1
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Liao CC, Magrath RD, Manser MB, Farine DR. The relative contribution of acoustic signals versus movement cues in group coordination and collective decision-making. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230184. [PMID: 38768199 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
To benefit from group living, individuals need to maintain cohesion and coordinate their activities. Effective communication thus becomes critical, facilitating rapid coordination of behaviours and reducing consensus costs when group members have differing needs and information. In many bird and mammal species, collective decisions rely on acoustic signals in some contexts but on movement cues in others. Yet, to date, there is no clear conceptual framework that predicts when decisions should evolve to be based on acoustic signals versus movement cues. Here, we first review how acoustic signals and movement cues are used for coordinating activities. We then outline how information masking, discrimination ability (Weber's Law) and encoding limitations, as well as trade-offs between these, can identify which types of collective behaviours likely rely on acoustic signals or movement cues. Specifically, our framework proposes that behaviours involving the timing of events or expression of specific actions should rely more on acoustic signals, whereas decisions involving complex choices with multiple options (e.g. direction and destination) should generally use movement cues because sounds are more vulnerable to information masking and Weber's Law effects. We then discuss potential future avenues of enquiry, including multimodal communication and collective decision-making by mixed-species animal groups. This article is part of the theme issue 'The power of sound: unravelling how acoustic communication shapes group dynamic'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun-Chieh Liao
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University , Canberra, ACT , 2600, Australia
| | - Robert D Magrath
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University , Canberra, ACT , 2600, Australia
| | - Marta B Manser
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich , Zürich , 8057, Switzerland
| | - Damien R Farine
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University , Canberra, ACT , 2600, Australia
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich , Zürich , 8057, Switzerland
- Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior , Radolfzell , 78315, Germany
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2
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Xie B, Brask JB, Dabelsteen T, Briefer EF. Exploring the role of vocalizations in regulating group dynamics. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230183. [PMID: 38768197 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0183] [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: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Because of the diverging needs of individuals, group life can lead to disputes and competition, but it also has many advantages, such as reduced predation risk, information sharing and increased hunting success. Social animals have to maintain group cohesion and need to synchronize activities, such as foraging, resting, social interactions and movements, in order to thrive in groups. Acoustic signals are highly relevant for social dynamics, some because they are long-ranging and others because they are short-ranging, which may serve important within-group functions. However, although there has been an increase in studies concentrating on acoustic communication within groups in the past decade, many aspects of how vocalizations relate to group dynamics are still poorly understood. The aim of this review is to present an overview of our current knowledge on the role of vocalizations in regulating social group dynamics, identify knowledge gaps and recommend potential future research directions. We review the role that vocalizations play in (i) collective movement, (ii) separation risk and cohesion maintenance, (iii) fission-fusion dynamics, and (iv) social networks. We recommend that future studies aim to increase the diversity of studied species and strengthen the integration of state-of-the-art tools to study social dynamics and acoustic signals. This article is part of the theme issue 'The power of sound: unravelling how acoustic communication shapes group dynamics'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bing Xie
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Section for Ecology and Evolution, University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark
| | - Josefine B Brask
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Section for Ecology and Evolution, University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark
| | - Torben Dabelsteen
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Section for Ecology and Evolution, University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark
| | - Elodie F Briefer
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Section for Ecology and Evolution, University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark
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3
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Pardo MA, Fristrup K, Lolchuragi DS, Poole JH, Granli P, Moss C, Douglas-Hamilton I, Wittemyer G. African elephants address one another with individually specific name-like calls. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:1353-1364. [PMID: 38858512 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02420-w] [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: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/12/2024]
Abstract
Personal names are a universal feature of human language, yet few analogues exist in other species. While dolphins and parrots address conspecifics by imitating the calls of the addressee, human names are not imitations of the sounds typically made by the named individual. Labelling objects or individuals without relying on imitation of the sounds made by the referent radically expands the expressive power of language. Thus, if non-imitative name analogues were found in other species, this could have important implications for our understanding of language evolution. Here we present evidence that wild African elephants address one another with individually specific calls, probably without relying on imitation of the receiver. We used machine learning to demonstrate that the receiver of a call could be predicted from the call's acoustic structure, regardless of how similar the call was to the receiver's vocalizations. Moreover, elephants differentially responded to playbacks of calls originally addressed to them relative to calls addressed to a different individual. Our findings offer evidence for individual addressing of conspecifics in elephants. They further suggest that, unlike other non-human animals, elephants probably do not rely on imitation of the receiver's calls to address one another.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A Pardo
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
| | - Kurt Fristrup
- Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | | | | | | | - Cynthia Moss
- Amboseli Elephant Research Project, Nairobi, Kenya
| | | | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
- Save The Elephants, Nairobi, Kenya
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4
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Lefeuvre M, Rutkowska J. Zebra finch song parameters are affected by the breeding status of the male, but not temperature variability. Physiol Behav 2024; 281:114581. [PMID: 38734358 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2024.114581] [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] [Received: 03/11/2024] [Revised: 05/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024]
Abstract
Bird song is a crucial feature for mate choice and reproduction. Song can potentially communicate information related to the quality of the mate, through song complexity, structure or finer changes in syllable characteristics. It has been shown in zebra finches that those characteristics can be affected by various factors including motivation, hormone levels or extreme temperature. However, although the literature on zebra finch song is substantial, some factors have been neglected. In this paper, we recorded male zebra finches in two breeding contexts (before and after pairing) and in two ambient temperature conditions (stable and variable) to see how those factors could influence song production. We found strong differences between the two breeding contexts: compared to their song before pairing, males that were paired had lower song rate, syllable consistency, frequency and entropy, while surprisingly the amplitude of their syllables increased. Temperature variability had an impact on the extent of these differences, but did not directly affect the song parameters that we measured. Our results describe for the first time how breeding status and temperature variability can affect zebra finch song, and give some new insights into the subtleties of the acoustic communication of this model species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maëlle Lefeuvre
- Jagiellonian University, Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences, Cracow, Poland; Jagiellonian University, Faculty of Biology, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Cracow, Poland.
