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Williams H, Scharf A, Ryba AR, Ryan Norris D, Mennill DJ, Newman AEM, Doucet SM, Blackwood JC. Cumulative cultural evolution and mechanisms for cultural selection in wild bird songs. Nat Commun 2022; 13:4001. [PMID: 35821243 PMCID: PMC9276793 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31621-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Cumulative cultural evolution, the accumulation of sequential changes within a single socially learned behaviour that results in improved function, is prominent in humans and has been documented in experimental studies of captive animals and managed wild populations. Here, we provide evidence that cumulative cultural evolution has occurred in the learned songs of Savannah sparrows. In a first step, "click trains" replaced "high note clusters" over a period of three decades. We use mathematical modelling to show that this replacement is consistent with the action of selection, rather than drift or frequency-dependent bias. Generations later, young birds elaborated the "click train" song form by adding more clicks. We show that the new songs with more clicks elicit stronger behavioural responses from both males and females. Therefore, we suggest that a combination of social learning, innovation, and sexual selection favoring a specific discrete trait was followed by directional sexual selection that resulted in naturally occurring cumulative cultural evolution in the songs of this wild animal population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather Williams
- Biology Department, Williams College, Williamstown, 01267, MA, USA.
| | - Andrew Scharf
- Biology Department, Williams College, Williamstown, 01267, MA, USA
- Mathematics and Statistics Department, Williams College, Williamstown, 01267, MA, USA
| | - Anna R Ryba
- Biology Department, Williams College, Williamstown, 01267, MA, USA
- The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Ave., New York, 10021, NY, USA
| | - D Ryan Norris
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, N1G 2W1, ON, Canada
| | - Daniel J Mennill
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, N9B 3P4, ON, Canada
| | - Amy E M Newman
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, N1G 2W1, ON, Canada
| | - Stéphanie M Doucet
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, N9B 3P4, ON, Canada
| | - Julie C Blackwood
- Mathematics and Statistics Department, Williams College, Williamstown, 01267, MA, USA
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2
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Péter H, Zuberbühler K, Hobaiter C. Well-digging in a community of forest-living wild East African chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii). Primates 2022; 63:355-364. [PMID: 35662388 PMCID: PMC9273564 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-022-00992-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 05/07/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
Access to resources shapes species' physiology and behaviour. Water is not typically considered a limiting resource for rainforest-living chimpanzees; however, several savannah and savannah-woodland communities show behavioural adaptations to limited water. Here, we provide a first report of habitual well-digging in a rainforest-living group of East African chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) and suggest that it may have been imported into the community's behavioural repertoire by an immigrant female. We describe the presence and frequency of well-digging and related behaviour, and suggest that its subsequent spread in the group may have involved some degree of social learning. We highlight that subsurface water is a concealed resource, and that the limited spread of well-digging in the group may highlight the cognitive, rather than physical, challenges it presents in a rainforest environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hella Péter
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.,School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.,Department of Comparative Cognition, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.,Budongo Conservation Field Station, PO Box 362, Masindi, Uganda
| | - Catherine Hobaiter
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK. .,Budongo Conservation Field Station, PO Box 362, Masindi, Uganda.
