1
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Goodale E, Magrath RD. Species diversity and interspecific information flow. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024; 99:999-1014. [PMID: 38279871 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 01/14/2024] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 01/29/2024]
Abstract
Interspecific information flow is known to affect individual fitness, population dynamics and community assembly, but there has been less study of how species diversity affects information flow and thereby ecosystem functioning and services. We address this question by first examining differences among species in the sensitivity, accuracy, transmissibility, detectability and value of the cues and signals they produce, and in how they receive, store and use information derived from heterospecifics. We then review how interspecific information flow occurs in communities, involving a diversity of species and sensory modes, and how this flow can affect ecosystem-level functions, such as decomposition, seed dispersal or algae removal on coral reefs. We highlight evidence that some keystone species are particularly critical as a source of information used by eavesdroppers, and so have a disproportionate effect on information flow. Such keystone species include community informants producing signals, particularly about predation risk, that influence other species' landscapes of fear, and aggregation initiators creating cues or signals about resources. We suggest that the presence of keystone species means that there will likely be a positive relationship in many communities between species diversity and information through a 'sampling effect', in which larger pools of species are more likely to include the keystone species by chance. We then consider whether the number and relative abundance of species, irrespective of the presence of keystone species, matter to interspecific information flow; on this issue, the theory is less developed, and the evidence scant and indirect. Higher diversity could increase the quantity or quality of information that is used by eavesdroppers because redundancy increases the reliability of information or because the species provide complementary information. Alternatively, there could be a lack of a relationship between species diversity and information if there is widespread information parasitism where users are not sources, or if information sourced from heterospecifics is of lower value than that gained personally or sourced from conspecifics. Recent research suggests that species diversity does have information-modulated community and ecosystem consequences, especially in birds, such as the diversity of species at feeders increasing resource exploitation, or the number of imitated species increasing responses to vocal mimics. A first step for future research includes comprehensive observations of information flow among different taxa and habitats. Then studies should investigate whether species diversity influences the cumulative quality or quantity of information at the community level, and consequently ecosystem-level processes. An applied objective is to conserve species in part for their value as sources of information for other species, including for humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eben Goodale
- Department of Health and Environmental Science, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, 215123, China
| | - Robert D Magrath
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia
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2
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Anobile G, Petrizzo I, Paiardini D, Burr D, Cicchini GM. Sensorimotor mechanisms selective to numerosity derived from individual differences. eLife 2024; 12:RP92169. [PMID: 38564239 PMCID: PMC10987086 DOI: 10.7554/elife.92169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
We have previously shown that after few seconds of adaptation by finger-tapping, the perceived numerosity of spatial arrays and temporal sequences of visual objects displayed near the tapping region is increased or decreased, implying the existence of a sensorimotor numerosity system (Anobile et al., 2016). To date, this mechanism has been evidenced only by adaptation. Here, we extend our finding by leveraging on a well-established covariance technique, used to unveil and characterize 'channels' for basic visual features such as colour, motion, contrast, and spatial frequency. Participants were required to press rapidly a key a specific number of times, without counting. We then correlated the precision of reproduction for various target number presses between participants. The results showed high positive correlations for nearby target numbers, scaling down with numerical distance, implying tuning selectivity. Factor analysis identified two factors, one for low and the other for higher numbers. Principal component analysis revealed two bell-shaped covariance channels, peaking at different numerical values. Two control experiments ruled out the role of non-numerical strategies based on tapping frequency and response duration. These results reinforce our previous reports based on adaptation, and further suggest the existence of at least two sensorimotor number channels responsible for translating symbolic numbers into action sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Anobile
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology and Child Health, University of FlorenceFlorenceItaly
| | - Irene Petrizzo
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology and Child Health, University of FlorenceFlorenceItaly
| | - Daisy Paiardini
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology and Child Health, University of FlorenceFlorenceItaly
| | - David Burr
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology and Child Health, University of FlorenceFlorenceItaly
- School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Camperdown NSWSydneyAustralia
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3
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Zhou Y, Radford AN, Magrath RD. Noise constrains heterospecific eavesdropping more than conspecific reception of alarm calls. Biol Lett 2024; 20:20230410. [PMID: 38228188 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Many vertebrates eavesdrop on alarm calls of other species, as well as responding to their own species' calls, but eavesdropping on heterospecific alarm calls might be harder than conspecific reception when environmental conditions make perception or recognition of calls difficult. This could occur because individuals lack hearing specializations for heterospecific calls, have less familiarity with them, or require more details of call structure to identify calls they have learned to recognize. We used a field playback experiment to provide a direct test of whether noise, as an environmental perceptual challenge, reduces response to heterospecific compared to conspecific alarm calls. We broadcast superb fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) and white-browed scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis) flee alarm calls to each species with or without simultaneous broadcast of ambient noise. Using two species allows isolation of the challenge of heterospecific eavesdropping independently of any effect of call structure on acoustic masking. As predicted, birds were less likely to flee to heterospecific than conspecific alarm calls during noise. We conclude that eavesdropping was harder in noise, which means that noise could disrupt information on danger in natural eavesdropping webs and so compromise survival. This is particularly significant in a world with increasing anthropogenic noise.
