This video case study explores whether elephants can detect, interpret, and respond to signals delivered by underground vibrations.
Interactive Video Builder
This video follows ecologist Caitlin O'Connell-Rodwell, who is studying how elephants can communicate over long distances using low-frequency sounds that travel both in the air and through the ground.
O'Connell-Rodwell, a research associate at Stanford University School of Medicine, has been studying elephant communication in Etosha National Park in northern Namibia for decades. She observed that elephants seem to detect vibrations in the ground with their feet and trunk. Using amplifiers, speakers, geophones, and video cameras, she designed an experiment to test how elephant herds respond to an alarm call that elephants produce to warn others of nearby predators.
The video provides an example of how experiments are designed to test a hypothesis and how individuals can act on information and communicate it to others.
An audio descriptive version of the film is available via our media player.
Please note that embedded interactions will not appear in the descriptive audio version.
This video case study explores whether elephants can detect, interpret, and respond to signals delivered by underground vibrations.
Video Interactive Case Study for Studying Elephant Communication
This tool can be used to turn any BioInteractive video into an “interactive video” that includes pause points, questions, and labels. Educators can use the tool to create an interactive video, then share a link to that video with students. The tool also contains a library of interactive videos created by BioInteractive. Additional information can be found on this resource’s webpage.
You can access these features from the Interactive Video Builder landing page and top menu:
All interactive videos can be shared with students by copying links. At the end of each video, students will be prompted to review and submit their answers, which they can save as a PDF.
For more information on using these features, refer to the materials on this resource’s webpage.
This resource is optimized for use on desktops. It is supported by the most recent versions of Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari web browsers. On mobile devices, such as phones and tablets, playing interactive videos works well, but creating interactive videos may be suboptimal.
Most components of this resource have been designed, optimized, and/or tested for accessibility compliance (WCAG Level 2.0 AA Success Criteria). A few controls are not optimized for screen readers. For example, adding and editing interactions requires users to switch between “browse” and “forms” modes when inputting data. Navigation tips have been added where applicable.
Submit comments, questions, or feedback about this resource via email to biointeractive@hhmi.org.
Mark Nielsen, HHMI
Fabian de Kok-Mercado
Annie Prud’homme-Généreux, Capilano University, Canada
Mark Nielsen, HHMI
Esther Shyu, HHMI
Zulmarie Pérez Horta, HHMI
Javier Robalino, HHMI
Fabian de Kok-Mercado
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© 2022 Howard Hughes Medical Institute. All rights reserved. Please see the Terms of Use and the Interactive Video Builder Terms and Conditions for information on how this resource can be used.
Version 1.0
Updated on 06/16/22