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3
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Williams H, Lachlan RF. Evidence for cumulative cultural evolution in bird song. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200322. [PMID: 34894731 PMCID: PMC8666912 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
In studies of cumulative cultural evolution in non-human animals, the focus is most often on incremental changes that increase the efficacy of an existing form of socially learned behaviour, such as the refinement of migratory pathways. In this paper, we compare the songs of different species to describe patterns of evolution in the acoustic structure of bird songs, and explore the question of what building blocks might underlie cumulative cultural evolution of bird song using a comparative approach. We suggest that three steps occurred: first, imitation of independent sounds, or notes, via social learning; second, the formation of categories of note types; and third, assembling note types into sequences with defined structures. Simple sequences can then be repeated to form simple songs or concatenated with other sequences to form segmented songs, increasing complexity. Variant forms of both the notes and the sequencing rules may then arise due to copy errors and innovation. Some variants may become established in the population because of learning biases or selection, increasing signal efficiency, or because of cultural drift. Cumulative cultural evolution of bird songs thus arises from cognitive processes such as vocal imitation, categorization during memorization and learning biases applied to basic acoustic building blocks. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'The emergence of collective knowledge and cumulative culture in animals, humans and machines'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather Williams
- Biology Department, Williams College, Williamstown, MA 01267, USA
| | - Robert F. Lachlan
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, London TW20 0EX, UK
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Webb WH, Roper MM, Pawley MDM, Fukuzawa Y, Harmer AMT, Brunton DH. Sexually Distinct Song Cultures Across a Songbird Metapopulation. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.755633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Songbirds learn their songs culturally, through imitating tutors. The vocal culture of a songbird population changes as new song units (syllables) are introduced through immigration, copying errors, and innovation, while other syllables fall out of use. This leads to a diversification of the syllable pool across the species, much like the diversification and spatial patterns of human language. Vocal cultures have been well-studied in male songbirds but have been largely overlooked in females. Here we undertake one of the first comparisons of male and female song cultures across a songbird metapopulation—studying New Zealand bellbirds Anthornis melanura spanning a network of six islands. Having classified 20,700 syllables (702 types), we compare population syllable repertoire sizes and overlap between sites and sexes. We show that males and females—both with complex songs—have distinct song cultures, sharing only 6–26% of syllable types within each site. Furthermore, male and female syllable types can be statistically discriminated based on acoustic properties. Despite diverse syllable repertoires within sites, few syllable types were shared between sites (both sexes had highly distinct site-specific dialects). For the few types shared between sites, sharing decreased with distance only for males. Overall, there was no significant difference between sexes in degree of site–site repertoire overlap. These results suggest different cultural processes at play for the two sexes, underlining the inadequacy of male-centric song research and calling for comparisons of male and female song cultures in many more species.
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Ter Haar SM, Fernandez AA, Gratier M, Knörnschild M, Levelt C, Moore RK, Vellema M, Wang X, Oller DK. Cross-species parallels in babbling: animals and algorithms. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200239. [PMID: 34482727 PMCID: PMC8419573 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
A key feature of vocal ontogeny in a variety of taxa with extensive vocal repertoires is a developmental pattern in which vocal exploration is followed by a period of category formation that results in a mature species-specific repertoire. Vocal development preceding the adult repertoire is often called ‘babbling’, a term used to describe aspects of vocal development in species of vocal-learning birds, some marine mammals, some New World monkeys, some bats and humans. The paper summarizes the results of research on babbling in examples from five taxa and proposes a unifying definition facilitating their comparison. There are notable similarities across these species in the developmental pattern of vocalizations, suggesting that vocal production learning might require babbling. However, the current state of the literature is insufficient to confirm this suggestion. We suggest directions for future research to elucidate this issue, emphasizing the importance of (i) expanding the descriptive data and seeking species with complex mature repertoires where babbling may not occur or may occur only to a minimal extent; (ii) (quasi-)experimental research to tease apart possible mechanisms of acquisition and/or self-organizing development; and (iii) computational modelling as a methodology to test hypotheses about the origins and functions of babbling. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sita M Ter Haar
- Cognitive Neurobiology and Helmholtz Institute, Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, PO Box 80086, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Ahana A Fernandez
- Museum für Naturkunde - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstrasse 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Maya Gratier
- Laboratoire Ethologie, Cognition, Développement, Paris Nanterre University, Nanterre, France
| | - Mirjam Knörnschild
- Museum für Naturkunde - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstrasse 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany.,Animal Behavior Lab, Freie Universität, Berlin, Germany.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
| | - Claartje Levelt
- Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Roger K Moore
- Department Computer Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Michiel Vellema
- Cognitive Neurobiology and Helmholtz Institute, Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, PO Box 80086, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Xiaoqin Wang
- Laboratory of Auditory Neurophysiology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - D Kimbrough Oller
- School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA.,Institute for Intelligent Systems, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA.,Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Klosterneuburg, Austria
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Insights from comparative research on social and cultural learning. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2021; 254:247-270. [PMID: 32859290 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2020.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/13/2023]
Abstract
Social cognitive skills play a crucial role in human life, and have allowed us to reach a unique level of behavioral and cultural complexity. However, many nonhuman species also show a complex understanding of the social world. Building on theories of human social development, we will follow the emergence of cultural learning skills across taxa, discussing similarities and differences between humans and other species. We will first review literature on social learning, including enhancement, emulation and imitation. Then, we will discuss existing studies on the evolution of teaching, and finally, we will critically review literature on the social transmission of skills and knowledge across generations. By adopting a comparative perspective, we will be able to identify the unique characteristics of social transmission in humans, and the social skills that are instead shared with other species, to gain a deeper understanding of the role of cultural learning in social cognitive development.