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Affiliation(s)
- You Zhou
- Division of Ecology & Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Andrew N Radford
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Robert D Magrath
- Division of Ecology & Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
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4
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Jon-And A, Jonsson M, Lind J, Ghirlanda S, Enquist M. Sequence representation as an early step in the evolution of language. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1011702. [PMID: 38091352 PMCID: PMC10752568 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 12/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Human language is unique in its compositional, open-ended, and sequential form, and its evolution is often solely explained by advantages of communication. However, it has proven challenging to identify an evolutionary trajectory from a world without language to a world with language, especially while at the same time explaining why such an advantageous phenomenon has not evolved in other animals. Decoding sequential information is necessary for language, making domain-general sequence representation a tentative basic requirement for the evolution of language and other uniquely human phenomena. Here, using formal evolutionary analyses of the utility of sequence representation we show that sequence representation is exceedingly costly and that current memory systems found in animals may prevent abilities necessary for language to emerge. For sequence representation to evolve, flexibility allowing for ignoring irrelevant information is necessary. Furthermore, an abundance of useful sequential information and extensive learning opportunities are required, two conditions that were likely fulfilled early in human evolution. Our results provide a novel, logically plausible trajectory for the evolution of uniquely human cognition and language, and support the hypothesis that human culture is rooted in sequential representational and processing abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Jon-And
- Centre for Cultural Evolution, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Romance Studies and Classics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Markus Jonsson
- Centre for Cultural Evolution, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johan Lind
- Centre for Cultural Evolution, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- IFM Biology, Linköping University, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Stefano Ghirlanda
- Centre for Cultural Evolution, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College of CUNY, Brooklyn, New York, United States of America
- Department of Psychology, CUNY Graduate Center, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Magnus Enquist
- Centre for Cultural Evolution, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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5
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Kirschhock ME, Nieder A. Numerical Representation for Action in Crows Obeys the Weber-Fechner Law. Psychol Sci 2023; 34:1322-1335. [PMID: 37883792 DOI: 10.1177/09567976231201624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The psychophysical laws governing the judgment of perceived numbers of objects or events, called the number sense, have been studied in detail. However, the behavioral principles of equally important numerical representations for action are largely unexplored in both humans and animals. We trained two male carrion crows (Corvus corone) to judge numerical values of instruction stimuli from one to five and to flexibly perform a matching number of pecks. Our quantitative analysis of the crows' number production performance shows the same behavioral regularities that have previously been demonstrated for the judgment of sensory numerosity, such as the numerical distance effect, the numerical magnitude effect, and the logarithmical compression of the number line. The presence of these psychophysical phenomena in crows producing number of pecks suggests a unified sensorimotor number representation system underlying the judgment of the number of external stimuli and internally generated actions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andreas Nieder
- Animal Physiology Unit, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen
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6
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Cartmill EA. Overcoming bias in the comparison of human language and animal communication. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2218799120. [PMID: 37956297 PMCID: PMC10666095 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2218799120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Human language is a powerful communicative and cognitive tool. Scholars have long sought to characterize its uniqueness, but each time a property is proposed to set human language apart (e.g., reference, syntax), some (attenuated) version of that property is found in animals. Recently, the uniqueness argument has shifted from linguistic rules to cognitive capacities underlying them. Scholars argue that human language is unique because it relies on ostension and inference, while animal communication depends on simple associations and largely hardwired signals. Such characterizations are often borne out in published data, but these empirical findings are driven by radical differences in the ways animal and human communication are studied. The field of animal communication has been dramatically shaped by the "code model," which imagines communication as involving information packets that are encoded, transmitted, decoded, and interpreted. This framework standardized methods for studying meaning in animal signals, but it does not allow for the nuance, ambiguity, or contextual variation seen in humans. The code model is insidious. It is rarely referenced directly, but it significantly shapes how we study animals. To compare animal communication and human language, we must acknowledge biases resulting from the different theoretical models used. By incorporating new approaches that break away from searching for codes, we may find that animal communication and human language are characterized by differences of degree rather than kind.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica A. Cartmill
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA90095
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA90095
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7
