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Hersh TA, Ravignani A, Whitehead H. Cetaceans are the next frontier for vocal rhythm research. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2313093121. [PMID: 38814875 PMCID: PMC11194516 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2313093121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2024] Open
Abstract
While rhythm can facilitate and enhance many aspects of behavior, its evolutionary trajectory in vocal communication systems remains enigmatic. We can trace evolutionary processes by investigating rhythmic abilities in different species, but research to date has largely focused on songbirds and primates. We present evidence that cetaceans-whales, dolphins, and porpoises-are a missing piece of the puzzle for understanding why rhythm evolved in vocal communication systems. Cetaceans not only produce rhythmic vocalizations but also exhibit behaviors known or thought to play a role in the evolution of different features of rhythm. These behaviors include vocal learning abilities, advanced breathing control, sexually selected vocal displays, prolonged mother-infant bonds, and behavioral synchronization. The untapped comparative potential of cetaceans is further enhanced by high interspecific diversity, which generates natural ranges of vocal and social complexity for investigating various evolutionary hypotheses. We show that rhythm (particularly isochronous rhythm, when sounds are equally spaced in time) is prevalent in cetacean vocalizations but is used in different contexts by baleen and toothed whales. We also highlight key questions and research areas that will enhance understanding of vocal rhythms across taxa. By coupling an infraorder-level taxonomic assessment of vocal rhythm production with comparisons to other species, we illustrate how broadly comparative research can contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the prevalence, evolution, and possible functions of rhythm in animal communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taylor A. Hersh
- Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University, Newport, OR97365
- Comparative Bioacoustics Group, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen6525 XD, The Netherlands
- Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, HalifaxNS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Andrea Ravignani
- Comparative Bioacoustics Group, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen6525 XD, The Netherlands
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus8000, Denmark
- Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome00185, Italy
| | - Hal Whitehead
- Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, HalifaxNS B3H 4R2, Canada
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2
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Weber GW. Quantum Leaps in Human Biocultural Evolution and the Relationship to Cranial Capacity. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:life13041030. [PMID: 37109559 PMCID: PMC10145355 DOI: 10.3390/life13041030] [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: 02/03/2023] [Revised: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The evolution of the genus Homo can only be understood by considering both of the inheritance systems that interact to shape human nature: biology and culture. While growing intellectual abilities are a key factor of human evolution, they are rarely contrasted with cultural progress. Cranial capacity data of 193 hominin fossils from the last seven million years and artefacts of increasing number and complexity in the archaeological record are used to demonstrate the concordant progression of brain-size increase and cultural development, starting approximately two million years ago. Our biocultural evolution shows a number of quantum leaps along the time axis applying to both domains. At first, humans left the canonical evolutionary pathway, which pertains to all other organisms, by enhancing their fitness using sophisticated tools and fire; secondly, they turned into a symbolic species; and finally, humanity now faces a new challenge: "intentional evolution". Chronologically, these quantum leaps correspond to cranial capacity data used here as a proxy for cognitive performance. This contribution tries to demonstrate this parallel development and argues for a simple and generalized model of human biocultural evolution. An extrapolation of the model into the future shows that humans, as biological entities, will not necessarily persist.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerhard W Weber
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria
- Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria
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3
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Lamoni L, Garland EC, Allen JA, Coxon J, Noad MJ, Rendell L. Variability in humpback whale songs reveals how individuals can be distinctive when sharing a complex vocal display. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2023; 153:2238. [PMID: 37092914 DOI: 10.1121/10.0017602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Individually distinctive acoustic signals in animal vocal communication are taxonomically widespread, however, the investigation of these signal types in marine mammals has focused only on a few species. Humpback whale songs are a stereotyped, hierarchically structured vocal display performed by males, and hence thought to be sexually selected. Within a population, whales conform to a common version of the song despite the song constantly evolving. While humpback songs have been studied extensively at the population level, individual level variation has been rarely described, with inconclusive results. Here, we quantified inter- and intra-individual variability at different levels in the song hierarchy using songs from 25 singers across two song types from the eastern Australian population song of 2002 (12 singers), and the revolutionary song introduced in 2003 (13 singers). Inter-individual variability was found heterogeneously across all hierarchical levels of the song structure. In addition, distinct and individually specific patterns of song production were consistently recorded across song levels, with clear structural differences between the two song types. These results suggest that within the constraints of song conformity, males can produce individually distinctive patterns that could function as an advertisement to females to convey individual qualities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Lamoni
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution/Sea Mammal Research Unit, School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews KY16 9TH, United Kingdom
| | - Ellen C Garland
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution/Sea Mammal Research Unit, School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews KY16 9TH, United Kingdom
| | - Jenny A Allen
- Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Laboratories, School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland 4343, Australia
| | - Jennifer Coxon
