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Kershenbaum A, Blumstein DT, Roch MA, Akçay Ç, Backus G, Bee MA, Bohn K, Cao Y, Carter G, Cäsar C, Coen M, DeRuiter SL, Doyle L, Edelman S, Ferrer-i-Cancho R, Freeberg TM, Garland EC, Gustison M, Harley HE, Huetz C, Hughes M, Bruno JH, Ilany A, Jin DZ, Johnson M, Ju C, Karnowski J, Lohr B, Manser MB, McCowan B, Mercado E, Narins PM, Piel A, Rice M, Salmi R, Sasahara K, Sayigh L, Shiu Y, Taylor C, Vallejo EE, Waller S, Zamora-Gutierrez V. Acoustic sequences in non-human animals: a tutorial review and prospectus. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2016; 91:13-52. [PMID: 25428267 PMCID: PMC4444413 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 139] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2014] [Revised: 10/02/2014] [Accepted: 10/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Animal acoustic communication often takes the form of complex sequences, made up of multiple distinct acoustic units. Apart from the well-known example of birdsong, other animals such as insects, amphibians, and mammals (including bats, rodents, primates, and cetaceans) also generate complex acoustic sequences. Occasionally, such as with birdsong, the adaptive role of these sequences seems clear (e.g. mate attraction and territorial defence). More often however, researchers have only begun to characterise - let alone understand - the significance and meaning of acoustic sequences. Hypotheses abound, but there is little agreement as to how sequences should be defined and analysed. Our review aims to outline suitable methods for testing these hypotheses, and to describe the major limitations to our current and near-future knowledge on questions of acoustic sequences. This review and prospectus is the result of a collaborative effort between 43 scientists from the fields of animal behaviour, ecology and evolution, signal processing, machine learning, quantitative linguistics, and information theory, who gathered for a 2013 workshop entitled, 'Analysing vocal sequences in animals'. Our goal is to present not just a review of the state of the art, but to propose a methodological framework that summarises what we suggest are the best practices for research in this field, across taxa and across disciplines. We also provide a tutorial-style introduction to some of the most promising algorithmic approaches for analysing sequences. We divide our review into three sections: identifying the distinct units of an acoustic sequence, describing the different ways that information can be contained within a sequence, and analysing the structure of that sequence. Each of these sections is further subdivided to address the key questions and approaches in that area. We propose a uniform, systematic, and comprehensive approach to studying sequences, with the goal of clarifying research terms used in different fields, and facilitating collaboration and comparative studies. Allowing greater interdisciplinary collaboration will facilitate the investigation of many important questions in the evolution of communication and sociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arik Kershenbaum
- National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, 1122 Volunteer Blvd., Suite 106, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-3410, USA
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Daniel T. Blumstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, 621 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA
| | - Marie A. Roch
- Department of Computer Science, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Dr, San Diego, CA 92182, USA
| | - Çağlar Akçay
- Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Gregory Backus
- Department of Biomathematics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
| | - Mark A. Bee
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 100 Ecology Building, 1987 Upper Buford Cir, Falcon Heights, MN 55108, USA
| | - Kirsten Bohn
- Integrated Science, Florida International University, Modesto Maidique Campus, 11200 SW 8th Street, AHC-4, 351, Miami, FL 33199, USA
| | - Yan Cao
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W Campbell Rd, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
| | - Gerald Carter
- Biological Sciences Graduate Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Cristiane Cäsar
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, St Mary’s Quad South Street, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JP, UK
| | - Michael Coen
- Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin, K6/446 Clinical Sciences Center, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792-4675, USA
| | - Stacy L. DeRuiter
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St. Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9SS, UK
| | - Laurance Doyle
- Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe, SETI Institute, 189 Bernardo Ave, Suite 100, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | - Shimon Edelman
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, 211 Uris Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853-7601, USA
| | - Ramon Ferrer-i-Cancho
- Department of Computer Science, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, (Catalonia), Calle Jordi Girona, 31, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Todd M. Freeberg
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Austin Peay Building, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA
| | - Ellen C. Garland
- National Marine Mammal Laboratory, AFSC/NOAA, 7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Seattle, Washington 98115, USA
| | - Morgan Gustison
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Heidi E. Harley
- Division of Social Sciences, New College of Florida, 5800 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota, FL 34243, USA
| | - Chloé Huetz
- CNPS, CNRS UMR 8195, Université Paris-Sud, UMR 8195, Batiments 440-447, Rue Claude Bernard, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - Melissa Hughes
- Department of Biology, College of Charleston, 66 George St, Charleston, SC 29424, USA
| | - Julia Hyland Bruno
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, The City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Amiyaal Ilany
- National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, 1122 Volunteer Blvd., Suite 106, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-3410, USA
| | - Dezhe Z. Jin
- Department of Physics, Pennsylvania State University, 104 Davey Lab, University Park, PA 16802-6300, USA
| | - Michael Johnson
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Marquette University, 1515 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53233, USA
| | - Chenghui Ju
- Department of Biology, Queen College, The City Univ. of New York, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, New York 11367, USA
| | - Jeremy Karnowski
- Department of Cognitive Science, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0515, USA
| | - Bernard Lohr
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA
| | - Marta B. Manser
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Brenda McCowan
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, 1 Peter J Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Eduardo Mercado
- Department of Psychology; Evolution, Ecology, & Behavior, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Park Hall Room 204, Buffalo, NY 14260-4110, USA
| | - Peter M. Narins
- Department of Integrative Biology & Physiology, University of California Los Angeles, 612 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA 90095-7246, USA
| | - Alex Piel
- Division of Biological Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Pembroke Street Cambridge, CB2 3QG, UK
| | - Megan Rice
- Department of Psychology, California State University San Marcos, 333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Rd., San Marcos, CA 92096-0001, USA
| | - Roberta Salmi
- Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia at Athens, 355 S Jackson St, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Kazutoshi Sasahara
- Graduate School of Information Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Laela Sayigh
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 86 Water St, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
| | - Yu Shiu
- Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Charles Taylor
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, 621 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA
| | - Edgar E. Vallejo
- Department of Computer Science, Monterrey Institute of Technology, Ave. Eugenio Garza Sada 2501 Sur Col. Tecnológico C.P. 64849, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
| | - Sara Waller
- Department of Philosophy, Montana State University, 2-155 Wilson Hall, Bozeman, Montana 59717, USA
| | - Veronica Zamora-Gutierrez
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environmental Research, University College London, London WC1H 0AG, UK
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