| | - Joanna Rutkowska
- Jagiellonian University, Faculty of Biology, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Cracow, Poland
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Griebel U, Oller DK. From emotional signals to symbols. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1135288. [PMID: 38629043 PMCID: PMC11020113 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1135288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
The quest for the origins of language is a diverse enterprise, where research from a variety of disciplines brings area-specific ideas and area-specific terminology to bear. This variety often results in misunderstandings and misconceptions about communication in various species. In the present paper, we argue for focus on emotional systems as the primary motivators for social signals in animals in general. This focus can help resolve discrepancies of interpretation among different areas of inquiry and can illuminate distinctions among different social signals as well as their phylogenetic origins in animals and especially in humans. We advocate, following Jaak Panksepp, a view wherein the Seeking System, the endogenous tendency to search and explore, is the most fundamental emotional motivation. The Seeking System forms the basis for flexible, voluntary, and exploratory control of motor systems and makes much of learning possible. The relative lack of vocal learning and expression in nonhuman primates contrasted with extensive vocal learning and expression in humans began, we propose, with the evolution in ancient hominins of a necessary foundation for the many subsequent capabilities required for language. That foundation was, according to the reasoning, naturally selected in the form of neurological connections between the Seeking System and mechanisms of glottal/phonatory control. The new connections allowed ancient hominins to develop flexible, endogenous vocal fitness signals produced at very high rates and including large numbers of discrete syllables, recombinable to form syllable combinations with many prosodic variations. The increasing sociality of hominins supported evolution of massive expansion in the utilization of these flexible vocal forms to allow development of words and sentences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ulrike Griebel
- School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, United States
- The Institute for Intelligent Systems, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, United States
- The Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - D. Kimbrough Oller
- School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, United States
- The Institute for Intelligent Systems, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, United States
- The Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Klosterneuburg, Austria
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6
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Adams CB, Papeş M, Price CA, Freeberg TM. Influence of social and physical environmental variation on antipredator behavior in mixed-species parid flocks. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0295910. [PMID: 38128009 PMCID: PMC10735029 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Carolina chickadees (Poecile carolinensis) and tufted titmice (Baeolophus bicolor) regularly form flocks with multiple species through the winter months, including white-breasted nuthatches (Sitta carolinensis). Earlier studies found that behavior of both chickadees and titmice was sensitive to mixed-species flock composition. Little is known about the influence of background noise level and vegetation density on the antipredator behaviors of individuals within these flocks, however. We tested for the effects of vegetation density, traffic noise, and flock composition (conspecific number, flock diversity, and flock size) on antipredator behavioral responses following an alarm call playback (Study 1) and an owl model presentation (Study 2) at feeders. We recorded background traffic noise and performed lidar scans to quantify vegetation density at each site. After a feeder had been stocked with seed and a flock was present, we recorded calls produced, and we identified flock composition metrics. We coded seed-taking latency, call latency, mob latency, and mob duration following the respective stimulus presentation and tested for effects of flock composition metrics, vegetation density, and background noise on these responses. For the alarm call playback study, flock composition drove behaviors in chickadees and titmice, and vegetation density drove behaviors in chickadees and nuthatches. For the owl model study, conspecific number predicted behavior in chickadees, and mob duration was predicted by nuthatch number. The results reveal individual sensitivity to group composition in anti-predatory and foraging behavior in simulated risky contexts. Additionally, our data suggest that the modality of perceived simulated risk (acoustic vs. visual) and the density of vegetation influence behavior in these groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colton B. Adams
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States of America
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States of America
| | - Monica Papeş
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States of America
- National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States of America
| | - Charles A. Price
- National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States of America
| | - Todd M. Freeberg
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States of America
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States of America
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7
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Amphaeris J, Blumstein DT, Shannon G, Tenbrink T, Kershenbaum A. A multifaceted framework to establish the presence of meaning in non-human communication. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2023; 98:1887-1909. [PMID: 37340613 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12989] [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] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Revised: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023]
Abstract
Does non-human communication, like language, involve meaning? This question guides our focus through an interdisciplinary review of the theories and terminology used to study meaning across disciplines and species. Until now, it has been difficult to apply the concept of meaning to communication in non-humans. This is partly because of the varied approaches to the study of meaning. Additionally, while there is a scholarly acknowledgement of potential meaning in non-human cognition, there is also scepticism when the topic of communication arises. We organise some of the key literature into a coherent framework that can bridge disciplines and species, to ensure that aspects of meaning are accurately and fairly compared. We clarify the growing view in the literature that, rather than requiring multiple definitions or being split into different types, meaning is a multifaceted yet still unified concept. In so doing, we propose that meaning is an umbrella term. Meaning cannot be summed up with a short definition or list of features, but involves multiple complexities that are outlined in our framework. Specifically, three global facets are needed to describe meaning: a Signal Meaning Facet, an Interactant Meaning Facet, and a Resultant Meaning Facet. Most importantly, we show that such analyses are possible to apply as much to non-humans as to humans. We also emphasise that meaning nuances differ among non-human species, making a dichotomous approach to meaning questionable. Instead, we show that a multifaceted approach to meaning establishes how meaning appears within highly diverse examples of non-human communication, in ways consistent with the phenomenon's presence in human non-verbal communication and language(s). Therefore, without further recourse to 'functional' approaches that circumvent the critical question of whether any non-human meaning exists, we show that the concept of meaning is suitable for evolutionary biologists, behavioural ecologists, and others to study, to establish exactly which species exhibit meaning in their communication and in what ways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenny Amphaeris
- School of Arts, Culture, and Language, Bangor University, College Road, Bangor, LL57 2DG, UK
| | - Daniel T Blumstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, 621 Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1606, USA
| | - Graeme Shannon
- School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, College Road, Bangor, LL57 2DG, UK
| | - Thora Tenbrink
- School of Arts, Culture, and Language, Bangor University, College Road, Bangor, LL57 2DG, UK
| | - Arik Kershenbaum
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
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8
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Déaux EC, Bonneaud C, Baumeyer A, Zuberbühler K. Do chimpanzee food calls bias listeners toward novel items? Am J Primatol 2023:e23498. [PMID: 37113057 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Revised: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
Social learning is beneficial in almost every domain of a social animal's life, but it is particularly important in the context of predation and foraging. In both contexts, social animals tend to produce acoustically distinct vocalizations, alarms, and food calls, which have remained somewhat of an evolutionary conundrum as they appear to be costly for the signaller. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that food calls function to direct others toward novel food items, using a playback experiment on a group of chimpanzees. We showed chimpanzees novel (plausibly edible) items while simultaneously playing either conspecific food calls or acoustically similar greeting calls as a control. We found that individuals responded by staying longer near items previously associated with food calls even in the absence of these vocalizations, and peered more at these items compared with the control items, provided no conspecifics were nearby. We also found that once chimpanzees had access to both item types, they interacted more with the one previously associated with food calls than the control items. However, we found no evidence of social learning per se. Given these effects, we propose that food calls may gate and thus facilitate social learning by directing listeners' attention to new feeding opportunities, which if integrated with additional cues could ultimately lead to new food preferences within social groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eloïse C Déaux
- Institue of Biology, University of Neuchatel, Neuchatel, Switzerland
| | - Clémence Bonneaud
- Institue of Biology, University of Neuchatel, Neuchatel, Switzerland
| | | | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- Institue of Biology, University of Neuchatel, Neuchatel, Switzerland
- School of Psychology and Neurosciences, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, UK
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9
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Shackleton K, Balfour NJ, Al Toufailia H, James E, Ratnieks FL. Honey bee waggle dances facilitate shorter foraging distances and increased foraging aggregation. Anim Behav 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/25/2023]
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10
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Meaux E, He C, Zeng X, He R, Jiang A, Goodale E. Audience effects in a group‐living bird: How contact call rate is affected by vegetation and group size and composition. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9909. [PMID: 36969923 PMCID: PMC10037432 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Revised: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Contact calling is a ubiquitous behavior of group‐living animals. Yet in birds, beyond a general connection with group cohesion, its precise function is not well‐understood, nor is it clear what stimulates changes in contact call rate. In an aviary experiment, we asked whether Swinhoe's White‐eyes, Zosterops simplex, would regulate their own production of contact calls to maintain a specific rate at the group level. Specifically, we hypothesized that the sudden cessation of the group‐level call rate could indicate an immediate predation threat, and we predicted that birds in smaller groups would call more to maintain a high call rate. We also investigated the effects of environmental characteristics, such as vegetation density, and social stimuli, such as the presence of certain individuals, on the rate of three different contact call types. To calculate mean individual‐level rates, we measured the group‐level rate and divided it by the number of birds in the aviary. We found that the individual‐level rate of the most common call types increased with a greater group size, the opposite pattern to what would be expected if birds were maintaining a specific group‐level rate. Vegetation density did not affect any call rate. However, individual‐level rates of all call types decreased when birds were in subgroups with individuals of differing dominance status, and the rate of some call types increased when birds were with affiliated individuals. Our results do not support the hypothesis that contact calls are related to habitat structure or immediate predation risk. Rather, they appear to have a social function, used for communication within or between groups depending on the call type. Increases in call rates could recruit affiliated individuals, whereas subordinates could withhold calls so that dominants are unable to locate them, leading to fluctuations in contact calling in different social contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Estelle Meaux
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and ConservationCollege of Forestry, Guangxi UniversityNanningGuangxiChina
| | - Chao He
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and ConservationCollege of Forestry, Guangxi UniversityNanningGuangxiChina
| | - Xiaolei Zeng
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and ConservationCollege of Forestry, Guangxi UniversityNanningGuangxiChina
| | - Ruchuan He
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and ConservationCollege of Forestry, Guangxi UniversityNanningGuangxiChina
| | - Aiwu Jiang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and ConservationCollege of Forestry, Guangxi UniversityNanningGuangxiChina
| | - Eben Goodale
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and ConservationCollege of Forestry, Guangxi UniversityNanningGuangxiChina
- Department of Health and Environmental ScienceXi'an Jiaotong‐Liverpool UniversitySuzhouJiangsuChina
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11
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Barlow DR, Klinck H, Ponirakis D, Branch TA, Torres LG. Environmental conditions and marine heatwaves influence blue whale foraging and reproductive effort. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9770. [PMID: 36861024 PMCID: PMC9968652 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9770] [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: 09/28/2022] [Revised: 01/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 03/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Animal behavior is motivated by the fundamental need to feed and reproduce, and these behaviors can be inferred from spatiotemporal variations in biological signals such as vocalizations. Yet, linking foraging and reproductive effort to environmental drivers can be challenging for wide-ranging predator species. Blue whales are acoustically active marine predators that produce two distinct vocalizations: song and D calls. We examined environmental correlates of these vocalizations using continuous recordings from five hydrophones in the South Taranaki Bight region of Aotearoa New Zealand to investigate call behavior relative to ocean conditions and infer life history patterns. D calls were strongly correlated with oceanographic drivers of upwelling in spring and summer, indicating associations with foraging effort. In contrast, song displayed a highly seasonal pattern with peak intensity in fall, which aligned with the timing of conception inferred from whaling records. Finally, during a marine heatwave, reduced foraging (inferred from D calls) was followed by lower reproductive effort (inferred from song intensity).