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Amit Y, Yovel Y. Bat vocal sequences enhance contextual information independently of syllable order. iScience 2023; 26:106466. [PMID: 37123233 PMCID: PMC10139886 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Revised: 11/05/2022] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Many animals, humans included, rely on acoustic vocalizations for communication. The complexity of non-human vocal communication has been under debate one of the main open questions being: What could be the function of multi-syllabic vocal sequences? We address these questions by analyzing fruit-bat vocal communication. We use neural networks to encode the vocalizations, and statistical models to examine the information conveyed by sequences of vocalizations. We show that fruit-bat vocal sequences potentially convey more contextual information than individual syllables, but that the order of the syllables within the sequence is unimportant for context. Specifically, sequences are composed of slightly modified syllables, thus increasing the probability of context-specificity. We note that future behavioral, e.g., playback experiments are needed in order to validate the biological relevance of our statistical results. We hypothesize that such sequences might have served as pre-syntax precursors in the evolution of animal communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoni Amit
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Yossi Yovel
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- National Research Center for Biodiversity Studies, The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Corresponding author
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8
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Kirschhock ME, Nieder A. Number selective sensorimotor neurons in the crow translate perceived numerosity into number of actions. Nat Commun 2022; 13:6913. [PMID: 36376297 PMCID: PMC9663431 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34457-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Translating a perceived number into a matching number of self-generated actions is a hallmark of numerical reasoning in humans and animals alike. To explore this sensorimotor transformation, we trained crows to judge numerical values in displays and to flexibly plan and perform a matching number of pecks. We report number selective sensorimotor neurons in the crow telencephalon that signaled the impending number of self-generated actions. Neuronal population activity during the sensorimotor transformation period predicted whether the crows mistakenly planned fewer or more pecks than instructed. During sensorimotor transformation, both a static neuronal code characterized by persistently number-selective neurons and a dynamic code originating from neurons carrying rapidly changing numerical information emerged. The findings indicate there are distinct functions of abstract neuronal codes supporting the sensorimotor number system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maximilian E. Kirschhock
- grid.10392.390000 0001 2190 1447Animal Physiology Unit, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas Nieder
- grid.10392.390000 0001 2190 1447Animal Physiology Unit, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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9
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Dutour M, Fernández GJ, Randler C. How great tits respond to urgency‐based information in allopatric Southern house wren mobbing calls. Ethology 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mylène Dutour
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences University of Western Australia Crawley Western Australia Australia
| | - Gustavo J. Fernández
- Grupo de Investigación en Ecofisiología de Fauna Silvestre, INIBIOMA‐CONICET, Asentamiento Universitario San Martín de los Andes (AUSMA) Universidad Nacional del Comahue Neuquén Argentina
| | - Christoph Randler
- Department of Biology Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen Tübingen Germany
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10
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Dutour M, Ridley AR, Randler C. Is the urgency message encoded in heterospecific alarm calls perceived by domestic chickens? J Zool (1987) 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.13008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- M. Dutour
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences University of Western Australia Crawley WA Australia
| | - A. R. Ridley
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences University of Western Australia Crawley WA Australia
| | - C. Randler
- Department of Biology Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen Tübingen Germany
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11
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Which acoustic parameters modify the great tit’s response to conspecific combinatorial mobbing calls? Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03157-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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12
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Overlooked evidence for semantic compositionality and signal reduction in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Anim Cogn 2021; 25:631-643. [PMID: 34822011 PMCID: PMC9107436 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01584-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 11/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Recent discoveries of semantic compositionality in Japanese tits have enlivened the discussions on the presence of this phenomenon in wild animal communication. Data on semantic compositionality in wild apes are lacking, even though language experiments with captive apes have demonstrated they are capable of semantic compositionality. In this paper, I revisit the study by Boesch (Hum. Evol. 6:81–89, 1991) who investigated drumming sequences by an alpha male in a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) community in the Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire. A reanalysis of the data reveals that the alpha male produced semantically compositional combined messages of travel direction change and resting period initiation. Unlike the Japanese tits, the elements of the compositional expression were not simply juxtaposed but displayed structural reduction, while one of the two elements in the expression coded the meanings of both elements. These processes show relative resemblance to blending and fusion in human languages. Also unlike the tits, the elements of the compositional expression did not have a fixed order, although there was a fixed distribution of drumming events across the trees used for drumming. Because the elements of the expression appear to carry verb-like meanings, the compositional expression also resembles simple verb-verb constructions and short paratactic combinations of two clauses found across languages. In conclusion, the reanalysis suggests that semantic compositionality and phenomena resembling paratactic combinations of two clauses might have been present in the communication of the last common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans, not necessarily in the vocal modality.