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Brumm H, Goymann W, Derégnaucourt S, Geberzahn N, Zollinger SA. Traffic noise disrupts vocal development and suppresses immune function. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:7/20/eabe2405. [PMID: 33980481 PMCID: PMC8115921 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abe2405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Noise pollution has been linked to learning and language deficits in children, but the causal mechanisms connecting noise to cognitive deficiencies remain unclear because experimental models are lacking. Here, we investigated the effects of noise on birdsong learning, the primary animal model for vocal learning and speech development in humans. We found that traffic noise exposure retarded vocal development and led to learning inaccuracies. In addition, noise suppressed immune function during the sensitive learning period, indicating that it is a potent stressor for birds, which is likely to compromise their cognitive functions. Our results provide important insights into the consequences of noise pollution and pave the way for future studies using birdsong as an experimental model for the investigation of noise-induced learning impairments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henrik Brumm
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Communication and Social Behaviour Group, Seewiesen, Germany.
| | - Wolfgang Goymann
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Department of Behavioural Neurobiology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | | | - Nicole Geberzahn
- University Paris Nanterre, Laboratoire Ethologie Cognition Développement, Nanterre, France
| | - Sue Anne Zollinger
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Communication and Social Behaviour Group, Seewiesen, Germany
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Riebel K, Odom KJ, Langmore NE, Hall ML. New insights from female bird song: towards an integrated approach to studying male and female communication roles. Biol Lett 2019; 15:20190059. [PMID: 30940020 PMCID: PMC6501358 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2019.0059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2019] [Accepted: 03/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Historically, bird song has been regarded as a sex-specific signalling trait; males sing to attract females and females drive the evolution of signal exaggeration by preferring males with ever more complex songs. This view provides no functional role for female song. Historic geographical research biases generalized pronounced sex differences of phylogenetically derived northern temperate zone songbirds to all songbirds. However, we now know that female song is common and that both sexes probably sang in the ancestor of modern songbirds. This calls for research on adaptive explanations and mechanisms regulating female song, and a reassessment of questions and approaches to identify selection pressures driving song elaboration in both sexes and subsequent loss of female song in some clades. In this short review and perspective we highlight newly emerging questions and propose a research framework to investigate female song and song sex differences across species. We encourage experimental tests of mechanism, ontogeny, and function integrated with comparative evolutionary analyses. Moreover, we discuss the wider implications of female bird song research for our understanding of male and female communication roles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Riebel
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, 2333 BE, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Karan J. Odom
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, 2333 BE, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Naomi E. Langmore
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia
| | - Michelle L. Hall
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
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Abstract
By the mid-twentieth century (thus following the 'Modern Synthesis' in evolutionary biology), the behavioural sciences offered only the sketchy beginnings of a scientific literature documenting evidence for cultural inheritance in animals-the transmission of traditional behaviours via learning from others (social learning). By contrast, recent decades have seen a massive growth in the documentation of such cultural phenomena, driven by long-term field studies and complementary laboratory experiments. Here, I review the burgeoning scope of discoveries in this field, which increasingly suggest that this 'second inheritance system', built on the shoulders of the primary genetic inheritance system, occurs widely among vertebrates and possibly in invertebrates too. Its novel characteristics suggest significant implications for our understanding of evolutionary biology. I assess the extent to which this second system extends the scope of evolution, both by echoing principal properties of the primary, organic evolutionary system, and going beyond it in significant ways. This is well established in human cultural evolution; here, I address animal cultures more generally. The further major, and related, question concerns the extent to which the consequences of widespread animal cultural transmission interact with the primary, genetically based inheritance systems, shaping organic evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Whiten