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Affiliation(s)
- Dawn R. Barlow
- Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Lab, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Marine Mammal InstituteOregon State UniversityNewportOregonUSA
| | - Holger Klinck
- K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation BioacousticsCornell UniversityIthacaNew YorkUSA,Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Marine Mammal InstituteOregon State UniversityNewportOregonUSA
| | - Dimitri Ponirakis
- K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation BioacousticsCornell UniversityIthacaNew YorkUSA
| | - Trevor A. Branch
- School of Aquatic and Fisheries SciencesUniversity of WashingtonSeattleWashingtonUSA
| | - Leigh G. Torres
- Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Lab, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Marine Mammal InstituteOregon State UniversityNewportOregonUSA
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12
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Champeil-Potokar G, Kreichati L, Rampin O, Denis I, Darcel N, Bombail V. Rats chirp with their mouth full: During an experimental meal, adult male Wistar rats emitted flat ultrasonic vocalisations upon feeding. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1089631. [PMID: 36815182 PMCID: PMC9939450 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1089631] [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: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Rats produce ultrasonic vocalisation (USVs) that are classified into different types, based on their average frequency. In pups 40 kHz USVs are produced upon social isolation, and in adults USVs can be associated with affective states and specific behavioural patterns (i.e., appetitive 50 kHz vocalisations of frequency range 30-100 kHz, or aversive 20 kHz vocalisations of frequency range 18-30 kHz). Generally, USVs of frequency around 50 kHz are linked to activation of brain reward pathways, during anticipation or experience of rewarding stimuli. Previous studies have described several subtypes of 50 kHz USVs, according to their acoustic properties. We asked whether USV production might be relevant to feeding behaviour. We recorded USVs from 14-week old adult rats during the satisfaction of a physiological need: refeeding following mild food deprivation (17 h overnight fast). We analysed a 10 min consummatory phase, preceded by a 10 min anticipatory phase, as a control for the experimental meal. Following identification of USV subtypes, we applied frequentist and Bayesian (Monte Carlo shuffling) statistical analyses to investigate the relationship between USV emission and rat behaviour. We found that it was not total USV quantity that varied in response to food consumption, but the subtype of USV produced. Most importantly we found that rats who feed tend to produce flat USVs of a frequency around 40 kHz. Beyond the previous reports of circumstantial association feeding-flat USVs, our observation directly correlate vocalisation and ingestive behaviour. Our study highlights that, in addition to quantification of the production rate, study of USV subtypes might inform us further on rat consummatory behaviour. Since this vocalisation behaviour can have a communicative purpose, those findings also illustrate nutrition studies might benefit from considering the possible social dimension of feeding behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaelle Champeil-Potokar
- Physiology of Nutrition and Feeding Behaviour Unit (PNCA, UMR 0914), University of Paris-Saclay-AgroParisTech-National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), Paris, France
| | - Léa Kreichati
- Physiology of Nutrition and Feeding Behaviour Unit (PNCA, UMR 0914), University of Paris-Saclay-AgroParisTech-National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), Paris, France
| | - Olivier Rampin
- Physiology of Nutrition and Feeding Behaviour Unit (PNCA, UMR 0914), University of Paris-Saclay-AgroParisTech-National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), Paris, France
| | - Isabelle Denis
- Physiology of Nutrition and Feeding Behaviour Unit (PNCA, UMR 0914), University of Paris-Saclay-AgroParisTech-National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), Paris, France
| | - Nicolas Darcel
- Physiology of Nutrition and Feeding Behaviour Unit (PNCA, UMR 0914), University of Paris-Saclay-AgroParisTech-National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), Paris, France
| | - Vincent Bombail
- Physiology of Nutrition and Feeding Behaviour Unit (PNCA, UMR 0914), University of Paris-Saclay-AgroParisTech-National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), Paris, France.,Animal Behaviour and Welfare Group, Scotland's Rural College, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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13
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Pereira E, Nääs IDA, Ivale AH, Garcia RG, Lima NDDS, Pereira DF. Energy Assessment from Broiler Chicks' Vocalization Might Help Improve Welfare and Production. Animals (Basel) 2022; 13:ani13010015. [PMID: 36611628 PMCID: PMC9818009 DOI: 10.3390/ani13010015] [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: 10/25/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Vocalization seems to be a viable source of signal for assessing broiler welfare. However, it may require an understanding of the birds' signals, both quantitatively and qualitatively. The delivery of calls with a specific set of acoustic features must be understood to assess the broiler's well-being. The present study aimed to analyze broiler chick vocalization through the sounds emitted during social isolation and understand what would be the flock size where the chicks present the smallest energy loss in vocalizing. The experiments were carried out during the first 3 days of growth, and during the trial, chicks received feed and water ad libitum. A total of 30 1-day-old chicks Cobb® breed were acquired at a commercial hatching unit. The birds were tested from 1 to 3 days old. A semi-anechoic chamber was used to record the vocalization with a unidirectional microphone connected to a digital recorder. We placed a group of 15 randomly chosen chicks inside the chamber and recorded the peeping sound, and the assessment was conducted four times with randomly chosen birds. We recorded the vocalization for 2 min and removed the birds sequentially stepwise until only one bird was left inside the semi-anechoic chamber. Each audio signal recorded during the 40 s was chosen randomly for signal extraction and analysis. Fast Fourier transform (FFT) was used to extract the acoustic features and the energy emitted during the vocalization. Using data mining, we compared three classification models to predict the rearing condition (classes distress and normal). The results show that birds' vocalization differed when isolated and in a group. Results also indicate that the energy spent in vocalizing varies depending on the size of the flock. When isolated, the chicks emit a high-intensity sound, "alarm call", which uses high energy. In contrast, they spent less energy when flocked in a group, indicating good well-being when the flock was 15 chicks. The weight of birds influenced the amount of signal energy. We also found that the most effective classifier model was the Random Forest, with an accuracy of 85.71%, kappa of 0.73, and cross-entropy of 0.2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica Pereira
- College of Agricultural Engineering, State University of Campinas, Campinas 13083-875, SP, Brazil
| | - Irenilza de Alencar Nääs
- Graduate Program in Production Engineering, Universidade Paulista, São Paulo 04026-002, SP, Brazil
- Correspondence:
| | - André Henrique Ivale
- Graduate Program in Production Engineering, Universidade Paulista, São Paulo 04026-002, SP, Brazil
| | - Rodrigo Garófallo Garcia
- College of Agrarian Sciences, The Federal University of Grande Dourados, Dourados 79804-970, MS, Brazil
| | | | - Danilo Florentino Pereira
- Department of Management, Development and Technology, School of Sciences and Engineering, São Paulo State University, Tupã 17602-496, SP, Brazil
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14
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Social information use in migratory decision-making depends upon conspecific state. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03229-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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15
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Quintero F, Touitou S, Magris M, Zuberbühler K. The Evolution of Food Calls: Vocal Behaviour of Sooty Mangabeys in the Presence of Food. Front Psychol 2022; 13:897318. [PMID: 35846626 PMCID: PMC9282157 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.897318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The two main theories of food-associated calls in animals propose functions either in cooperative recruitment or competitive spacing. However, not all social animals produce food calls and it is largely unclear under what circumstances this call type evolves. Sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys) do not have food calls, but they frequently produce grunts during foraging, their most common vocalisation. We found that grunt rates were significantly higher when subjects were foraging in the group’s periphery and with small audiences, in line with the cooperative recruitment hypothesis. In a subsequent field experiment we presented highly desired food items and found that discovering individuals called, unless harassed by competitors, but that the calls never attracted others, confirming that the grunts do not convey any information referential to food. Our data thus suggest that the evolution of cooperative food calling is a two-step process, starting with increased motivation to vocalise in the feeding context, followed by the evolution of acoustic variants derived from context-general contact calls. This evolutionary transition may only occur in species that feed on clumped, high-quality resources where social feeding is competitive, a condition not met in sooty mangabeys.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fredy Quintero
- Department of Comparative Cognition, Institute of Biology, Université de Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
- Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, Taï Monkey Project, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
- *Correspondence: Fredy Quintero,
| | - Sonia Touitou
- Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, Taï Monkey Project, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
| | - Martina Magris
- Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, Taï Monkey Project, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
| | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- Department of Comparative Cognition, Institute of Biology, Université de Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
- Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, Taï Monkey Project, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
- School of Psychology and Neurosciences, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
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16
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Hamilton RA, Gazda SK, King SL, Stakhammar J, Connor IC. Bottlenose dolphin communication during a role-specialized group foraging task. Behav Processes 2022; 200:104691. [PMID: 35750114 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2022.104691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Revised: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
A division of labor with role specialization is defined as individuals specializing in a subtask during repetitions of a group task. While this behavior is ubiquitous among humans, there are only four candidates found among non-eusocial mammals: lions, mice, chimpanzees, and bottlenose dolphins. Bottlenose dolphins in the Cedar Keys, Florida, engage in role specialized "driver-barrier feeding", where a "driver" dolphin herds mullet towards "barrier" dolphins. Thus trapped, the mullet leap out of the water where the dolphins catch them in air. To investigate whether dolphins use acoustic cues or signals to coordinate this behavior, vocalizations were recorded before and during driver-barrier feeding. Results of fine-scale audio and video analysis during 81 events by 7 different driver individuals suggest that barrier animals coordinate movements during these events by cueing on the driver's echolocation. Analyses of dolphin whistle occurrence before driving events versus another foraging technique, which does not involve role specialization, revealed significantly higher whistle production immediately prior to driver-barrier events. Possible whistle functions include signaling motivation, recruiting individuals to participate, and/or behavioral coordination. While the use of cues and signals is common in humans completing role-specialized tasks, this is the first study to investigate the use of vocalizations in the coordination of a role-specialized behavior in a non-human mammal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca A Hamilton
- Biology Department, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, MA, USA.
