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Silber KM, Mohankumar NM, Hefley TJ, Boyle WA. Emigration and survival correlate with different precipitation metrics throughout a grassland songbird's annual cycle. J Wildl Manage 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.22371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Katy M. Silber
- Kansas State University, Division of Biology Manhattan KS 66506 USA
| | | | - Trevor J. Hefley
- Kansas State University, Department of Statistics Manhattan KS 66506 USA
| | - W. Alice Boyle
- Kansas State University, Division of Biology Manhattan KS 66506 USA
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2
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Searcy WA, Soha J, Peters S, Nowicki S. Variation in vocal production learning across songbirds. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200257. [PMID: 34482719 PMCID: PMC8419578 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Songbirds as a whole are considered to be vocal production learners, meaning that they modify the structure of their vocalizations as a result of experience with the vocalizations of others. The more than 4000 species of songbirds, however, vary greatly in crucial features of song development. Variable features include: (i) the normality of the songs of early-deafened birds, reflecting the importance of innate motor programmes in song development; (ii) the normality of the songs of isolation-reared birds, reflecting the combined importance of innate auditory templates and motor programmes; (iii) the degree of selectivity in choice of external models; (iv) the accuracy of copying from external models; and (v) whether or not learning from external models continues into adulthood. We suggest that because of this variability, some songbird species, specifically those that are able to develop songs in the normal range without exposure to external models, can be classified as limited vocal learners. Those species that require exposure to external models to develop songs in the normal range can be considered complex vocal learners. This article is part of the theme issue 'Vocal learning in animals and humans'.
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Affiliation(s)
- William A. Searcy
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124, USA
| | - Jill Soha
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Susan Peters
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Stephen Nowicki
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
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3
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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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4
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Vernes SC, Kriengwatana BP, Beeck VC, Fischer J, Tyack PL, ten Cate C, Janik VM. The multi-dimensional nature of vocal learning. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200236. [PMID: 34482723 PMCID: PMC8419582 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
How learning affects vocalizations is a key question in the study of animal communication and human language. Parallel efforts in birds and humans have taught us much about how vocal learning works on a behavioural and neurobiological level. Subsequent efforts have revealed a variety of cases among mammals in which experience also has a major influence on vocal repertoires. Janik and Slater (Anim. Behav.60, 1-11. (doi:10.1006/anbe.2000.1410)) introduced the distinction between vocal usage and production learning, providing a general framework to categorize how different types of learning influence vocalizations. This idea was built on by Petkov and Jarvis (Front. Evol. Neurosci.4, 12. (doi:10.3389/fnevo.2012.00012)) to emphasize a more continuous distribution between limited and more complex vocal production learners. Yet, with more studies providing empirical data, the limits of the initial frameworks become apparent. We build on these frameworks to refine the categorization of vocal learning in light of advances made since their publication and widespread agreement that vocal learning is not a binary trait. We propose a novel classification system, based on the definitions by Janik and Slater, that deconstructs vocal learning into key dimensions to aid in understanding the mechanisms involved in this complex behaviour. We consider how vocalizations can change without learning, and a usage learning framework that considers context specificity and timing. We identify dimensions of vocal production learning, including the copying of auditory models (convergence/divergence on model sounds, accuracy of copying), the degree of change (type and breadth of learning) and timing (when learning takes place, the length of time it takes and how long it is retained). We consider grey areas of classification and current mechanistic understanding of these behaviours. Our framework identifies research needs and will help to inform neurobiological and evolutionary studies endeavouring to uncover the multi-dimensional nature of vocal learning. This article is part of the theme issue 'Vocal learning in animals and humans'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonja C. Vernes
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
- Neurogenetics of Vocal Communication Group, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Veronika C. Beeck
- Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Julia Fischer
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Centre, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Primate Cognition, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Peter L. Tyack
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Carel ten Cate
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
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5