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13
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Mattila HR, Kernen HG, Otis GW, Nguyen LTP, Pham HD, Knight OM, Phan NT. Giant hornet ( Vespa soror) attacks trigger frenetic antipredator signalling in honeybee ( Apis cerana) colonies. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:211215. [PMID: 34804577 PMCID: PMC8580428 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Asian honeybees use an impressive array of strategies to protect nests from hornet attacks, although little is understood about how antipredator signals coordinate defences. We compared vibroacoustic signalling and defensive responses of Apis cerana colonies that were attacked by either the group-hunting giant hornet Vespa soror or the smaller, solitary-hunting hornet Vespa velutina. Apis cerana colonies produced hisses, brief stop signals and longer pipes under hornet-free conditions. However, hornet-attack stimuli-and V. soror workers in particular-triggered dramatic increases in signalling rates within colonies. Soundscapes were cacophonous when V. soror predators were directly outside of nests, in part because of frenetic production of antipredator pipes, a previously undescribed signal. Antipredator pipes share acoustic traits with alarm shrieks, fear screams and panic calls of primates, birds and meerkats. Workers making antipredator pipes exposed their Nasonov gland, suggesting the potential for multimodal alarm signalling that warns nestmates about the presence of dangerous hornets and assembles workers for defence. Concurrent observations of nest entrances showed an increase in worker activities that support effective defences against giant hornets. Apis cerana workers flexibly employ a diverse alarm repertoire in response to attack attributes, mirroring features of sophisticated alarm calling in socially complex vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather R. Mattila
- Department of Biological Sciences, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, USA
| | - Hannah G. Kernen
- Department of Biological Sciences, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, USA
| | - Gard W. Otis
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lien T. P. Nguyen
- Insect Ecology Department, Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Hanh D. Pham
- Bee Research Centre, National Institute of Animal Sciences, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Olivia M. Knight
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ngoc T. Phan
- Research Center for Tropical Bees and Beekeeping, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Hanoi, Vietnam
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14
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Beaulieu M, Dähne M, Köpp J, Marciau C, Kato A, Ropert-Coudert Y, Raclot T. Exploring the interplay between nest vocalizations and foraging behaviour in breeding birds. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.08.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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15
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Cai G. Accurate mining of location data in the communication field based on big data. JOURNAL OF HIGH SPEED NETWORKS 2021. [DOI: 10.3233/jhs-210665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
In order to extract value from data, data mining and data software technology are widely used in the industry. This study mainly discusses the precise mining of location data in communication field based on big data. Signaling preprocessing layer mainly obtains signaling message through acquisition module, filters FISU message in signaling message, judges abnormal message frame, and stamp it with time stamp, which provides effective data source for next processing. Signaling access layer mainly completes the function of signaling link access, mainly using high resistance jumper technology, time slot convergence technology, optical access technology and 155mdxc conversion technology to access 2 m link and 155 m link respectively. The signaling collection module must collect directly or via a link through DXC in order to reach the front-end data collection machine and access the signaling collection module of the front-end machine. The Signaling Collection Module also completes some of the message processing work. The presentation layer is the window of human-computer interaction of the whole system, which presents to users with friendly interface and perfect functions. The main goal of real-time big data analysis is to obtain signaling data sent by signaling acquisition system, and screen out the effective information in signaling data according to monitoring conditions, and then analyze the final real-time monitoring results. Geographic information module provides visual map control for the regional monitoring big data analysis module. The difficulty of system development can be reduced by using the existing WebGIS map toolkit. When the call from the Customs Bureau of Unicom in different cities is called into the mobile gateway Bureau, the call is rejected by the mobile customs bureau. The call time is 0 seconds, of which the interception success rate is up to 90% within 1 s. This research is of great significance for the better development and maintenance of signaling network and monitoring system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guanqun Cai
- XuanCheng Vocational and Technical College, Xuancheng 242000, Anhui, China. E-mail:
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16
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Lawson SL, Enos JK, Wolf CS, Stenstrom K, Winnicki SK, Benson TJ, Hauber ME, Gill SA. Referential alarm calling elicits future vigilance in a host of an avian brood parasite. Biol Lett 2021; 17:20210377. [PMID: 34520683 PMCID: PMC8440030 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2021.0377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Yellow warblers (Setophaga petechia) use referential 'seet' calls to warn mates of brood parasitic brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater). In response to seet calls during the day, female warblers swiftly move to sit tightly on their nests, which may prevent parasitism by physically blocking female cowbirds from inspecting and laying in the nest. However, cowbirds lay their eggs just prior to sunrise, not during daytime. We experimentally tested whether female warblers, warned by seet calls on one day, extend their anti-parasitic responses into the future by engaging in vigilance at sunrise on the next day, when parasitism may occur. As predicted, daytime seet call playbacks caused female warblers to leave their nests less often on the following morning, relative to playbacks of both their generic anti-predator calls and silent controls. Thus, referential calls do not only convey the identity or the type of threat at present but also elicit vigilance in the future to provide protection from threats during periods of heightened vulnerability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelby L. Lawson
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behaviour, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Janice K. Enos
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behaviour, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Caroline S. Wolf
- Department of Biological Sciences, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA
| | - Katharine Stenstrom
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behaviour, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Sarah K. Winnicki
- Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Thomas J. Benson
- Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
| | - Mark E. Hauber
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behaviour, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
| | - Sharon A. Gill
- Department of Biological Sciences, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA
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17
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Gabrić P. Differentiation Between Agents and Patients in the Putative Two-Word Stage of Language Evolution. Front Psychol 2021; 12:684022. [PMID: 34456797 PMCID: PMC8385233 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.684022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Petar Gabrić
- Institute for German Linguistics, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg an der Lahn, Germany
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18
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Paul A, McLendon H, Rally V, Sakata JT, Woolley SC. Behavioral discrimination and time-series phenotyping of birdsong performance. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1008820. [PMID: 33830995 PMCID: PMC8049717 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2020] [Accepted: 02/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Variation in the acoustic structure of vocal signals is important to communicate social information. However, relatively little is known about the features that receivers extract to decipher relevant social information. Here, we took an expansive, bottom-up approach to delineate the feature space that could be important for processing social information in zebra finch song. Using operant techniques, we discovered that female zebra finches can consistently discriminate brief song phrases ("motifs") from different social contexts. We then applied machine learning algorithms to classify motifs based on thousands of time-series features and to uncover acoustic features for motif discrimination. In addition to highlighting classic acoustic features, the resulting algorithm revealed novel features for song discrimination, for example, measures of time irreversibility (i.e., the degree to which the statistical properties of the actual and time-reversed signal differ). Moreover, the algorithm accurately predicted female performance on individual motif exemplars. These data underscore and expand the promise of broad time-series phenotyping to acoustic analyses and social decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avishek Paul
- Dept. Electrical & Computer Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- Dept. Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Helen McLendon
- Keck Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | | | - Jon T. Sakata
- Dept. Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- Centre for Research on Brain, Language, and Music, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- * E-mail: (JTS); (SCW)
| | - Sarah C. Woolley
- Dept. Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- Centre for Research on Brain, Language, and Music, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- * E-mail: (JTS); (SCW)
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19
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Leighton GM, Birmingham T. Multiple factors affect the evolution of repertoire size across birds. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Changes in signaling repertoires across species allow for insight into the macroevolutionary forces that control signaling systems. Signaling systems are theorized to be affected by both the social and ecological environments of species. With respect to social variables, increased social complexity is thought to lead to increased vocal complexity. Although ecology can affect signaling systems in numerous ways, one potential effect of ecology is that more cluttered habitats should lead to greater reliance on nonvisual (e.g., vocal) signals. To test these concepts on a macroevolutionary scale, we compiled a large dataset of avian vocal repertoires. We amassed vocal repertoires for 821 species of birds and for many of these species categorized their vocalizations into usage categories (e.g., alarm, contact). To analyze the social and ecological forces that act on repertoire evolution, we incorporated datasets with several social variables (e.g., cooperative breeding and length of social bond), and included data on the habitat and foraging behaviors of species within the dataset. We used Bayesian phylogenetic analysis to test for potential relationships within the data. We found that cooperative breeding was a significant predictor of larger repertoire size in birds; we also find several, more targeted effects. For instance, foraging strata affected repertoire size and repertoire composition. In sum, we find considerable evidence that social features affect repertoire size while certain ecological variables have more targeted effects on vocal repertoires.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gavin M Leighton
- Department of Biology, SUNY Buffalo State College, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Tucker Birmingham
- College of Agriculture and Life Science, Cornell University, Corson-Mudd, Ithaca, NY, USA
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20
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21
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Dutour M, Walsh SL, Ridley AR. Australian magpies adjust their alarm calls according to predator distance. BIOACOUSTICS 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2020.1808069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mylène Dutour
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia
| | - Sarah Louise Walsh
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia
| | - Amanda Ruth Ridley
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia
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22
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Suzuki TN. Other Species' Alarm Calls Evoke a Predator-Specific Search Image in Birds. Curr Biol 2020; 30:2616-2620.e2. [PMID: 32413306 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.04.062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2020] [Revised: 04/21/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Many animals produce vocal alarm signals when they detect a predator, and heterospecific species sharing predators often eavesdrop on and respond to these calls [1]. Despite the widespread occurrence of interspecific eavesdropping in animals, its underlying cognitive process remains to be elucidated. If alarm calls, like human referential words, denote a specific predator type (e.g., "snake!"), then receivers may retrieve a mental image of the predator when hearing these calls [2-4]. Here, using a recently developed experimental paradigm [5], I test whether heterospecific alarm calls evoke a predator-specific visual search image in wild birds. During playback of snake-specific alarm calls produced by Japanese tits (Parus minor), coal tits (Periparus ater) approach a wooden stick being moved in a snake-like manner. However, coal tits do not approach the same stick when hearing other call types or if the stick's movement is dissimilar to that of a snake. Thus, Japanese tit snake alarms cause coal tits to specifically enhance visual attention to snakelike objects. These results provide experimental evidence for the evocation of visual search images by heterospecific alarm calls, highlighting the importance of integrating cross-modal information in interspecific eavesdropping.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshitaka N Suzuki
- The Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.