| | | | - Stephanie L King
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
| | | | - Ichard C Connor
- Biology Department, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, MA, USA
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17
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Bonobos assign meaning to food calls based on caller food preferences. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0267574. [PMID: 35704564 PMCID: PMC9200338 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0267574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Human communication relies heavily on pragmatic competence. Speech utterances are often ambiguous requiring listeners to use interaction history, shared knowledge, presumed intention and other contextual variables to make inferences about a speaker’s meaning. To probe the evolutionary origins of pragmatic competence we tested whether bonobos (Pan paniscus) can make inferences about the type of food available from listening to other group members’ food calls. We trained two group members to either prefer blue or pink chow and demonstrated these preferences to observers. A third group member served as an untrained control. In playback experiments, we broadcast the food calls of a trained demonstrator and the untrained group member to investigate whether subjects were able to infer which coloured chow was most likely available, based on the callers’ trained food preferences or lack thereof. As predicted, when hearing the untrained group member’s calls, subjects did not exhibit a bias, whereas they responded with a significant foraging bias when hearing a trained group member’s calls. These findings suggest that bonobos may take into account the idiosyncratic food preferences of others, although subjects probably differed in what they remembered.
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18
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Context-dependent and seasonal fluctuation in bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) vocalizations. Anim Cogn 2022; 25:1381-1392. [PMID: 35394264 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01620-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2022] [Revised: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Abstract
A fundamental question in animal behaviour is the role of vocal communication in the regulation of social interactions in species that organise themselves into social groups. Context dependence and seasonality in vocalizations are present in the communication of many species, although very little research has addressed this dependence in marine mammals. The study presented here examined variations in the rate at which free-ranging dyads of bottlenose dolphins emit social-signals in an effort to better understand the relationship between vocal communication and social context. The results demonstrate that changes in the social-signal production in bottlenose dolphins are related to the sex of the partner, mating season and social affiliation between the components of the dyad. In a context of foraging behaviour on the same feeding ground, mixed (male-female) dyads were found to emit more pulsed burst sounds during the mating season. Another relevant aspect of the study seems to be the greater production of agonistic social-signals in the dyads formed by individuals with a lower degree of social affiliation. Overall, this study confirms a clear relationship between dyad composition and context-specific social-signals that could reflect the motivational state of individuals linked to seasonal changes in vocal behaviour.
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19
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Bouchard A, Zuberbühler K. Male chimpanzees communicate to mediate competition and cooperation during feeding. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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20
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Vocal recognition of distance calls in a group-living basal bird: the greylag goose, Anser anser. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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21
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Gaunet F, Savalli C, Legou T. An exploratory study on dogs’ vocalizations towards their owner and food in an unsolvable task. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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22
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23
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Steinfath E, Palacios-Muñoz A, Rottschäfer JR, Yuezak D, Clemens J. Fast and accurate annotation of acoustic signals with deep neural networks. eLife 2021; 10:e68837. [PMID: 34723794 PMCID: PMC8560090 DOI: 10.7554/elife.68837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Acoustic signals serve communication within and across species throughout the animal kingdom. Studying the genetics, evolution, and neurobiology of acoustic communication requires annotating acoustic signals: segmenting and identifying individual acoustic elements like syllables or sound pulses. To be useful, annotations need to be accurate, robust to noise, and fast. We here introduce DeepAudioSegmenter (DAS), a method that annotates acoustic signals across species based on a deep-learning derived hierarchical presentation of sound. We demonstrate the accuracy, robustness, and speed of DAS using acoustic signals with diverse characteristics from insects, birds, and mammals. DAS comes with a graphical user interface for annotating song, training the network, and for generating and proofreading annotations. The method can be trained to annotate signals from new species with little manual annotation and can be combined with unsupervised methods to discover novel signal types. DAS annotates song with high throughput and low latency for experimental interventions in realtime. Overall, DAS is a universal, versatile, and accessible tool for annotating acoustic communication signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elsa Steinfath
- European Neuroscience Institute - A Joint Initiative of the University Medical Center Göttingen and the Max-Planck-SocietyGöttingenGermany
- International Max Planck Research School and Göttingen Graduate School for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences (GGNB) at the University of GöttingenGöttingenGermany
| | - Adrian Palacios-Muñoz
- European Neuroscience Institute - A Joint Initiative of the University Medical Center Göttingen and the Max-Planck-SocietyGöttingenGermany
- International Max Planck Research School and Göttingen Graduate School for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences (GGNB) at the University of GöttingenGöttingenGermany
| | - Julian R Rottschäfer
- European Neuroscience Institute - A Joint Initiative of the University Medical Center Göttingen and the Max-Planck-SocietyGöttingenGermany
- International Max Planck Research School and Göttingen Graduate School for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences (GGNB) at the University of GöttingenGöttingenGermany
| | - Deniz Yuezak
- European Neuroscience Institute - A Joint Initiative of the University Medical Center Göttingen and the Max-Planck-SocietyGöttingenGermany
- International Max Planck Research School and Göttingen Graduate School for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences (GGNB) at the University of GöttingenGöttingenGermany
| | - Jan Clemens
- European Neuroscience Institute - A Joint Initiative of the University Medical Center Göttingen and the Max-Planck-SocietyGöttingenGermany
- Bernstein Center for Computational NeuroscienceGöttingenGermany
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24
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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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25
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Iyasere OS, Oyeniran VJ, Durosaro SO, Fafiolu AO, Ojelade OC, Ajayi OD. Comparative study on stress-induced hyperthermia, level of fear and behaviour of two genetically selected strains of domestic chicks to playback calls. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105465] [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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26
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Playbacks of food-associated calls attract chimpanzees towards known food patches in a captive setting. Primates 2021; 62:905-918. [PMID: 34351528 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-021-00936-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Food-associated calls have received much research attention due to their potential to refer to discovered food in a word-like manner. Studies have found that in many species, food-associated calls attract receivers to the food patch, suggesting these calls play roles in food sharing, cooperation and competition. Additionally, in various species, these calls play a role that has received much less attention: mediating social interactions among foragers that are already nearby or within the food patch, independently of whether they attract outside foragers. In order to increase understanding of the function of the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) food-associated rough grunt, we conducted captive playback studies testing whether rough grunt playbacks attract, repel or have no effect on the proximity of foragers already familiarized with the presence of food. We tested how acoustic playbacks of rough grunts (or control calls) from one of two known, identical feeding sites affected receivers' approach and feeding behaviors. More often than expected, participants first approached the feeding site from which rough grunts, but not control calls, were broadcast. However, neither condition increased the likelihood that participants fed first from a given site. Our results support the hypothesis that rough grunts elicit an approach response in receivers, while providing no evidence that they repel. In addition, our study provides evidence that receivers may approach rough grunts even if they do not intend to feed. We discuss the information rough grunts may convey to receivers beyond information about discovered food and the potential benefits signalers may gain from this calling behavior.