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution/Sea Mammal Research Unit, School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews KY16 9TH, United Kingdom
| | - Michael J Noad
- Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Laboratories, School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland 4343, Australia
| | - Luke Rendell
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution/Sea Mammal Research Unit, School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews KY16 9TH, United Kingdom
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4
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Intra-individual variation in the songs of humpback whales suggests they are sonically searching for conspecifics. Learn Behav 2022; 50:456-481. [PMID: 34791610 DOI: 10.3758/s13420-021-00495-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Observations of animals' vocal actions can provide important clues about how they communicate and about how they perceive and react to changing situations. Here, analyses of consecutive songs produced by singing humpback whales recorded off the coast of Hawaii revealed that singers constantly vary the acoustic qualities of their songs within prolonged song sessions. Unlike the progressive changes in song structure that singing humpback whales make across months and years, intra-individual acoustic variations within song sessions appear to be largely stochastic. Additionally, four sequentially produced song components (or "themes") were each found to vary in unique ways. The most extensively used theme was highly variable in overall duration within and across song sessions, but varied relatively little in frequency content. In contrast, the remaining themes varied greatly in frequency content, but showed less variation in duration. Analyses of variations in the amount of time singers spent producing the four themes suggest that the mechanisms that determine when singers transition between themes may be comparable to those that control when terrestrial animals move their eyes to fixate on different positions as they examine visual scenes. The dynamic changes that individual whales make to songs within song sessions are counterproductive if songs serve mainly to provide conspecifics with indications of a singer's fitness. Instead, within-session changes to the acoustic features of songs may serve to enhance a singer's capacity to echoically detect, localize, and track conspecifics from long distances.
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5
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Whiten A. Blind alleys and fruitful pathways in the comparative study of cultural cognition. Phys Life Rev 2022; 43:211-238. [PMID: 36343568 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2022.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2022] [Accepted: 10/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
A mere few decades ago, culture was thought a unique human attribute. Evidence to the contrary accumulated through the latter part of the twentieth century and has exploded in the present one, demonstrating the transmission of traditions through social learning across all principal vertebrate taxa and even invertebrates, notably insects. The scope of human culture is nevertheless highly distinctive. What makes our cultural capacities and their cognitive underpinnings so different? In this article I argue that in behavioural scientists' endeavours to answer this question, fruitful research pathways and their ensuing discoveries have come to exist alongside popular, yet in the light of current empirical evidence, highly questionable scenarios and even scientific blind alleys. I particularly re-evaluate theories that rely on the centrality of a supposed uniquely human capacity for imitative copying in explaining the distinctive capacity for massive cumulative cultural evolution (CCE) in our species. The most extreme versions of this perspective suffer logical incoherence and severe limits on scientific testability. By contrast the field has generated a range of rigorous observational and experimental methodologies that have revealed both long-term cultural fidelity and limited forms of CCE in non-human species. Attention now turns to directly investigating the scope, limits and underlying cognition of non-human versus human CCE, with a broader approach to factors additional to cultural transmission, notably the role of invention, innovation and evolved motivational biases underlying the scope of CCE in the species studied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Whiten
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9JP, UK.
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6
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Schulze JN, Denkinger J, Oña J, Poole MM, Garland EC. Humpback whale song revolutions continue to spread from the central into the eastern South Pacific. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:220158. [PMID: 36061519 DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6125250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Cultural transmission of behaviour is an important aspect of many animal communities ranging from humans to birds. Male humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) sing a repetitive, stereotyped, socially learnt and culturally transmitted song display that slowly evolves each year. Most males within a population sing the same, slow-evolving song type; but in the South Pacific, song 'revolutions' have led to rapid and complete replacement of one song type by another introduced from a neighbouring population. Songs spread eastwards, from eastern Australia to French Polynesia, but the easterly extent of this transmission was unknown. Here, we investigated whether song revolutions continue to spread from the central (French Polynesia) into the eastern (Ecuador) South Pacific region. Similarity analyses using three consecutive years of song data (2016-2018) revealed that song themes recorded in 2016-2018 French Polynesian song matched song themes sung in 2018 Ecuadorian song, suggesting continued easterly transmission of song to Ecuador, and vocal connectivity across the entire South Pacific Ocean basin. This study demonstrates songs first identified in western populations can be transmitted across the entire South Pacific, supporting the potential for a circumpolar Southern Hemisphere cultural transmission of song and a vocal culture rivalled in its extent only by our own.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josephine N Schulze
- Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU), Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK
| | - Judith Denkinger
- Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales (Cociba), Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito EC170157, Ecuador
- Acoustic Ecology Program, CETACEA Ecuador Project, Quito EC17015, Ecuador
| | - Javier Oña
- Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales (Cociba), Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito EC170157, Ecuador
- Acoustic Ecology Program, CETACEA Ecuador Project, Quito EC17015, Ecuador
| | - M Michael Poole
- Marine Mammal Research Program, BP 698, Maharepa, 98728 Moorea, French Polynesia
| | - Ellen C Garland
- Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU), Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH, UK
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7
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Schulze JN, Denkinger J, Oña J, Poole MM, Garland EC. Humpback whale song revolutions continue to spread from the central into the eastern South Pacific. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:220158. [PMID: 36061519 PMCID: PMC9428538 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.220158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Cultural transmission of behaviour is an important aspect of many animal communities ranging from humans to birds. Male humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) sing a repetitive, stereotyped, socially learnt and culturally transmitted song display that slowly evolves each year. Most males within a population sing the same, slow-evolving song type; but in the South Pacific, song 'revolutions' have led to rapid and complete replacement of one song type by another introduced from a neighbouring population. Songs spread eastwards, from eastern Australia to French Polynesia, but the easterly extent of this transmission was unknown. Here, we investigated whether song revolutions continue to spread from the central (French Polynesia) into the eastern (Ecuador) South Pacific region. Similarity analyses using three consecutive years of song data (2016-2018) revealed that song themes recorded in 2016-2018 French Polynesian song matched song themes sung in 2018 Ecuadorian song, suggesting continued easterly transmission of song to Ecuador, and vocal connectivity across the entire South Pacific Ocean basin. This study demonstrates songs first identified in western populations can be transmitted across the entire South Pacific, supporting the potential for a circumpolar Southern Hemisphere cultural transmission of song and a vocal culture rivalled in its extent only by our own.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josephine N. Schulze
- Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU), Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK
| | - Judith Denkinger
- Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales (Cociba), Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito EC170157, Ecuador
- Acoustic Ecology Program, CETACEA Ecuador Project, Quito EC17015, Ecuador
| | - Javier Oña
- Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales (Cociba), Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito EC170157, Ecuador
- Acoustic Ecology Program, CETACEA Ecuador Project, Quito EC17015, Ecuador
| | - M. Michael Poole
- Marine Mammal Research Program, BP 698, Maharepa, 98728 Moorea, French Polynesia
| | - Ellen C. Garland
- Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU), Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH, UK
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8
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Song complexity is maintained during inter-population cultural transmission of humpback whale songs. Sci Rep 2022; 12:8999. [PMID: 35637205 PMCID: PMC9151787 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-12784-3] [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: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Among animal species, the songs of male humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are a rare example of social learning between entire populations. Understanding fine-scale similarity in song patterns and structural features will better clarify how accurately songs are learned during inter-population transmission. Here, six distinct song types (2009–2015) transmitted from the east Australian to New Caledonian populations were quantitatively analysed using fine-scale song features. Results found that New Caledonian whales learned each song type with high accuracy regardless of the pattern’s complexity. However, there were rare instances of themes (stereotyped patterns of sound units) only sung by a single population. These occurred more often in progressively changing ‘evolutionary’ songs compared to rapidly changing ‘revolutionary’ songs. Our results suggest that populations do not need to reduce complexity to accurately learn song patterns. Populations may also incorporate changes and embellishments into songs in the form of themes which are suggested to be learnt as distinct segments. Maintaining complex song patterns with such accuracy suggests significant acoustic contact, supporting the hypothesis that song learning may occur on shared feeding grounds or migration routes. This study improves the understanding of inter-population mechanisms for large-scale cultural transmission in animals.
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9
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Zuberbühler K. Event parsing and the origins of grammar. WIRES COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2022; 13:e1587. [PMID: 34929755 PMCID: PMC9285794 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2020] [Revised: 10/30/2021] [Accepted: 11/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Klaus Zuberbühler
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience University of St Andrews St Andrews Scotland
- Institute of Biology University of Neuchatel Neuchatel
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10
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Gruber T, Chimento M, Aplin LM, Biro D. Efficiency fosters cumulative culture across species. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200308. [PMID: 34894729 PMCID: PMC8666915 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/17/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent studies in several taxa have demonstrated that animal culture can evolve to become more efficient in various contexts ranging from tool use to route learning and migration. Under recent definitions, such increases in efficiency might satisfy the core criteria of cumulative cultural evolution (CCE). However, there is not yet a satisfying consensus on the precise definition of efficiency, CCE or the link between efficiency and more complex, extended forms of CCE considered uniquely human. To bring clarity to this wider discussion of CCE, we develop the concept of efficiency by (i) reviewing recent potential evidence for CCE in animals, and (ii) clarifying a useful definition of efficiency by synthesizing perspectives found within the literature, including animal studies and the wider iterated learning literature. Finally, (iii) we discuss what factors might impinge on the informational bottleneck of social transmission, and argue that this provides pressure for learnable behaviours across species. We conclude that framing CCE in terms of efficiency casts complexity in a new light, as learnable behaviours are a requirement for the evolution of complexity. Understanding how efficiency greases the ratchet of cumulative culture provides a better appreciation of how similar cultural evolution can be between taxonomically diverse species-a case for continuity across the animal kingdom. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'The emergence of collective knowledge and cumulative culture in animals, humans and machines'.