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23
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Nieder A. The Adaptive Value of Numerical Competence. Trends Ecol Evol 2020; 35:605-617. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2019] [Revised: 02/08/2020] [Accepted: 02/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
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24
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Tegtman NT, Magrath RD. Discriminating between similar alarm calls of contrasting function. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190474. [PMID: 32420849 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In a pioneering study of signal design, Marler (Marler 1955 Nature 176, 6-8. (doi:10.1038/176006a0); Marler 1957 Behaviour 11, 13-37. (doi:10.1163/156853956X00066)) argued that the contrasting acoustic design of hawk (seet) and mobbing alarm calls of European passerines reflected their contrasting function. Hawk alarms were high-frequency tones, warning conspecifics to flee but making localization difficult for predators, while mobbing calls were broadband and harsh, allowing easy localization and approach. Contrasting signal features are also consistent with signal detection theory. Discriminating these calls quickly is critical for survival, because hawk alarms require immediate escape. These signals should therefore be selected to be easy to discriminate, reducing the trade-off between immediate fleeing to hawk alarms and unnecessary fleeing to mobbing alarms. Despite these expectations, hawk and mobbing alarm calls of superb fairy-wrens, Malurus cyaneus, are surprisingly similar, raising the question of discriminability without contextual cues. We synthesized these calls on computer, made intermediates and used playbacks to test whether calls can be discriminated acoustically, and if so by what features. We found that birds used multiple acoustic features when discriminating calls, allowing fast discrimination despite overlap in individual parameters. We speculate that the similarity of fairy-wren alarm calls could enhance detectability of both signals, while multiple subtle acoustic differences reduce a trade-off with discriminability. This article is part of the theme issue 'Signal detection theory in recognition systems: from evolving models to experimental tests'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie T Tegtman
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra 2601, Australia
| | - Robert D Magrath
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra 2601, Australia
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25
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Ha J, Lee K, Yang E, Kim W, Song H, Hwang I, Lee‐Cruz L, Lee S, Jablonski P. Experimental study of alarm calls of the oriental tit (
Parus minor
) toward different predators and reactions they induce in nestlings. Ethology 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jungmoon Ha
- Laboratory of Behavioral Ecology and Evolution School of Biological Sciences Seoul National University Seoul Korea
| | - Keesan Lee
- Laboratory of Behavioral Ecology and Evolution School of Biological Sciences Seoul National University Seoul Korea
| | - Eunjeong Yang
- Laboratory of Behavioral Ecology and Evolution School of Biological Sciences Seoul National University Seoul Korea
| | - Woojoo Kim
- Laboratory of Behavioral Ecology and Evolution School of Biological Sciences Seoul National University Seoul Korea
| | - Ho‐kyung Song
- Laboratory of Behavioral Ecology and Evolution School of Biological Sciences Seoul National University Seoul Korea
| | - Injae Hwang
- Laboratory of Behavioral Ecology and Evolution School of Biological Sciences Seoul National University Seoul Korea
| | - Larisa Lee‐Cruz
- Laboratory of Behavioral Ecology and Evolution School of Biological Sciences Seoul National University Seoul Korea
- Unite Mixte de Recherche TETIS CIRAD Montpellier cedex 5 France
| | - Sang‐im Lee
- School of Undergraduate StudiesDaegu‐Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) Daegu South Korea
| | - Piotr Jablonski
- Laboratory of Behavioral Ecology and Evolution School of Biological Sciences Seoul National University Seoul Korea
- Museum and Institute of Zoology Polish Academy of Sciences Warsaw Poland
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26
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McLachlan JR, Magrath RD. Speedy revelations: how alarm calls can convey rapid, reliable information about urgent danger. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20192772. [PMID: 32070259 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In the perpetual struggle between high-speed predators and their prey, individuals need to react in the blink of an eye to avoid capture. Alarm calls that warn of danger therefore need to do so sufficiently rapidly that listeners can escape in time. Paradoxically, many species produce more elements in their alarm calls when signalling about more immediate danger, thereby increasing the reliability of transmission of critical information but taking longer to convey the urgent message. We found that New Holland honeyeaters, Phylidonyris novaehollandiae, incorporated more elements in alarm calls given to more dangerous predators, but video analysis revealed that listeners responded in 100 ms, after only the first element. Consistent with this rapid response, the acoustic structure of the first element varied according to the danger, and playbacks confirmed that birds need hear only the first element to assess risk. However, birds hid for longer and were more likely to flee, after calls with more elements. The dual mechanisms of varying both element structure and number may provide a widespread solution to signalling rapidly and reliably about immediate danger.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica R McLachlan
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.,Division of Ecology & Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Robert D Magrath
- Division of Ecology & Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
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27
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Suzuki TN, Wheatcroft D, Griesser M. The syntax-semantics interface in animal vocal communication. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 375:20180405. [PMID: 31735156 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Syntax (rules for combining words or elements) and semantics (meaning of expressions) are two pivotal features of human language, and interaction between them allows us to generate a limitless number of meaningful expressions. While both features were traditionally thought to be unique to human language, research over the past four decades has revealed intriguing parallels in animal communication systems. Many birds and mammals produce specific calls with distinct meanings, and some species combine multiple meaningful calls into syntactically ordered sequences. However, it remains largely unclear whether, like phrases or sentences in human language, the meaning of these call sequences depends on both the meanings of the component calls and their syntactic order. Here, leveraging recently demonstrated examples of meaningful call combinations, we introduce a framework for exploring the interaction between syntax and semantics (i.e. the syntax-semantic interface) in animal vocal sequences. We outline methods to test the cognitive mechanisms underlying the production and perception of animal vocal sequences and suggest potential evolutionary scenarios for syntactic communication. We hope that this review will stimulate phenomenological studies on animal vocal sequences as well as experimental studies on the cognitive processes, which promise to provide further insights into the evolution of language. This article is part of the theme issue 'What can animal communication teach us about human language?'
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshitaka N Suzuki
- Department of General Systems Studies, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.,The Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.,Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - David Wheatcroft
- Department of Animal Ecology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Michael Griesser
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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28
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Sound repetition rate controls the duration of tonic immobility in chicks (Gallus gallus). Behav Processes 2019; 166:103901. [PMID: 31276743 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.103901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2019] [Revised: 06/06/2019] [Accepted: 07/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Tonic Immobility (TI) functions as anti-predator defense. Its duration depends on cues signaling predator proximity. One such cue includes alarm calls from conspecifics and non-conspecifics. This study aimed to determine the cue within alarm calls that controls TI duration. We induced TI in chicks (Gallus gallus) and found that their TI durations increased in the presence of adult conspecific alarm calls, non-conspecific alarm calls, and synthetic sounds made of white noise set to the repetition rate found in natural alarm calls. Moreover, chicks did not increase their TI durations when exposed to conspecific attraction calls, synthetic sounds made of white noise set to the repetition rate found in natural attraction calls, and derived sounds made of a natural alarm call lacking an internote interval. We then created: 1) sounds with white noise set to the internote interval found in natural alarm calls and the note duration found in natural attraction calls, and 2) sounds with white noise set to the internote interval found in natural attraction calls and the note duration found in natural alarm calls. Neither affected TI duration. We conclude that repetition rate acts as a salient cue that lengthens TI duration.