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27
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Romagosa M, Pérez-Jorge S, Cascão I, Mouriño H, Lehodey P, Pereira A, Marques TA, Matias L, Silva MA. Food talk: 40-Hz fin whale calls are associated with prey biomass. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20211156. [PMID: 34229495 PMCID: PMC8261222 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals use varied acoustic signals that play critical roles in their lives. Understanding the function of these signals may inform about key life-history processes relevant for conservation. In the case of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), that produce different call types associated with different behaviours, several hypotheses have emerged regarding call function, but the topic still remains in its infancy. Here, we investigate the potential function of two fin whale vocalizations, the song-forming 20-Hz call and the 40-Hz call, by examining their production in relation to season, year and prey biomass. Our results showed that the production of 20-Hz calls was strongly influenced by season, with a clear peak during the breeding months, and secondarily by year, likely due to changes in whale abundance. These results support the reproductive function of the 20-Hz song used as an acoustic display. Conversely, season and year had no effect on variation in 40-Hz calling rates, but prey biomass did. This is the first study linking 40-Hz call activity to prey biomass, supporting the previously suggested food-associated function of this call. Understanding the functions of animal signals can help identifying functional habitats and predict the negative effects of human activities with important implications for conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam Romagosa
- Okeanos – Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar, Universidade dos Açores & IMAR – Instituto do Mar, Horta, Portugal
| | - Sergi Pérez-Jorge
- Okeanos – Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar, Universidade dos Açores & IMAR – Instituto do Mar, Horta, Portugal
| | - Irma Cascão
- Okeanos – Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar, Universidade dos Açores & IMAR – Instituto do Mar, Horta, Portugal
| | - Helena Mouriño
- Centro de Matemática, Aplicações Fundamentais e Investigação Operacional, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Patrick Lehodey
- Collecte Localisation Satellite (CLS), Ramonville St Agne, France
| | - Andreia Pereira
- Instituto Dom Luiz (IDL), Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Tiago A. Marques
- Centro de Estatística e Aplicações, Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
- Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Luís Matias
- Instituto Dom Luiz (IDL), Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Mónica A. Silva
- Okeanos – Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar, Universidade dos Açores & IMAR – Instituto do Mar, Horta, Portugal
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Miglietta S, Bardino G, Sotto-Mayor A, Galli AS, Meulman E, Breuer T, Fuh T, Masi S. Absence of specific individuals and high food abundance elicit food calls in wild western gorillas. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-021-03027-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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29
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Guo D, Ding J, Liu H, Zhou L, Feng J, Luo B, Liu Y. Social calls influence the foraging behavior in wild big-footed myotis. Front Zool 2021; 18:3. [PMID: 33413435 PMCID: PMC7791762 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-020-00384-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Why a variety of social animals emit foraging-associated calls during group foraging remains an open question. These vocalizations may be used to recruit conspecifics to food patches (i.e. food advertisement hypothesis) or defend food resources against competitors (food defence hypothesis), presumably depending on food availability. Insectivorous bats rely heavily on vocalizations for navigation, foraging, and social interactions. In this study, we used free-ranging big-footed myotis (Myotis macrodactylus Temminck, 1840) to test whether social calls produced in a foraging context serve to advertise food patches or to ward off food competitors. Using a combination of acoustic recordings, playback experiments with adult females and dietary monitoring (light trapping and DNA metabarcoding techniques), we investigated the relationship between insect availability and social vocalizations in foraging bats. RESULTS The big-footed myotis uttered low-frequency social calls composed of 7 syllable types during foraging interactions. Although the dietary composition of bats varied across different sampling periods, Diptera, Lepidoptera, and Trichoptera were the most common prey consumed. The number of social vocalizations was primarily predicted by insect abundance, insect species composition, and echolocation vocalizations from conspecifics. The number of conspecific echolocation pulses tended to decrease following the emission of most social calls. Feeding bats consistently decreased foraging attempts and food consumption during playbacks of social calls with distinctive structures compared to control trials. The duration of flight decreased 1.29-1.96 fold in the presence of social calls versus controls. CONCLUSIONS These results support the food defence hypothesis, suggesting that foraging bats employ social calls to engage in intraspecific food competition. This study provides correlative evidence for the role of insect abundance and diversity in influencing the emission of social calls in insectivorous bats. Our findings add to the current knowledge of the function of social calls in echolocating bats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongge Guo
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun, 130117, China
| | - Jianan Ding
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun, 130117, China
| | - Heng Liu
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun, 130117, China
| | - Lin Zhou
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun, 130117, China
| | - Jiang Feng
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun, 130117, China.,College of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, 2888 Xincheng Street, Changchun, 130118, China
| | - Bo Luo
- Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation of Ministry of Education, China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637002, China.
| | - Ying Liu
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun, 130117, China.
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30
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Kurihara Y, Muto H. Behavioral responses of Japanese macaques to playback-simulated intergroup encounters. Behav Processes 2020; 182:104279. [PMID: 33189797 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2019] [Revised: 10/29/2020] [Accepted: 11/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Group-living animals gain fitness benefits from intergroup aggression, but also incur costs. Advertisement behaviors, such as long-distance calls and scent marking, help animals avoid disadvantageous, or less rewarding, fights. However, it remains unclear how species that lack advertisement behaviors respond to auditory information from other groups. We hypothesized that such species use auditory information prior to visual contact with the opponent group to determine its relative resource holding potential. Here, we aimed to identify the behavioral responses of Japanese macaques to simulated intergroup encounters. We conducted a vocal playback experiment and behavioral observations of 11 adult males and females from two groups intermittently from October 2015 to June 2017. In response to vocalizations of other groups, the macaques stopped feeding, decreased contact calling, and increased visual scanning, which could enable them to make timely and accurate decisions as to whether to fight or flee. The spatial cohesion of the group did not change. These results partly support our hypothesis and suggest that the onset of increased vigilance to opponents is prior to visual contact with them. The present study highlights the importance of investigating early phases of intergroup encounters in species lacking advertisement behaviors to obtain new insights on intergroup conflicts in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yosuke Kurihara
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan; Center for Education and Research in Field Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Shizuoka University, Hamamatsu, Japan.
