Marmots: The Sound of Fear - Naturalist Nights 2011

What is it that makes screams scary? Why do animals scream? Why do they emit other sorts of alarm vocalizations? An individual might help others by alarm calling or screaming, but these sounds also increase the screamer's risk of predation by attracting predators. The opposing benefits and costs of screaming create an evolutionary paradox.

Dr. Blumstein addresses this evolutionary paradox by describing insights from over two decades of studying marmots throughout the northern hemisphere, including long-term studies of yellow-bellied marmots at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Crested Butte. He talks both about the evolution and function of alarm calls and end with a discussion of similarities among species, including humans, in the structure of fear screams and other scary and arousing sounds and how composers and audio engineers seemingly capitalize on this when designing movie soundtracks.

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Nonprofits & Activism

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• Marmots
• Wilderness Workshop
• Naturalist Nights