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29
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Teixeira D, Maron M, Rensburg BJ. Bioacoustic monitoring of animal vocal behavior for conservation. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.72] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Daniella Teixeira
- School of Biological SciencesThe University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland Australia
| | - Martine Maron
- School of Earth and Environmental SciencesThe University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland Australia
| | - Berndt J. Rensburg
- School of Biological SciencesThe University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland Australia
- Department of Zoology, DST‐NRF Centre for Invasion BiologyUniversity of Johannesburg Johannesburg South Africa
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30
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31
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Loughry W, Oeser M, Anderson CD, Hoogland JL. The importance of individual variation in the alarm calls of Gunnison's prairie dogs. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.01.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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32
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Abstract
Japanese tits (Parus minor) produce specific alarm calls when they encounter a predatory snake. A recent field experiment showed that receiver tits became visually perceptive to an object resembling a snake when hearing these calls. However, the tits did not respond to the same object when hearing other call types or when the object was dissimilar to a snake. These findings provide the first experimental evidence for the retrieval of a visual search image from specific alarm calls, offering a novel approach for investigating the cognitive mechanisms underlying referential communication in wild animals.
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33
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Engesser S, Townsend SW. Combinatoriality in the vocal systems of nonhuman animals. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2019; 10:e1493. [PMID: 30724476 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2018] [Revised: 01/03/2019] [Accepted: 01/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
A key challenge in the field of human language evolution is the identification of the selective conditions that gave rise to language's generative nature. Comparative data on nonhuman animals provides a powerful tool to investigate similarities and differences among nonhuman and human communication systems and to reveal convergent evolutionary mechanisms. In this article, we provide an overview of the current evidence for combinatorial structures found in the vocal system of diverse species. We show that considerable structural diversity exits across and within species in the forms of combinatorial structures used. Based on this we suggest that a fine-grained classification and differentiation of combinatoriality is a useful approach permitting systematic comparisons across animals. Specifically, this will help to identify factors that might promote the emergence of combinatoriality and, crucially, whether differences in combinatorial mechanisms might be driven by variations in social and ecological conditions or cognitive capacities. This article is categorized under: Cognitive Biology > Evolutionary Roots of Cognition Linguistics > Evolution of Language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Engesser
- Department of Comparative Linguistics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Simon W Townsend
- Department of Comparative Linguistics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
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34
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Griesser M, Wheatcroft D, Suzuki TN. From bird calls to human language: exploring the evolutionary drivers of compositional syntax. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2017.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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35
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Dawson Pell FS, Potvin DA, Ratnayake CP, Fernández-Juricic E, Magrath RD, Radford AN. Birds orient their heads appropriately in response to functionally referential alarm calls of heterospecifics. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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36
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Abstract
One of the core features of human speech is that words cause listeners to retrieve corresponding visual mental images. However, whether vocalizations similarly evoke mental images in animal communication systems is surprisingly unknown. Japanese tits (Parus minor) produce specific alarm calls when and only when encountering a predatory snake. Here, I show that simply hearing these calls causes tits to become more visually perceptive to objects resembling snakes. During playback of snake-specific alarm calls, tits approach a wooden stick being moved in a snake-like fashion. However, tits do not respond to the same stick when hearing other call types or if the stick's movement is dissimilar to that of a snake. Thus, before detecting a real snake, tits retrieve its visual image from snake-specific alarm calls and use this to search out snakes. This study provides evidence for a call-evoked visual search image in a nonhuman animal, offering a paradigm to explore the cognitive basis for animal vocal communication in the wild.
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37
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Suzuki TN, Wheatcroft D, Griesser M. Wild Birds Use an Ordering Rule to Decode Novel Call Sequences. Curr Biol 2017; 27:2331-2336.e3. [PMID: 28756952 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.06.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2017] [Revised: 05/15/2017] [Accepted: 06/12/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
The generative power of human language depends on grammatical rules, such as word ordering, that allow us to produce and comprehend even novel combinations of words [1-3]. Several species of birds and mammals produce sequences of calls [4-6], and, like words in human sentences, their order may influence receiver responses [7]. However, it is unknown whether animals use call ordering to extract meaning from truly novel sequences. Here, we use a novel experimental approach to test this in a wild bird species, the Japanese tit (Parus minor). Japanese tits are attracted to mobbing a predator when they hear conspecific alert and recruitment calls ordered as alert-recruitment sequences [7]. They also approach in response to recruitment calls of heterospecific individuals in mixed-species flocks [8, 9]. Using experimental playbacks, we assess their responses to artificial sequences in which their own alert calls are combined into different orderings with heterospecific recruitment calls. We find that Japanese tits respond similarly to mixed-species alert-recruitment call sequences and to their own alert-recruitment sequences. Importantly, however, tits rarely respond to mixed-species sequences in which the call order is reversed. Thus, Japanese tits extract a compound meaning from novel call sequences using an ordering rule. These results demonstrate a new parallel between animal communication systems and human language, opening new avenues for exploring the evolution of ordering rules and compositionality in animal vocal sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshitaka N Suzuki
- Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, 2-509-3 Hirano, Otsu, Shiga 520-2113, Japan; Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Hayama, Kanagawa 240-0193, Japan.