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Affiliation(s)
- T. Gruber
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences and Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - M. Chimento
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - L. M. Aplin
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - D. Biro
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
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11
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Garland EC, Garrigue C, Noad MJ. When does cultural evolution become cumulative culture? A case study of humpback whale song. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200313. [PMID: 34894734 PMCID: PMC8666910 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Culture presents a second inheritance system by which innovations can be transmitted between generations and among individuals. Some vocal behaviours present compelling examples of cultural evolution. Where modifications accumulate over time, such a process can become cumulative cultural evolution. The existence of cumulative cultural evolution in non-human animals is controversial. When physical products of such a process do not exist, modifications may not be clearly visible over time. Here, we investigate whether the constantly evolving songs of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are indicative of cumulative cultural evolution. Using nine years of song data recorded from the New Caledonian humpback whale population, we quantified song evolution and complexity, and formally evaluated this process in light of criteria for cumulative cultural evolution. Song accumulates changes shown by an increase in complexity, but this process is punctuated by rapid loss of song material. While such changes tentatively satisfy the core criteria for cumulative cultural evolution, this claim hinges on the assumption that novel songs are preferred by females. While parsimonious, until such time as studies can link fitness benefits (reproductive success) to individual singers, any claims that humpback whale song evolution represents a form of cumulative cultural evolution may remain open to interpretation. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'The emergence of collective knowledge and cumulative culture in animals, humans and machines'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen C. Garland
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK
| | - Claire Garrigue
- UMR ENTROPIE, (IRD, Université de La Réunion, Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, IFREMER, CNRS, Laboratoire d'Excellence – CORAIL), 98848 Nouméa, New Caledonia
- Opération Cétacés, 98802 Nouméa, New Caledonia
| | - Michael J. Noad
- Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Laboratory, School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland 4343, Australia
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12
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Graham KE, Badihi G, Safryghin A, Grund C, Hobaiter C. A socio-ecological perspective on the gestural communication of great ape species, individuals, and social units. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2022; 34:235-259. [PMID: 35529671 PMCID: PMC9067943 DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2021.1988722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Over the last 30 years, most research on non-human primate gestural communication has been produced by psychologists, which has shaped the questions asked and the methods used. These researchers have drawn on concepts from philosophy, linguistics, anthropology, and ethology, but despite these broad influences the field has neglected to situate gestures into the socio-ecological context in which the diverse species, individuals, and social-units exist. In this review, we present current knowledge about great ape gestural communication in terms of repertoires, meanings, and development. We fold this into a conversation about variation in other types of ape social behaviour to identify areas for future research on variation in gestural communication. Given the large variation in socio-ecological factors across species and social-units (and the individuals within these groups), we may expect to find different preferences for specific gesture types; different needs for communicating specific meanings; and different rates of encountering specific contexts. New tools, such as machine-learning based automated movement tracking, may allow us to uncover potential variation in the speed and form of gesture actions or parts of gesture actions. New multi-group multi-generational datasets provide the opportunity to apply analyses, such as Bayesian modelling, which allows us to examine these rich behavioural landscapes. Together, by expanding our questions and our methods, researchers may finally be able to study great ape gestures from the perspective of the apes themselves and explore what this gestural communication system reveals about apes’ thinking and experience of their world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsty E. Graham
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Mary’s Quad, South St, St Andrews KY16 9JP, Scotland, UK
| | - Gal Badihi
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Mary’s Quad, South St, St Andrews KY16 9JP, Scotland, UK
| | - Alexandra Safryghin
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Mary’s Quad, South St, St Andrews KY16 9JP, Scotland, UK
| | - Charlotte Grund
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Mary’s Quad, South St, St Andrews KY16 9JP, Scotland, UK
| | - Catherine Hobaiter
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Mary’s Quad, South St, St Andrews KY16 9JP, Scotland, UK
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13
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The evolution of combinatoriality and compositionality in hominid tool use: a comparative perspective. INT J PRIMATOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-021-00267-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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14
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Sawant S, Arvind C, Joshi V, Robin VV. Spectrogram cross‐correlation can be used to measure the complexity of bird vocalizations. Methods Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Suyash Sawant
- Department of Biology Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati Tirupati India
| | - Chiti Arvind
- Department of Biology Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati Tirupati India
| | - Viral Joshi
- Department of Biology Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati Tirupati India
| | - V. V. Robin
- Department of Biology Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati Tirupati India
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15