| | - Hiroyuki Muto
- School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
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31
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Ginovart-Panisello GJ, Alsina-Pagès RM, Sanz II, Monjo TP, Prat MC. Acoustic Description of the Soundscape of a Real-Life Intensive Farm and Its Impact on Animal Welfare: A Preliminary Analysis of Farm Sounds and Bird Vocalisations. SENSORS 2020; 20:s20174732. [PMID: 32825767 PMCID: PMC7506656 DOI: 10.3390/s20174732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2020] [Revised: 08/16/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Poultry meat is the world's primary source of animal protein due to low cost and is widely eaten at a global level. However, intensive production is required to supply the demand although it generates stress to animals and welfare problems, which have to be reduced or eradicated for the better health of birds. In this study, bird welfare is measured by certain indicators: CO2, temperature, humidity, weight, deaths, food, and water intake. Additionally, we approach an acoustic analysis of bird vocalisations as a possible metric to add to the aforementioned parameters. For this purpose, an acoustic recording and analysis of an entire production cycle of an intensive broiler Ross 308 poultry farm in the Mediterranean area was performed. The acoustic dataset generated was processed to obtain the Equivalent Level (Leq), the mean Peak Frequency (PF), and the PF variation, every 30 min. This acoustical analysis aims to evaluate the relation between traditional indicators (death, weight, and CO2) as well as acoustical metrics (equivalent level impact (Leq) and Peak Frequency) of a complete intensive production cycle. As a result, relation between CO2 and humidity versus Leq was found, as well as decreases in vocalisation when the intake of food and water was large.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerardo José Ginovart-Panisello
- Grup de Recerca en Tecnologies Mèdia (GTM), La Salle—Universitat Ramon Llull, C/Quatre Camins, 30, 08022 Barcelona, Spain;
- Cealvet SLu, C/Sant Josep de la Montanya 50-B, 43500 Tortosa, Spain;
| | - Rosa Ma Alsina-Pagès
- Grup de Recerca en Tecnologies Mèdia (GTM), La Salle—Universitat Ramon Llull, C/Quatre Camins, 30, 08022 Barcelona, Spain;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +34-93-2902455
| | - Ignasi Iriondo Sanz
- Grup de Recerca en Technology Enhanced Learning (GRETEL), La Salle—Universitat Ramon Llull, C/Quatre Camins, 30, 08022 Barcelona, Spain;
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Ischer G, Zuberbühler K, Fedurek P. The relationship between food calling and agonistic behaviour in wild chimpanzees. Behav Processes 2020; 178:104182. [PMID: 32561234 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2019] [Revised: 05/27/2020] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
A number of social animals produce food-associated calls, which have been interpreted as informative and referential about the quality or quantity of food accessed by the caller. In chimpanzees, however, some behavioural patterns have remained unexplained by this model, suggesting that food-associated calls have a more generalized social function beyond attracting others to food, such as promoting tolerance between co-feeding individuals. In this study, we investigated how wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) of Budongo Forest, Uganda, use food associated-calls in situations when social tolerance is low, i.e., during agonistic interactions. We found a positive relationship between food calling and agonistic behaviours during a feeding event, independent of the number of males on the feeding patch. Moreover, food calling followed rather than preceded agonistic interactions, suggesting that aggression can trigger food call production. These results support the view that chimpanzee food-associated calls can act as social tools mediating competitive or aggressive interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Géraldine Ischer
- University of Neuchâtel, Department of Comparative Cognition, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- University of Neuchâtel, Department of Comparative Cognition, Neuchâtel, Switzerland; School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Pawel Fedurek
- Division of Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK.
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Sierro J, Loretto M, Szipl G, Massen JJM, Bugnyar T. Food calling in wild ravens (
Corvus corax
) revisited: Who is addressed? Ethology 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Javier Sierro
- Lancaster Environment Centre Lancaster University UK
- Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) Leiden University Leiden The Netherlands
| | - Matthias‐Claudio Loretto
- Department of Cognitive Biology University of Vienna Vienna Austria
- Konrad Lorenz Forschungsstelle Core Facility for Behaviour and Cognition University of Vienna Vienna Austria
- Department of Migration Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Radolfzell Germany
- Department of Biology University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
| | - Georgine Szipl
- Konrad Lorenz Forschungsstelle Core Facility for Behaviour and Cognition University of Vienna Vienna Austria
- Department of Behavioural Biology University of Vienna Austria
| | - Jorg J. M. Massen
- Department of Cognitive Biology University of Vienna Vienna Austria
- Department of Biology Animal Ecology Group Utrecht University Utrecht The Netherlands
| | - Thomas Bugnyar
- Department of Cognitive Biology University of Vienna Vienna Austria
- Konrad Lorenz Forschungsstelle Core Facility for Behaviour and Cognition University of Vienna Vienna Austria
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Yu J, Lu H, Sun W, Liang W, Wang H, Møller AP. Heterospecific alarm-call recognition in two warbler hosts of common cuckoos. Anim Cogn 2019; 22:1149-1157. [PMID: 31506795 PMCID: PMC6834739 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-019-01307-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2019] [Revised: 09/01/2019] [Accepted: 09/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Species facing similar selection pressures should recognize heterospecific alarm signals. However, no study has so far examined heterospecific alarm-call recognition in response to parasitism by cuckoos. In this study, we tested whether two sympatric host species of the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus, Oriental reed warbler Acrocephalus orientalis (ORW, main host), and black-browed reed warbler Acrocephalus bistrigiceps (BRW, rare host), could recognize each other’s alarm calls in response to cuckoos. Dummies of common cuckoo (parasite) and Eurasian sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus (predator) were used to induce and record alarm calls of the two warbler species, respectively. In the conspecific alarm-call playback experiments, ORW responded more strongly to cuckoo alarm calls than to sparrowhawk alarm calls, while BRW responded less strongly to cuckoo alarm calls than to sparrowhawk alarm calls. In the heterospecific alarm-call playback experiments, both ORW and BRW responded less strongly to cuckoo alarm calls than sparrowhawk alarm calls. BRW seemed to learn the association between parasite-related alarm calls of the ORW and the cuckoo by observing the process of ORW attacking cuckoos. In contrast, alarm calls of BRW to cuckoos were rarely recorded in most cases. BRW with low parasite pressure still developed recognition of heterospecific parasite-related alarm call. Unintended receivers in the same community should recognize heterospecific alarm calls precisely to extract valuable information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiangping Yu
- Jilin Engineering Laboratory for Avian Ecology and Conservation Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China.,Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China
| | - Hailin Lu
- Jilin Engineering Laboratory for Avian Ecology and Conservation Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China.,Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China
| | - Wei Sun
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China
| | - Wei Liang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, 571158, China.
| | - Haitao Wang
- Jilin Engineering Laboratory for Avian Ecology and Conservation Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China.
| | - Anders Pape Møller
- Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Université Paris-Sud, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405, Orsay Cedex, France.,Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
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35
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Volitional control of vocalizations in corvid songbirds. PLoS Biol 2019; 17:e3000375. [PMID: 31454343 PMCID: PMC6711494 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Songbirds are renowned for their acoustically elaborate songs. However, it is unclear whether songbirds can cognitively control their vocal output. Here, we show that crows, songbirds of the corvid family, can be trained to exert control over their vocalizations. In a detection task, three male carrion crows rapidly learned to emit vocalizations in response to a visual cue with no inherent meaning (go trials) and to withhold vocalizations in response to another cue (catch trials). Two of these crows were then trained on a go/nogo task, with the cue colors reversed, in addition to being rewarded for withholding vocalizations to yet another cue (nogo trials). Vocalizations in response to the detection of the go cue were temporally precise and highly reliable in all three crows. Crows also quickly learned to withhold vocal output in nogo trials, showing that vocalizations were not produced by an anticipation of a food reward in correct trials. The results demonstrate that corvids can volitionally control the release and onset of their vocalizations, suggesting that songbird vocalizations are under cognitive control and can be decoupled from affective states. Songbirds are renowned for their acoustically elaborate songs, but it is unclear whether they have cognitive control over their vocal output. Using operant conditioning, this study shows that carrion crows, songbirds of the corvid family, can exert control over their vocalizations.