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Winnicki SK, Munguía SM, Williams EJ, Boyle WA. Social interactions do not drive territory aggregation in a grassland songbird. Ecology 2019; 101:e02927. [PMID: 31713849 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2018] [Revised: 08/09/2019] [Accepted: 09/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the drivers of animal distributions is a fundamental goal of ecology and informs habitat management. The costs and benefits of colonial aggregations in animals are well established, but the factors leading to aggregation in territorial animals remain unclear. Territorial animals might aggregate to facilitate social behavior such as (1) group defense from predators and/or parasites, (2) cooperative care of offspring, (3) extra-pair mating, and/or (4) mitigating costs of extra-pair mating through kin selection. Using experimental and observational methods, we tested predictions of all four hypotheses in a tallgrass prairie in northeast Kansas, United States. Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum) males formed clumps of territories in some parts of the site while leaving other apparently suitable areas unoccupied. Despite substantial sampling effort (653 territories and 223 nests), we found no support for any hypothesized social driver of aggregation, nor evidence that aggregation increases nest success. Our results run counter to previous evidence that conspecific interactions shape territory distributions. These results suggest one of the following alternatives: (1) the benefits of aggregation accrue to different life-history stages, or (2) the benefits of territory aggregation may be too small to detect in short-term studies and/or the consequences of aggregation are sufficiently temporally and spatially variable that they do not always appear to be locally adaptive, perhaps exacerbated by changing landscape contexts and declining population sizes.
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Affiliation(s)
- S K Winnicki
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University, 116 Ackert Hall, Manhattan, Kansas, 66506, USA.,Program for Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology in the School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA
| | - S M Munguía
- Department of Earth and Environment, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street, AHC-5 360, Miami, Florida, 33199, USA
| | - E J Williams
- Denali National Park and Preserve, PO Box 9, Denali Park, Alaska, 99755, USA
| | - W A Boyle
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University, 116 Ackert Hall, Manhattan, Kansas, 66506, USA
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Bowers EK, Jenkins JB, Mueller AJ, Miller KD, Thompson CF, Sakaluk SK. Condition-Dependent Begging Elicits Increased Parental Investment in a Wild Bird Population. Am Nat 2019; 193:725-737. [PMID: 31002567 DOI: 10.1086/702848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
The coevolution of parental supply and offspring demand has long been thought to involve offspring need driving begging and parental care, leaving other hypotheses underexplored. In a population of wild birds, we experimentally tested whether begging serves as a negatively condition-dependent signal of need or a positively condition-dependent signal of quality. Across multiple years, we supplemented nestling house wrens with food shortly after hatching and simultaneously manipulated corticosterone levels to simulate the hunger-induced increase in glucocorticoids thought to mediate begging. This allowed us to also test whether begging is simply a proximate signal of hunger. Days after supplementation ended, food-supplemented nestlings were in better condition than nonsupplemented nestlings and begged for food at an increased rate; their parents, in turn, increased provisioning to a greater extent than parents of nonsupplemented young, as begging positively predicted provisioning. Food-supplemented nestlings therefore attained above-average condition, which predicted their recruitment as breeding adults in the local population. Glucocorticoids increased begging in the short term, but this transient effect depended on satiety. Thus, glucocorticoids promoted begging as a proximate response to hunger, whereas the longer-term changes in nestling condition, begging, and food provisioning suggest that begging ultimately signals offspring quality to elicit increased investment, thereby enhancing offspring survival.
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7
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Soha JA. Song ontogeny in Nuttall's white-crowned sparrows tutored with individual phrases. Behav Processes 2018; 163:24-31. [PMID: 29462650 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2017] [Revised: 12/19/2017] [Accepted: 02/10/2018] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Behavioral ontogeny involves the interaction of innate predispositions and experience. In bird song learning, one approach to exploring this interaction is to examine the songs rehearsed by young birds whose exposure to tutor models has been carefully controlled. Here, I analyzed the rehearsed repertoire in Nuttall's white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys nuttalli) tutored with individual phrases of conspecific and heterospecific songs. The proportions of phrase types rehearsed indicate that the learning biases evident in crystallized song are manifest early on, suggesting preferential memorization rather than preferential retention during attrition. The proportion of songs beginning with whistles increased during song rehearsal and phrase sequence variability decreased, consistent with the idea that innate syntax specifications guide song rehearsal. Single-phrase tutored birds overproduced phrases to the same extent previously observed in birds tutored with full, normal song but retained fewer phrase types in their crystallized repertoires. This suggests that in this subspecies, acquired syntax information does not affect the number of phrase types memorized and rehearsed but does affect repertoire attrition at the end of the sensorimotor phase. I discuss these results with a focus on the action of innate templates in song development and subspecies differences in this process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jill A Soha
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Box 90338, Durham, NC, 27708, United States.
