Steps towards promoting bioacoustics research in Mexico

Abstract

Bioacoustics has played a major role in animal research in the past decade. Unfortunately, in Mexico, it is still seen as a novel approach, and few research groups incorporate it into their studies. To overcome this lag, work needs to be done in three major areas: Collaboration among experts, preparing young students, and providing specialized equipment. In Mexico, there are many institutions devoted to research in biology, but there are only a few researchers in acoustics because there are no graduate research programs in this area. Collaboration among acousticians interested in biology and biologists interested in acoustics becomes crucial, and future researchers, coming from both specialties, need to be prepared. Once this synergy is created, emerging research groups often see the cost and availability of specialized equipment as a limitation, so it is also necessary to focus on providing access to research-grade, low-cost hardware. In this talk, I will describe my efforts toward promoting bioacoustics research in Mexico through collaboration with other research centers, with examples of ongoing projects, graduate program support, and equipment presented in major peer-reviewed conferences that we have developed with low-cost, open source materials that are comparable with standard, high quality research equipment.