convey some types of emotional information but do not obviously communicate the emotional component of the music.

scholarly journals Ichthyofauna from “serranias costeiras” of the Ribeira de Iguape River basin, Southeast Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauricio Cetra ◽  
George Mattox ◽  
Perla Bahena Romero ◽  
Stephanie Hernández Escobar ◽  
Euriluce Aparecida Guimarães ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Endemic Species ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Environmental Heterogeneity ◽  
Alpha Diversity ◽  
Fish Diversity ◽  
Sampling Effort ◽  
Gamma Diversity ◽  
Data Set

Abstract: The Ribeira de Iguape River basin has about 100 fish species. This study aimed to characterize the fish community from “serranias costeiras” of the Ribeira de Iguape River basin. Samplings were conducted with electrofishing during the dry season in the years 2018-2019. The sampling effort consisted of 30 streams stretches. As a result, 50 species were captured, distributed in 37 genera, 11 families, and six orders. The species richness estimate (SChao1) was 57 species, and the coverage estimate for the entire data set was C = 0.998. Harttia kronei and Chasmocranus lopezae are endemic species and can be used as bioindicators of streams in this river basin. We captured approximately nine species by stream stretch. Beta diversity was found to be more critical for gamma diversity than alpha diversity. This finding highlights the streams environmental heterogeneity importance for maintaining regional fish diversity. We captured eight individuals of the threatened species Spintherobolus papilliferus and this indicates an expansion in the geographic distribution of this species.

scholarly journals Optimising tropical forest bird surveys using passive acoustic monitoring and repeated short-duration point counts

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver C. Metcalf ◽  
Jos Barlow ◽  
Stuart Marsden ◽  
Nárgila Gomes de Moura ◽  
Erika Berenguer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Forests ◽  
Short Duration ◽  
Survey Methods ◽  
Alpha Diversity ◽  
Gamma Diversity ◽  
Point Count ◽  
Point Counts ◽  
Detection Frequency ◽  
Standard Duration ◽  
Avian Biodiversity

AbstractEstimation of avian biodiversity is a cornerstone measure of ecosystem condition, with turnover in avian community composition underpinning many studies of land-use change in tropical forests. Surveys conducted using autonomous recorders have been frequently found to be more efficient than traditional point-count surveys. However, there has been limited research into optimal survey duration, despite autonomous recordings allowing for many more repeats of short-duration surveys with relative ease in comparison to traditional survey methods.We use an acoustic dataset collected from a region of very high avian biodiversity - the eastern Brazilian Amazon - to test the effect of using short-duration surveys to increase temporal coverage without increasing total survey duration. We use this dataset to assess whether a survey protocol consisting of 240 15-second surveys at 29 locations, ‘short-duration surveys’, has an influence on resulting alpha and gamma diversity, and detection frequency, than ‘standard-duration surveys’ of four 15-minute surveys per location.We find that repeated short-duration surveys outperform longer duration surveys in every metric considered herein, with short-duration surveys predicted to detect approximately 50% higher alpha diversity, and 10% higher gamma diversity. Short-duration surveys also detect species more often, at more survey locations. Conversely, standard-duration surveys are almost four times more likely to produce false negatives (i.e. to fail to detect species presence). Whilst there is no difference between the proportion of uncommon species detected by the two methods, when considering species detected multiple times at multiple locations, short-duration surveys detected three times more uncommon species than standard-duration surveys.We conclude that short-duration recorded surveys should be considered the primary method for sampling the species richness of bird communities in tropical forests and is likely to be preferable to longer duration or traditional surveys in most environments.

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