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Mol C, Chen A, Kager RWJ, Ter Haar SM. Prosody in birdsong: A review and perspective. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 81:167-180. [PMID: 28232050 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2016] [Revised: 02/16/2017] [Accepted: 02/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Birdsong shows striking parallels with human speech. Previous comparisons between birdsong and human vocalizations focused on syntax, phonology and phonetics. In this review, we propose that future comparative research should expand its focus to include prosody, i.e. the temporal and melodic properties that extend over larger units of song. To this end, we consider the similarities between birdsong structure and the prosodic hierarchy in human speech and between context-dependent acoustic variations in birdsong and the biological codes in human speech. Moreover, we discuss songbirds' sensitivity to prosody-like acoustic features and the role of such features in song segmentation and song learning in relation to infants' sensitivity to prosody and the role of prosody in early language acquisition. Finally, we make suggestions for future comparative birdsong research, including a framework of how prosody in birdsong can be studied. In particular, we propose to analyze birdsong as a multidimensional signal composed of specific acoustic features, and to assess whether these acoustic features are organized into prosody-like structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carien Mol
- Cognitive Neurobiology and Helmholtz Institute, Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80086, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - Aoju Chen
- Utrecht Institute of Linguistics OTS, Department of Languages, Literature and Communication, Utrecht University, Trans 10, 3512 JK Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - René W J Kager
- Utrecht Institute of Linguistics OTS, Department of Languages, Literature and Communication, Utrecht University, Trans 10, 3512 JK Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Sita M Ter Haar
- Cognitive Neurobiology and Helmholtz Institute, Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80086, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands
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9
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Nelson DA. Geographical variation in song phrases differs with their function in white-crowned sparrow song. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.05.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
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11
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Cardoso GC, Atwell JW. Shared songs are of lower performance in the dark-eyed junco. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2016; 3:160341. [PMID: 27493786 PMCID: PMC4968478 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.160341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2016] [Accepted: 06/29/2016] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Social learning enables the adjustment of behaviour to complex social and ecological tasks, and underlies cultural traditions. Understanding when animals use social learning versus other forms of behavioural development can help explain the dynamics of animal culture. The dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis) is a songbird with weak cultural song traditions because, in addition to learning songs socially, male juncos also invent or improvise novel songs. We compared songs shared by multiple males (i.e. socially learned) with songs recorded from only one male in the population (many of which should be novel) to gain insight into the advantages of social learning versus invention or improvisation. Song types shared by multiple males were on average of lower performance, on aspects of vocal performance that have been implicated in agonistic communication in several species. This was not explained by cultural selection among socially learned songs (e.g. selective learning) because, for shared song types, song performance did not predict how many males shared them. We discuss why social learning does not maximize song performance in juncos, and suggest that some songbirds may add novel songs to culturally inherited repertoires as a means to acquire higher-quality signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gonçalo C. Cardoso
- CIBIO—Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
| | - Jonathan W. Atwell
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, 1001 E. 3rd Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
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12
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruce E. Byers
- Department of Biology University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst MA USA
| | - Michael E. Akresh
- Department of Environmental Conservation University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst MA USA
| | - David I. King
- U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst MA USA
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13
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Soha JA, Poesel A, Nelson DA, Lohr B. Non-Salient Geographic Variation in Birdsong in a Species That Learns by Improvisation. Ethology 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jill A. Soha
- Department of Biology; Duke University; Durham NC USA
| | - Angelika Poesel