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Fröhlich M, Sievers C, Townsend SW, Gruber T, van Schaik CP. Multimodal communication and language origins: integrating gestures and vocalizations. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2019; 94:1809-1829. [PMID: 31250542 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2018] [Revised: 05/22/2019] [Accepted: 05/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The presence of divergent and independent research traditions in the gestural and vocal domains of primate communication has resulted in major discrepancies in the definition and operationalization of cognitive concepts. However, in recent years, accumulating evidence from behavioural and neurobiological research has shown that both human and non-human primate communication is inherently multimodal. It is therefore timely to integrate the study of gestural and vocal communication. Herein, we review evidence demonstrating that there is no clear difference between primate gestures and vocalizations in the extent to which they show evidence for the presence of key language properties: intentionality, reference, iconicity and turn-taking. We also find high overlap in the neurobiological mechanisms producing primate gestures and vocalizations, as well as in ontogenetic flexibility. These findings confirm that human language had multimodal origins. Nonetheless, we note that in great apes, gestures seem to fulfil a carrying (i.e. predominantly informative) role in close-range communication, whereas the opposite holds for face-to-face interactions of humans. This suggests an evolutionary shift in the carrying role from the gestural to the vocal stream, and we explore this transition in the carrying modality. Finally, we suggest that future studies should focus on the links between complex communication, sociality and cooperative tendency to strengthen the study of language origins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlen Fröhlich
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Christine Sievers
- Department of Philosophy and Media Studies, Philosophy Seminar, University of Basel, Holbeinstrasse 12, 4051, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Simon W Townsend
- Department of Comparative Linguistics, University of Zurich, Plattenstrasse 54, 8032, Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, University Road, CV4 7AL, Coventry, UK
| | - Thibaud Gruber
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, CISA, University of Geneva, Chemin des Mines 9, 1202, Geneva, Switzerland.,Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, OX1 3SZ, Oxford, UK
| | - Carel P van Schaik
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
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37
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Early vocal ontogeny in a polytocous mammal: no evidence of social learning among sibling piglets, Sus scrofa. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.02.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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38
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Pendergraft LT, Marzluff JM. Fussing over food: factors affecting the vocalizations American crows utter around food. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.01.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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39
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Hillemann F, Cole EF, Keen SC, Sheldon BC, Farine DR. Diurnal variation in the production of vocal information about food supports a model of social adjustment in wild songbirds. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20182740. [PMID: 30963842 PMCID: PMC6408885 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.2740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2018] [Accepted: 02/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Wintering songbirds have been widely shown to make economic foraging decisions to manage the changing balance of risks from predation and starvation over the course of the day. In this study, we ask whether the communication and use of information about food availability differ throughout the day. First, we assessed temporal variation in food-related vocal information produced in foraging flocks of tits ( Paridae) using audio recordings at radio-frequency identification-equipped feeding stations. Vocal activity was highest in the morning and decreased into the afternoon. This pattern was not explained by there being fewer birds present, as we found that group sizes increased over the course of the day. Next, we experimentally tested the underlying causes for this diurnal calling pattern. We set up bird feeders with or without playback of calls from tits, either in the morning or in the afternoon, and compared latency to feeder discovery, accumulation of flock members, and total number of birds visiting the feeder. Irrespective of time of day, playbacks had a strong effect on all three response measures when compared to silent control trials, demonstrating that tits will readily use vocal information to improve food detection throughout the day. Thus, the diurnal pattern of foraging behaviour did not appear to affect use and production of food-related vocalizations. Instead, we suggest that, as the day progresses and foraging group sizes increase, the costs of producing calls at the food source (e.g. competition and attraction of predators) outweigh the benefits of recruiting group members (i.e. adding individuals to large groups only marginally increases safety in numbers), causing the observed decrease in vocal activity into the afternoon. Our findings imply that individuals make economic social adjustments based on conditions of their social environment when deciding to vocally recruit group members.
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Affiliation(s)
- F. Hillemann
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - E. F. Cole
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - S. C. Keen
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
- Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - B. C. Sheldon
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - D. R. Farine
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Chair of Biodiversity and Collective Behaviour, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
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40
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McKenna LN, Paladino FV, Tomillo PS, Robinson NJ. Do Sea Turtles Vocalize to Synchronize Hatching or Nest Emergence? COPEIA 2019. [DOI: 10.1643/ce-18-069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay N. McKenna
- Department of Biology, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46805; (LNM) ; and (FVP) paladino@ pfw.edu. Send reprint requests to LNM
| | - Frank V. Paladino
- Department of Biology, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46805; (LNM) ; and (FVP) paladino@ pfw.edu. Send reprint requests to LNM
| | - Pilar Santidrián Tomillo
- The Leatherback Trust, Goldring-Gund Marine Biology Station, Playa Grande, Guanacaste, Costa Rica; (PST)
| | - Nathan J. Robinson
- Cape Eleuthera Institute, The Cape Eleuthera Island School, Eleuthera, The Bahamas;
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41
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42
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Lewis LA, Calambokidis J, Stimpert AK, Fahlbusch J, Friedlaender AS, McKenna MF, Mesnick SL, Oleson EM, Southall BL, Szesciorka AR, Širović A. Context-dependent variability in blue whale acoustic behaviour. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:180241. [PMID: 30225013 PMCID: PMC6124089 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.180241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2018] [Accepted: 07/03/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Acoustic communication is an important aspect of reproductive, foraging and social behaviours for many marine species. Northeast Pacific blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) produce three different call types-A, B and D calls. All may be produced as singular calls, but A and B calls also occur in phrases to form songs. To evaluate the behavioural context of singular call and phrase production in blue whales, the acoustic and dive profile data from tags deployed on individuals off southern California were assessed using generalized estimating equations. Only 22% of all deployments contained sounds attributed to the tagged animal. A larger proportion of tagged animals were female (47%) than male (13%), with 40% of unknown sex. Fifty per cent of tags deployed on males contained sounds attributed to the tagged whale, while only a few (5%) deployed on females did. Most calls were produced at shallow depths (less than 30 m). Repetitive phrasing (singing) and production of singular calls were most common during shallow, non-lunging dives, with the latter also common during surface behaviour. Higher sound production rates occurred during autumn than summer and they varied with time-of-day: singular call rates were higher at dawn and dusk, while phrase production rates were highest at dusk and night.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leah A. Lewis
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - John Calambokidis
- Cascadia Research Collective, 218 ½ W 4th Ave., Olympia, WA 98501, USA
| | - Alison K. Stimpert
- Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, 8272 Moss Landing Road, Moss Landing, CA 95039, USA
| | - James Fahlbusch
- Cascadia Research Collective, 218 ½ W 4th Ave., Olympia, WA 98501, USA
| | - Ari S. Friedlaender
- Institute for Marine Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, 115 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
- Southall Environmental Associates, 9099 Soquel Drive, Suite 8, Aptos, CA 95003, USA
| | - Megan F. McKenna
- Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division, National Park Service, 1201 Oakridge Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80525, USA
| | - Sarah L. Mesnick
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 8901 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Erin M. Oleson
- Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 1845 Wasp Blvd., Building 176, Honolulu, HI 96818, USA
| | - Brandon L. Southall
- Institute for Marine Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, 115 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
- Southall Environmental Associates, 9099 Soquel Drive, Suite 8, Aptos, CA 95003, USA
| | - Angela R. Szesciorka
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Cascadia Research Collective, 218 ½ W 4th Ave., Olympia, WA 98501, USA
| | - Ana Širović
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Texas A&M University Galveston, 200 Seawolf Parkway, Galveston, TX 77554, USA
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43
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Snowdon CT. Cognitive Components of Vocal Communication: A Case Study. Animals (Basel) 2018; 8:E126. [PMID: 30041425 PMCID: PMC6070781 DOI: 10.3390/ani8070126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2018] [Revised: 07/02/2018] [Accepted: 07/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Communication among nonhuman animals is often presented as rigid and inflexible, reflecting emotional states rather than having any cognitive basis. Using the world's smallest monkey, the pygmy marmoset (Cebuella pygmaea), with the smallest absolute brain size amongst simian primates as a case study, I review the role of cognition in the development and usage of vocalizations in pygmy marmosets and present new data on the instrumental use of babbling and of food associated vocalizations. Pygmy marmosets have several contact calls that differ in the psychoacoustic properties for sound localization as well as the distance at which they carry through the rainforest. Marmosets use these calls strategically based on distance from neighbors. Marmosets alter spectral and temporal aspects of call structure when exposed to new groups and when newly mated. They display population specific vocal dialects. Young pygmy marmosets engage in extensive babbling behavior rewarded by parents that helps the young develop adult vocal structures, but older monkeys also use babbling instrumentally in conflict situations. Specific food referential calls generally relate to food preferences, but food calls are suppressed in the presence of animate prey. Unmated animals systematically combine a long distance call with food calls as though advertising for mates. Taken together, these examples show that even small brained primates use their vocal signals flexibly and strategically in response to a variety of environmental and social conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles T Snowdon
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, 1202 West Johnson Street, Wisconsin, MI 53706, USA.
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44
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Rogers LJ, Stewart L, Kaplan G. Food Calls in Common Marmosets, Callithrix jacchus, and Evidence That One Is Functionally Referential. Animals (Basel) 2018; 8:E99. [PMID: 29933611 PMCID: PMC6070944 DOI: 10.3390/ani8070099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2018] [Revised: 06/17/2018] [Accepted: 06/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
We studied three calls of common marmosets, Callithrix jacchus, elicited in the context of food. Call A, but not B or C, had been described previously as a food call. We presented insects (live mealworms or crickets) and fruit (banana or blueberries) and used playbacks of calls. We found that Call C was produced only in response to seeing insects, and not fruit; it consistently signaled the availability of insects (includes mealworms), and more so when this food could be seen but not consumed. Playback of Call C caused the marmosets to stop feeding on a less preferred food (banana) and, instead, go to inspect a location where mealworms had been found previously, providing evidence that it has referential meaning. No such immediate response was elicited on hearing Call A or background noise. Call A differed from C in that it was produced more frequently when the marmosets were consuming the food than when they could only see it, and call A showed no specificity between insects and fruit. Call B was emitted less frequently than the A or C calls and, by the marmosets that were tested alone, most often to crickets. An audience effect occurred, in that all three calls were emitted more often when the marmosets were tested alone than when in pairs. Recognition of the functional significance of marmoset calls can lead to improved husbandry of marmosets in captivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lesley J Rogers
- School of Science and Technology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2531, Australia.
| | - Leanne Stewart
- School of Science and Technology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2531, Australia.
| | - Gisela Kaplan
- School of Science and Technology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2531, Australia.