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Zandberg L, Lachlan RF, Lamoni L, Garland EC. Global cultural evolutionary model of humpback whale song. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200242. [PMID: 34482732 PMCID: PMC8419575 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Humpback whale song is an extraordinary example of vocal cultural behaviour. In northern populations, the complex songs show long-lasting traditions that slowly evolve, while in the South Pacific, periodic revolutions occur when songs are adopted from neighbouring populations and rapidly spread. In this species, vocal learning cannot be studied in the laboratory, learning is instead inferred from the songs' complexity and patterns of transmission. Here, we used individual-based cultural evolutionary simulations of the entire Southern and Northern Hemisphere humpback whale populations to formalize this process of inference. We modelled processes of song mutation and patterns of contact among populations and compared our model with patterns of song theme sharing measured in South Pacific populations. Low levels of mutation in combination with rare population interactions were sufficient to closely fit the pattern of diversity in the South Pacific, including the distinctive pattern of west-to-east revolutions. Interestingly, the same learning parameters that gave rise to revolutions in the Southern Hemisphere simulations gave rise to evolutionary patterns of cultural evolution in the Northern Hemisphere populations. Our study demonstrates how cultural evolutionary approaches can be used to make inferences about the learning processes underlying cultural transmission and how they might generate emergent population-level processes. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lies Zandberg
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham Hill, Egham TW0 0EX, UK
| | - Robert F Lachlan
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham Hill, Egham TW0 0EX, UK
| | - Luca Lamoni
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK
| | - Ellen C Garland
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK
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16
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Carbaugh-Rutland A, Have Rasmussen J, Sterba-Boatwright B, Širović A. Geographically distinct blue whale song variants in the Northeast Pacific. ENDANGER SPECIES RES 2021. [DOI: 10.3354/esr01145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The Northeast Pacific (NEP) population of blue whales Balaenoptera musculus musculus is currently managed as a single stock. We investigated the fine-scale frequency characteristics of 1 NEP blue whale song unit, the B call. We analyzed B calls from passive acoustic data collected between 2010 and 2013 at 2 low-latitude sites, Palmyra Atoll and the Hawaiian Islands, and 3 higher-latitude sites, off southern California, off Washington state and in the Gulf of Alaska. Frequency measurements were extracted along the contour of the third harmonic from each call, and data from each region were compared. Calls from the Gulf of Alaska and Hawai‘i presented a downshift in frequency, beginning just past the midway point of the contour, which was not present in calls recorded from southern California or Palmyra Atoll. Calls from Washington displayed intermediate characteristics between those from the other 2 high-latitude sites. Cluster analysis resulted in consistent grouping of call contours from Washington and southern California, in what we termed the NEP B1 variant, while contours from Hawai‘i and the Gulf of Alaska were grouped together, as a NEP B2 variant. Frequency differences were also observed among the variants; the Gulf of Alaska displayed the highest frequency on average, followed by Washington, then southern California. Consistent with other studies, a yearly decline in the frequency of B calls was also observed. This discovery of at least 2 geographically distinct variants provides the first evidence of vocally distinct subpopulations within the NEP, indicating the possibility of a need for finer-scale population segmentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Carbaugh-Rutland
- Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University at Galveston, 200 Seawolf Parkway, Galveston, TX 77554, USA
| | - J Have Rasmussen
- Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University at Galveston, 200 Seawolf Parkway, Galveston, TX 77554, USA
| | - B Sterba-Boatwright
- College of Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA
| | - A Širović
- Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University at Galveston, 200 Seawolf Parkway, Galveston, TX 77554, USA
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17
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Mercado E, Perazio CE. All units are equal in humpback whale songs, but some are more equal than others. Anim Cogn 2021; 25:149-177. [PMID: 34363127 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01539-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2020] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Flexible production and perception of vocalizations is linked to an impressive array of cognitive capacities including language acquisition by humans, song learning by birds, biosonar in bats, and vocal imitation by cetaceans. Here, we characterize a portion of the repertoire of one of the most impressive vocalizers in nature: the humpback whale. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of sounds (units) produced by humpback whales revealed that singers gradually morphed streams of units along multiple acoustic dimensions within songs, maintaining the continuity of spectral content across subjectively dissimilar unit "types." Singers consistently produced some unit forms more frequently and intensely than others, suggesting that units are functionally heterogeneous. The precision with which singing humpback whales continuously adjusted the acoustic characteristics of units shows that they possess exquisite vocal control mechanisms and vocal flexibility beyond what is seen in most animals other than humans. The gradual morphing of units within songs that we observed is inconsistent with past claims that humpback whales construct songs from a fixed repertoire of discrete unit types. These findings challenge the results of past studies based on fixed-unit classification methods and argue for the development of new metrics for characterizing the graded structure of units. The specific vocal variations that singers produced suggest that humpback whale songs are unlikely to provide detailed information about a singer's reproductive fitness, but can reveal the precise locations and movements of singers from long distances and may enhance the effectiveness of units as sonar signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo Mercado
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Park Hall, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA.