| | - David Wheatcroft
- Department of Animal Ecology, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Michael Griesser
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland; Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Krakow, Poland
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38
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The 30th anniversary of Ecological Research: past, present, and future. Ecol Res 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s11284-017-1457-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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39
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Cunningham S, Magrath RD. Functionally referential alarm calls in noisy miners communicate about predator behaviour. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.05.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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40
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Yu J, Xing X, Jiang Y, Liang W, Wang H, Møller AP. Alarm call-based discrimination between common cuckoo and Eurasian sparrowhawk in a Chinese population of great tits. Ethology 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jiangping Yu
- Jilin Provincial Engineering Laboratory of Avian Ecology and Conservation Genetics; School of Life Sciences; Northeast Normal University; Changchun China
| | - Xiaoying Xing
- College of Wildlife Resource; Northeast Forestry University; Harbin China
| | - Yunlei Jiang
- College of Animal Science and Technology; Jilin Agricultural University; Changchun China
| | - Wei Liang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology; College of Life Sciences; Hainan Normal University; Haikou China
| | - Haitao Wang
- Jilin Provincial Engineering Laboratory of Avian Ecology and Conservation Genetics; School of Life Sciences; Northeast Normal University; Changchun China
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology; School of Life Sciences; Northeast Normal University; Changchun China
| | - Anders Pape Møller
- Ecologie Systématique Evolution; CNRS; Université Paris-Sud, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay; Orsay France
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41
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Calling for help: dwarf mongoose recruitment calls inform receivers about context and elicit disparate responses. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.02.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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42
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Farrow LF, Doohan SJ, McDonald PG. Alarm calls of a cooperative bird are referential and elicit context-specific antipredator behavior. Behav Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arx020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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43
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Carlson NV, Healy SD, Templeton CN. A comparative study of how British tits encode predator threat in their mobbing calls. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.01.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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44
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45
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McRae TR, Green SM. Vocalizations associated with predator-type do not elicit predator-specific escape responses in grey squirrels. BEHAVIOUR 2017. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Eastern gray squirrels produce moans for aerial predators and quaas for terrestrial threats. One commonly-supported hypothesis for such predator-associated signals is that they elicit predator-specific escape responses in conspecifics. With simulated aerial predators, squirrels ran to the far side of tree trunks. In response to simulated terrestrial predators, squirrels frequently ran to where they could see the predator but could quickly flee to the far side of the tree trunk. Playbacks of quaas and moans elicited flight behaviour, but without association between escape location and alarm call type. Locations elicited by alarm calls differed from those elicited by simulated predators, with squirrels pausing on the side facing the call’s source. While grey squirrel alarms and escape strategies differ by predator type, the vocalizations do not function to elicit divergent escape strategies in conspecifics. This result stands in contrast to observed functions in other species with calls differing by predator type.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thaddeus R. McRae
- aDepartment of Biology, University of Miami, 215 Cox Science Center, 1301 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
- bDepartment of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Lee University, P.O. Box 3450, Cleveland, TN, 37320-3450, USA
| | - Steven M. Green
- aDepartment of Biology, University of Miami, 215 Cox Science Center, 1301 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
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46
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Griesser M, Suzuki TN. Naive Juveniles Are More Likely to Become Breeders after Witnessing Predator Mobbing. Am Nat 2016; 189:58-66. [PMID: 28035889 DOI: 10.1086/689477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Responding appropriately during the first predatory attack in life is often critical for survival. In many social species, naive juveniles acquire this skill from conspecifics, but its fitness consequences remain virtually unknown. Here we experimentally demonstrate how naive juvenile Siberian jays (Perisoreus infaustus) derive a long-term fitness benefit from witnessing knowledgeable adults mobbing their principal predator, the goshawk (Accipiter gentilis). Siberian jays live in family groups of two to six individuals that also can include unrelated nonbreeders. Field observations showed that Siberian jays encounter predators only rarely, and, indeed, naive juveniles do not respond to predator models when on their own but do when observing other individuals mobbing them. Predator exposure experiments demonstrated that naive juveniles had a substantially higher first-winter survival after observing knowledgeable group members mobbing a goshawk model, increasing their likelihood of acquiring a breeding position later in life. Previous research showed that naive individuals may learn from others how to respond to predators, care for offspring, or choose mates, generally assuming that social learning has long-term fitness consequences without empirical evidence. Our results demonstrate a long-term fitness benefit of vertical social learning for naive individuals in the wild, emphasizing its evolutionary importance in animals, including humans.
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