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9JP, UK
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Fehér O. Atypical birdsong and artificial languages provide insights into how communication systems are shaped by learning, use, and transmission. Psychon Bull Rev 2017; 24:97-105. [PMID: 27439502 PMCID: PMC5325865 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-016-1107-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
In this article, I argue that a comparative approach focusing on the cognitive capacities and behavioral mechanisms that underlie vocal learning in songbirds and humans can provide valuable insights into the evolutionary origins of language. The experimental approaches I discuss use abnormal song and atypical linguistic input to study the processes of individual learning, social interaction, and cultural transmission. Atypical input places increased learning and communicative pressure on learners, so exploring how they respond to this type of input provides a particularly clear picture of the biases and constraints at work during learning and use. Furthermore, simulating the cultural transmission of these unnatural communication systems in the laboratory informs us about how learning and social biases influence the structure of communication systems in the long run. Findings based on these methods suggest fundamental similarities in the basic social-cognitive mechanisms underlying vocal learning in birds and humans, and continuing research promises insights into the uniquely human mechanisms and into how human cognition and social behavior interact, and ultimately impact on the evolution of language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga Fehér
- School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
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Dominoni DM, Greif S, Nemeth E, Brumm H. Airport noise predicts song timing of European birds. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:6151-9. [PMID: 27648232 PMCID: PMC5016638 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2016] [Revised: 07/08/2016] [Accepted: 07/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic noise is of increasing concern to biologists and medical scientists. Its detrimental effects on human health have been well studied, with the high noise levels from air traffic being of particular concern. However, less is known about the effects of airport noise pollution on signal masking in wild animals. Here, we report a relationship between aircraft noise and two major features of the singing behavior of birds. We found that five of ten songbird species began singing significantly earlier in the morning in the vicinity of a major European airport than their conspecifics at a quieter control site. As birds at both sites started singing before the onset of air traffic in the morning, this suggests that the birds in the vicinity of the airport advanced their activity to gain more time for unimpaired singing before the massive plane noise set in. In addition, we found that during the day, chaffinches avoided singing during airplane takeoffs, but only when the noise exceeded a certain threshold, further suggesting that the massive noise caused by the airport can impair acoustic communication in birds. Overall, our study indicates that birds may be adjusting their mating signals and time budgets in response to aircraft noise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide M Dominoni
- Department of Animal Ecology Netherlands Institute of Ecology Wageningen 6708 PB The Netherlands; Institute of Biodiversity Animal Health and Comparative Medicine University of Glasgow Glasgow G12 8QQ UK
| | - Stefan Greif
- Sensory Ecology Group Max Planck Institute for Ornithology Seewiesen 82319 Germany
| | - Erwin Nemeth
- Communication and Social Behaviour Group Max Planck Institute for Ornithology Seewiesen 82319 Germany; Bird Life Austria Vienna 1070 Austria
| | - Henrik Brumm
- Sensory Ecology Group Max Planck Institute for Ornithology Seewiesen 82319 Germany
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12
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Riebel K. Understanding Sex Differences in Form and Function of Bird Song: The Importance of Studying Song Learning Processes. Front Ecol Evol 2016. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2016.00062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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