- Department of Evolution, Ecology & Organismal Biology; The Ohio State University; Columbus OH USA
| | - Douglas A. Nelson
- Department of Evolution, Ecology & Organismal Biology; The Ohio State University; Columbus OH USA
| | - Bernard Lohr
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Maryland Baltimore County; Baltimore MD USA
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14
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Song divergence between subspecies of reed bunting is more pronounced in singing styles under sexual selection. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.06.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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15
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Soha JA, Peters S. Vocal Learning in Songbirds and Humans: A Retrospective in Honor of Peter Marler. Ethology 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
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ter Haar SM, Kaemper W, Stam K, Levelt CC, ten Cate C. The interplay of within-species perceptual predispositions and experience during song ontogeny in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). Proc Biol Sci 2015; 281:20141860. [PMID: 25320162 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.1860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Vocal acquisition in songbirds and humans shows many similarities, one of which is that both involve a combination of experience and perceptual predispositions. Among languages some speech sounds are shared, while others are not. This could reflect a predisposition in young infants for learning some speech sounds over others, which combines with exposure-based learning. Similarly, in songbirds, some sounds are common across populations, while others are more specific to populations or individuals. We examine whether this is also due to perceptual preferences for certain within-species element types in naive juvenile male birds, and how such preferences interact with exposure to guide subsequent song learning. We show that young zebra finches lacking previous song exposure perceptually prefer songs with more common zebra finch song element types over songs with less common elements. Next, we demonstrate that after subsequent tutoring, birds prefer tutor songs regardless of whether these contain more common or less common elements. In adulthood, birds tutored with more common elements showed a higher song similarity to their tutor song, indicating that the early bias influenced song learning. Our findings help to understand the maintenance of similarities and the presence of differences among birds' songs, their dialects and human languages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sita M ter Haar
- Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL), Leiden University, PO Box 9505, Leiden 2300 RA, The Netherlands Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL), Leiden University, PO Box 9515, Leiden 2300 RA, The Netherlands Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University, c/o LUMC, Postzone C2-S, PO Box 9600, Leiden 2300 RC, The Netherlands
| | - Wiebke Kaemper
- Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL), Leiden University, PO Box 9505, Leiden 2300 RA, The Netherlands
| | - Koen Stam
- Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL), Leiden University, PO Box 9505, Leiden 2300 RA, The Netherlands
| | - Clara C Levelt
- Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL), Leiden University, PO Box 9515, Leiden 2300 RA, The Netherlands Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University, c/o LUMC, Postzone C2-S, PO Box 9600, Leiden 2300 RC, The Netherlands
| | - Carel ten Cate
- Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL), Leiden University, PO Box 9505, Leiden 2300 RA, The Netherlands Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University, c/o LUMC, Postzone C2-S, PO Box 9600, Leiden 2300 RC, The Netherlands
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Dalziell AH, Welbergen JA, Igic B, Magrath RD. Avian vocal mimicry: a unified conceptual framework. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2014; 90:643-68. [PMID: 25079896 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2013] [Revised: 06/10/2014] [Accepted: 06/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Mimicry is a classical example of adaptive signal design. Here, we review the current state of research into vocal mimicry in birds. Avian vocal mimicry is a conspicuous and often spectacular form of animal communication, occurring in many distantly related species. However, the proximate and ultimate causes of vocal mimicry are poorly understood. In the first part of this review, we argue that progress has been impeded by conceptual confusion over what constitutes vocal mimicry. We propose a modified version of Vane-Wright's (1980) widely used definition of mimicry. According to our definition, a vocalisation is mimetic if the behaviour of the receiver changes after perceiving the acoustic resemblance between the mimic and the model, and the behavioural change confers a selective advantage on the mimic. Mimicry is therefore specifically a functional concept where the resemblance between heterospecific sounds is a target of selection. It is distinct from other forms of vocal resemblance including those that are the result of chance or common ancestry, and those that have emerged as a by-product of other processes such as ecological convergence and selection for large song-type repertoires. Thus, our definition