| | - Christina E Perazio
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Park Hall, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA.,School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of New England, Biddeford, ME, USA
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18
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Hartigan J. Knowing Animals: Multispecies Ethnography and the Scope of Anthropology. AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/aman.13631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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19
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Insights from comparative research on social and cultural learning. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2021; 254:247-270. [PMID: 32859290 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2020.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/13/2023]
Abstract
Social cognitive skills play a crucial role in human life, and have allowed us to reach a unique level of behavioral and cultural complexity. However, many nonhuman species also show a complex understanding of the social world. Building on theories of human social development, we will follow the emergence of cultural learning skills across taxa, discussing similarities and differences between humans and other species. We will first review literature on social learning, including enhancement, emulation and imitation. Then, we will discuss existing studies on the evolution of teaching, and finally, we will critically review literature on the social transmission of skills and knowledge across generations. By adopting a comparative perspective, we will be able to identify the unique characteristics of social transmission in humans, and the social skills that are instead shared with other species, to gain a deeper understanding of the role of cultural learning in social cognitive development.
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20
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Sarano F, Girardet J, Sarano V, Vitry H, Preud'homme A, Heuzey R, Garcia-Cegarra AM, Madon B, Delfour F, Glotin H, Adam O, Jung JL. Kin relationships in cultural species of the marine realm: case study of a matrilineal social group of sperm whales off Mauritius island, Indian Ocean. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:201794. [PMID: 33972866 PMCID: PMC8074673 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the organization and dynamics of social groups of marine mammals through the study of kin relationships is particularly challenging. Here, we studied a stable social group of sperm whales off Mauritius, using underwater observations, individual-specific identification, non-invasive sampling and genetic analyses based on mitochondrial sequencing and microsatellite profiling. Twenty-four sperm whales were sampled between 2017 and 2019. All individuals except one adult female shared the same mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotype-one that is rare in the western Indian Ocean-thus confirming with near certainty the matrilineality of the group. All probable first- and second-degree kin relationships were depicted in the sperm whale social group: 13 first-degree and 27 second-degree relationships were identified. Notably, we highlight the likely case of an unrelated female having been integrated into a social unit, in that she presented a distinct mtDNA haplotype and no close relationships with any members of the group. Investigating the possible matrilineality of sperm whale cultural units (i.e. vocal clans) is the next step in our research programme to elucidate and better apprehend the complex organization of sperm whale social groups.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Justine Girardet
- Université de Brest, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, ISYEB, Brest, France
| | | | - Hugues Vitry
- Marine Megafauna Conservation Organisation, Mauritius
| | | | | | - Ana M. Garcia-Cegarra
- Centro de Investigación de Fauna Marina y Avistamiento de Cetáceos, CIFAMAC, Mejillones, Chile
- Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Santo Tomás, Antofagasta, Chile
| | - Bénédicte Madon
- Université de Brest, AMURE - Aménagement des Usages des Ressources et des Espaces marins et littoraux - Centre de droit et d'économie de la mer, Plouzané, France
| | - Fabienne Delfour
- Laboratoire d'Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée EA 4443, Université Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Villetaneuse, France
| | - Hervé Glotin
- Toulon University, Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LIS, DYNI Team, Marseille, France
| | - Olivier Adam
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut Jean Le Rond d'Alembert, UMR 7190, Paris, France
- Institute of Neurosciences Paris-Saclay, Bioacoustics Team, CNRS UMR 9197, Université Paris Sud, Orsay, France
| | - Jean-Luc Jung
- Université de Brest, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, ISYEB, Brest, France
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21
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Duarte CM, Chapuis L, Collin SP, Costa DP, Devassy RP, Eguiluz VM, Erbe C, Gordon TAC, Halpern BS, Harding HR, Havlik MN, Meekan M, Merchant ND, Miksis-Olds JL, Parsons M, Predragovic M, Radford AN, Radford CA, Simpson SD, Slabbekoorn H, Staaterman E, Van Opzeeland IC, Winderen J, Zhang X, Juanes F. The soundscape of the Anthropocene ocean. Science 2021; 371:371/6529/eaba4658. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aba4658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 161] [Impact Index Per Article: 53.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Carlos M. Duarte
- Red Sea Research Centre (RSRC) and Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955, Saudi Arabia
- Arctic Research Centre, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, C.F. Møllers Allé 8, DK-8000 Århus C, Denmark
| | - Lucille Chapuis
- Biosciences, University of Exeter, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter EX4 4PS, UK
| | - Shaun P. Collin
- School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, Australia
| | - Daniel P. Costa
- Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
| | - Reny P. Devassy
- Red Sea Research Centre (RSRC) and Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Victor M. Eguiluz
- Instituto de Física Interdisciplinar y Sistemas Complejos IFISC (CSIC-UIB), E07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - Christine Erbe
- Centre for Marine Science & Technology, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6102, Australia
| | - Timothy A. C. Gordon
- Biosciences, University of Exeter, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter EX4 4PS, UK
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Benjamin S. Halpern
- National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, USA
- Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Harry R. Harding
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Michelle N. Havlik
- Red Sea Research Centre (RSRC) and Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mark Meekan
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Nathan D. Merchant
- Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft NR33 0HT, UK
| | - Jennifer L. Miksis-Olds
- Center for Acoustics Research and Education, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA
| | - Miles Parsons
- Centre for Marine Science & Technology, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6102, Australia
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Milica Predragovic
- Red Sea Research Centre (RSRC) and Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Andrew N. Radford
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Craig A. Radford
- Institute of Marine Science, Leigh Marine Laboratory, University of Auckland, P.O. Box 349, Warkworth 0941, New Zealand
| | - Stephen D. Simpson
- Biosciences, University of Exeter, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter EX4 4PS, UK
| | - Hans Slabbekoorn
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9505, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands
| | | | - Ilse C. Van Opzeeland
- Alfred-Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
| | | | - Xiangliang Zhang
- Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Francis Juanes
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
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22
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Mercado E. Song Morphing by Humpback Whales: Cultural or Epiphenomenal? Front Psychol 2021; 11:574403. [PMID: 33519588 PMCID: PMC7844363 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.574403] [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: 06/19/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Singing humpback whales (Megaptera noavaengliae) collectively and progressively change the sounds and patterns they produce within their songs throughout their lives. The dynamic modifications that humpback whales make to their songs are often cited as an impressive example of cultural transmission through vocal learning in a non-human. Some elements of song change challenge this interpretation, however, including: (1) singers often incrementally and progressively morph phrases within and across songs as time passes, with trajectories of change being comparable across multiple time scales; (2) acoustically isolated subpopulations singing similar songs morph the acoustic properties of songs in similar ways; and (3) complex sound patterns, including phrases, themes, and whole songs, recur across years and populations. These properties of song dynamics suggest that singing humpback whales may be modulating song features in response to local conditions and genetic predispositions rather than socially learning novel sound patterns by copying other singers. Experimental and observational tests of key predictions of these alternative hypotheses are critical to identifying how and why singing humpback whales constantly change their songs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo Mercado
- Neural and Cognitive Plasticity Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States
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23
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Doolittle EL. "Hearken to the Hermit-Thrush": A Case Study in Interdisciplinary Listening. Front Psychol 2020; 11:613510. [PMID: 33362674 PMCID: PMC7756056 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.613510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Birdsong is widely analysed and discussed by people coming from both musical and scientific backgrounds. Both approaches provide valuable insight, but I argue that it is only through combining musical and scientific points of view, as well as perspectives from more tangentially related fields, that we can obtain the best possible understanding of birdsong. In this paper, I discuss how my own training as a musician, and in particular as a composer, affects how I listen to and parse birdsong. I identify nine areas of overlap between human music and birdsong, which may serve as starting points both for musical and scientific analysis, as well as for interdisciplinary analysis as practiced in the developing field of "zoomusicology." Using the hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus) as an example, I discuss how the song of a single species has been described by writers from a variety of disciplines, including music, literature, and the sciences, as well as how we can contextualise these varied perspectives in terms of broader cultural thought trends. I end with discussion of how combining approaches from multiple fields can help us to figure out new questions to ask, can help us identify how our own cultural biases may affect how we hear birdsong, and ultimately can help us develop richer and more nuanced understandings of the songs themselves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily L Doolittle
- Department of Research and Knowledge Exchange, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow, United Kingdom
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24
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Tóth Z, Jaloveczki B, Tarján G. Diffusion of Social Information in Non-grouping Animals. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.586058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent findings indicate that the utilization of social information, produced inadvertently by other individuals through their spatial location and/or interaction with the environment, may be ubiquitous in the animal kingdom. If so, social information-mediated effects on population growth and interspecies interactions may be more prevalent than previously thought. However, little is known about how social information may spread among non-grouping individuals, i.e., in animals that do not form cohesive groups and therefore social attraction among group-mates does not facilitate information diffusion. Are there any perception-related, temporal, and/or spatial parameters that may facilitate or limit the spread of social information in temporary aggregations or among dispersed individuals in a population? We argue that living in cohesive groups is not necessarily required for the diffusion of social information and for social information-mediated effects to emerge in a population. We propose that while learning complex problem-solving techniques socially is less likely to occur in non-grouping animals, the spread of adaptive responses to social stimuli, especially to non-visual cues, can be common and may affect population, and/or community dynamics in a wide range of taxa. We also argue that network-based diffusion analysis could be a suitable analytical method for studying information diffusion in future investigations, providing comparable estimations of social effects on information spread to previous studies on group-living animals. We conclude that more studies are warranted to verify what intrinsic and extrinsic factors influence information propagation among incidentally and/or indirectly interacting individuals if we are to better understand the role of social information in animal populations and how the social and ecological characteristics of species are related to information spread in natural communities.