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45
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Gastral drumming: a nest-based food-recruitment signal in a social wasp. Naturwissenschaften 2018; 105:23. [PMID: 29564637 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-018-1550-4] [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: 08/21/2017] [Revised: 02/27/2018] [Accepted: 03/01/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Many social insect species produce signals that either recruit foragers to a specific food source or simply activate more nestmates to become foragers. Both are means of enhancing resource exploitation by increasing the number of individuals devoted to gathering profitable resources. Gastral drumming (GD) has been documented in several species of yellowjackets and hornets (Vespidae: Vespinae). It has been hypothesized that it is a hunger signal, but there is little empirical evidence to support this claim. An alternative hypothesis is that GD recruits workers to forage for food. Here, we report the results of a test between the hunger-signal and food-recruitment hypotheses in the German yellowjacket wasp, Vespula germanica. We show that the rate of performance of GD decreased when colonies were deprived of food and increased when supplemental food was provided. Playback of GD caused increased rates of (1) movement in the nest, (2) trophallaxis, and (3) worker departures from the nest. Together, these results support the conclusion that GD is not a hunger signal as previously asserted but instead is a nest-based food-recruitment signal, the first to be reported for a social wasp.
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46
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Visser F, Kok AC, Oudejans MG, Scott-Hayward LA, DeRuiter SL, Alves AC, Antunes RN, Isojunno S, Pierce GJ, Slabbekoorn H, Huisman J, Miller PJO. Vocal foragers and silent crowds: context-dependent vocal variation in Northeast Atlantic long-finned pilot whales. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2017; 71:170. [PMID: 29167596 PMCID: PMC5674111 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-017-2397-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2017] [Revised: 10/12/2017] [Accepted: 10/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Vocalisations form a key component of the social interactions and foraging behaviour of toothed whales. We investigated changes in calling and echolocation behaviour of long-finned pilot whales between foraging and non-foraging periods, by combining acoustic recordings and diving depth data from tagged individuals with concurrent surface observations on social behaviour of their group. The pilot whales showed marked vocal variation, specific to foraging and social context. During periods of foraging, pilot whales showed more vocal activity than during non-foraging periods (rest, travel). In addition to the expected increase in echolocation activity, call rates also increased, suggesting that pilot whales communicate more during foraging. Furthermore, calls with multiple inflections occurred more often immediately before and after foraging dives and during the early descent and late ascent phases of foraging dives. However, these calls were almost never detected at diving depths of the tagged whale beyond 350 m. Calls with no or few inflections were produced at all times, irrespective of diving depth of the tagged whale. We discuss possible explanations for the distinct vocal variation associated with foraging periods. In addition, during non-foraging periods, the pilot whales were found to be more silent (no calling or echolocation) in larger, more closely spaced groups. This indicates that increased levels of social cohesion may release the need to stay in touch acoustically. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Social toothed whales rely on vocalisations to find prey and interact with conspecifics. Species are often highly vocal and can have elaborate call repertoires. However, it often remains unclear how their repertoire use correlates to specific social and behavioural contexts, which is vital to understand toothed whale foraging strategies and sociality. Combining on-animal tag recordings of diving and acoustic behaviour with observations of social behaviour, we found that pilot whales produce more calls during foraging than during non-foraging periods. Moreover, highly inflected calls were closely associated to the periods around and during foraging dives. This indicates enhanced communication during foraging, which may, for example, enable relocation of conspecifics or sharing of information. Whales reduced their vocal activity (calling and echolocation) at increased levels of social cohesion, indicating that in certain behavioural contexts, closer association (i.e. more closely spaced) may release the need to stay in touch acoustically.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fleur Visser
- Behavioural Biology, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Kelp Marine Research, Hoorn, The Netherlands
| | - Annebelle C.M. Kok
- Behavioural Biology, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Lindesay A.S. Scott-Hayward
- Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling (CREEM), University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK
| | - Stacy L. DeRuiter
- Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling (CREEM), University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI USA
| | - Ana C. Alves
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK
| | - Ricardo N. Antunes
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK
- Ocean Giants Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, New York, NY USA
| | - Saana Isojunno
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK
| | - Graham J. Pierce
- Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, UK
- CESAM and Departamento de Biologia, Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
- CSIC, Vigo, Spain
| | - Hans Slabbekoorn
- Behavioural Biology, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Jef Huisman
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Patrick J. O. Miller
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK
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47
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Fischer J, Price T. Meaning, intention, and inference in primate vocal communication. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 82:22-31. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.10.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2016] [Revised: 09/20/2016] [Accepted: 10/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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48
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Lang SDJ, Farine DR. A multidimensional framework for studying social predation strategies. Nat Ecol Evol 2017; 1:1230-1239. [PMID: 29046557 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0245-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2016] [Accepted: 06/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Social predation-the act of hunting and feeding with others-is one of the most successful life-history traits in the animal kingdom. Although many predators hunt and feed together, a diversity of mechanisms exist by which individuals forage socially. However, a comprehensive framework capturing this diversity is lacking, preventing us from better understanding cooperative forms of predation, and how such behaviours have evolved and been maintained over time. We outline a framework of social predation that describes five key behavioural dimensions: sociality, communication, specialization, resource sharing, and dependence. By reviewing examples of social predation, we demonstrate the strength of a multidimensional approach, highlighting key commonalities and differences among species, and informative cross-dimensional correlations. These patterns highlight different potential evolutionary pathways and end-points across a multidimensional social predation spectrum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen D J Lang
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 78464, Konstanz, Germany. .,Chair of Biodiversity and Collective Behaviour, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464, Konstanz, Germany.
| | - Damien R Farine
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 78464, Konstanz, Germany. .,Chair of Biodiversity and Collective Behaviour, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464, Konstanz, Germany. .,Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK.
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49
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McGrath N, Dunlop R, Dwyer C, Burman O, Phillips CJ. Hens vary their vocal repertoire and structure when anticipating different types of reward. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.05.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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50
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Andrade LGD, Bisi TL, Lailson-Brito J, Azevedo ADF. Burst pulses of Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis) in southeastern Brazil. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2017; 141:2947. [PMID: 28464652 DOI: 10.1121/1.4981768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Acoustic studies of Guiana dolphin have been focused on whistles, with little known about pulse signals in this species. This study characterized the temporal and spectral properties of Guiana dolphin burst pulses. Groups of 2 to 23 Guiana dolphins were recorded while feeding and socializing in shallow waters in Guanabara Bay, southeastern Brazil, in 2013 and 2014. Burst pulse analysis involved two steps: signal detection and acoustic parameter analysis. Eight variables were analyzed for 197 total burst pulses: number of clicks, burst pulse duration, interclick interval, click duration, peak frequency, center frequency, -3 dB bandwidth, and -10 dB bandwidth. Mean burst pulse duration was 108.6 ms [standard deviation (SD) = 91.3] with a mean of 168 clicks (SD = 137.3). Burst pulses had short interclick interval (0.7 ms, SD = 0.3) and mean click duration of 300 μs (SD = 100). Mean peak frequency and center frequency were 28 kHz (SD = 11.6) and 29 kHz (SD = 11.0), respectively. Mean -3 dB bandwidth was 15 kHz (SD = 7.5) and mean -10 dB bandwidth was 40.5 kHz (SD = 14.3). The quantitative characterization of Guiana dolphin burst pulses is an important step in describing the full acoustic repertoire of this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luciana Guimarães de Andrade
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier, 524, PHLC, 2° andar, sala 224, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro 20550-013, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Tatiana Lemos Bisi
- Laboratório de Mamíferos Aquáticos e Bioindicadores, Faculdade de Oceanografia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro 20550-013, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - José Lailson-Brito
- Laboratório de Mamíferos Aquáticos e Bioindicadores, Faculdade de Oceanografia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro 20550-013, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Alexandre de Freitas Azevedo
- Laboratório de Mamíferos Aquáticos e Bioindicadores, Faculdade de Oceanografia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro 20550-013, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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