provides a general and functionally coherent framework for determining what constitutes vocal mimicry, and takes account of the diversity of vocalisations that incorporate heterospecific sounds. In the second part we assess and revise hypotheses for the evolution of avian vocal mimicry in the light of our new definition. Most of the current evidence is anecdotal, but the diverse contexts and acoustic structures of putative vocal mimicry suggest that mimicry has multiple functions across and within species. There is strong experimental evidence that vocal mimicry can be deceptive, and can facilitate parasitic interactions. There is also increasing support for the use of vocal mimicry in predator defence, although the mechanisms are unclear. Less progress has been made in explaining why many birds incorporate heterospecific sounds into their sexual displays, and in determining whether these vocalisations are functionally mimetic or by-products of sexual selection for other traits such as repertoire size. Overall, this discussion reveals a more central role for vocal mimicry in the behavioural ecology of birds than has previously been appreciated. The final part of this review identifies important areas for future research. Detailed empirical data are needed on individual species, including on the structure of mimetic signals, the contexts in which mimicry is produced, how mimicry is acquired, and the ecological relationships between mimic, model and receiver. At present, there is little information and no consensus about the various costs of vocal mimicry for the protagonists in the mimicry complex. The diversity and complexity of vocal mimicry in birds raises important questions for the study of animal communication and challenges our view of the nature of mimicry itself. Therefore, a better understanding of avian vocal mimicry is essential if we are to account fully for the diversity of animal signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasia H Dalziell
- Division of Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra 0200, Australia
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18
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McKay JL, Maher CR. Relationship between blood mercury levels and components of male song in Nelson's sparrows (Ammodramus nelsoni). ECOTOXICOLOGY (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2012; 21:2391-2397. [PMID: 22945769 DOI: 10.1007/s10646-012-0994-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/21/2012] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Mercury (Hg) adversely affects the health and behavior of exposed wildlife; however, behavioral effects remain largely unknown. Changes in avian singing behavior may affect a male's fitness because song reveals male quality and thus influences female mate choice and male territory-holding ability. Nelson's sparrows (Ammodramus nelsoni) live exclusively on salt marshes and risk high levels of Hg exposure and bioaccumulation. We recorded songs of male Nelson's sparrows at two locations with different Hg exposure to determine if total blood Hg concentration was related to song characteristics, as previously reported for other species. Males with higher blood Hg levels sang at higher maximum tonal frequency, but blood Hg and site location did not influence low tonal frequency and bout duration, contrary to predictions based on other species. Within the contaminated site, Hg levels were related to bouts per minute and gap duration, such that males at that site sang faster songs. Hg influences hormones and alters brain development, raising questions about specific effects on the brains and singing behavior of male Nelson's sparrows.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L McKay
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME 04103, USA.
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Byers BE, Belinsky KL, Bentley RA. Independent cultural evolution of two song traditions in the chestnut-sided warbler. Am Nat 2011; 176:476-89. [PMID: 20712515 DOI: 10.1086/656268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
In oscine songbirds, song phenotypes arise via gene-culture coevolution, in which genetically transmitted learning predispositions and culturally transmitted song forms influence one another's evolution. To assess the outcome of this process in a population of chestnut-sided warblers (Dendroica pensylvanica), we recorded songs at intervals over a 19-year period. These recordings revealed the pattern of cultural evolution of songs in our study area, from which we inferred likely learning predispositions and mechanisms of cultural transmission. We found that the species' two song categories form two distinct cultural traditions, each with its own pattern of change over time. Unaccented-ending songs have undergone continual, rapid turnover of song and element types, consistent with a model of neutral cultural evolution. Accented-ending songs, in contrast, persisted virtually unchanged for the entire study period, with extraordinarily constant song form and only one appearance of a new song type. Our results indicate that in songbirds, multiple independent cultural traditions and probably multiple independent learning predispositions can evolve concurrently, especially when different signal classes have become specialized for different communicative functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruce E Byers
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 01003, USA.
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