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25
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Warren VE, Constantine R, Noad M, Garrigue C, Garland EC. Migratory insights from singing humpback whales recorded around central New Zealand. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2020; 7:201084. [PMID: 33391798 PMCID: PMC7735341 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The migration routes of wide-ranging species can be difficult to study, particularly at sea. In the western South Pacific, migratory routes of humpback whales between breeding and feeding areas are unclear. Male humpback whales sing a population-specific song, which can be used to match singers on migration to a breeding population. To investigate migratory routes and breeding area connections, passive acoustic recorders were deployed in the central New Zealand migratory corridor (2016); recorded humpback whale song was compared to song from the closest breeding populations of East Australia and New Caledonia (2015-2017). Singing northbound whales migrated past New Zealand from June to August via the east coast of the South Island and Cook Strait. Few song detections were made along the east coast of the North Island. New Zealand song matched New Caledonia song, suggesting a migratory destination, but connectivity to East Australia could not be ruled out. Two song types were present in New Zealand, illustrating the potential for easterly song transmission from East Australia to New Caledonia in this shared migratory corridor. This study enhances our understanding of western South Pacific humpback whale breeding population connectivity, and provides novel insights into the dynamic transmission of song culture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria E. Warren
- Institute of Marine Science, Leigh Marine Laboratory, University of Auckland, 160 Goat Island Road, Leigh 0985, New Zealand
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, 301 Evans Bay Parade, Hataitai, Wellington 6021, New Zealand
- Author for correspondence: Victoria E. Warren e-mail:
| | - Rochelle Constantine
- Institute of Marine Science, Leigh Marine Laboratory, University of Auckland, 160 Goat Island Road, Leigh 0985, New Zealand
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, 3A Symonds Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
| | - Michael Noad
- Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Laboratories, School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Australia
| | - Claire Garrigue
- UMR Entropie (IRD, Université de La Réunion, Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, IFREMER, CNRS) BP A5, 98848 Nouméa, New Caledonia
- Opération Cétacés, 98802 Noumea, New Caledonia
| | - Ellen C. Garland
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK
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26
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Garland EC, McGregor PK. Cultural Transmission, Evolution, and Revolution in Vocal Displays: Insights From Bird and Whale Song. Front Psychol 2020; 11:544929. [PMID: 33132953 PMCID: PMC7550662 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.544929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Culture, defined as shared behavior or information within a community acquired through some form of social learning from conspecifics, is now suggested to act as a second inheritance system. Cultural processes are important in a wide variety of vertebrate species. Birdsong provides a classic example of cultural processes: cultural transmission, where changes in a shared song are learned from surrounding conspecifics, and cultural evolution, where the patterns of songs change through time. This form of cultural transmission of information has features that are different in speed and form from genetic transmission. More recently, culture, vocal traditions, and an extreme form of song evolution have been documented in cetaceans. Humpback whale song “revolutions,” where the single population-wide shared song type is rapidly replaced by a new, novel song type introduced from a neighboring population, represents an extraordinary example of ocean basin-wide cultural transmission rivaled in its geographic extent only by humans. In this review, we examine the cultural evolutions and revolutions present in some birdsong and whale song, respectively. By taking a comparative approach to these cultural processes, we review the existing evidence to understand the similarities and differences for their patterns of expression and the underlying drivers, including anthropogenic influences, which may shape them. Finally, we encourage future studies to explore the role of innovation vs. production errors in song evolution, the fitness information present in song, and how human-induced changes in population sizes, trajectories, and migratory connections facilitating cultural transmission may be driving song revolutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen C Garland
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Sea Mammal Research Unit, School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, United Kingdom
| | - Peter K McGregor
- Eco-Ethology Research Unit, ISPA-Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal
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27
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Hawkey JS, Elwen SH, James BS, Prinsloo AS, Gridley T. First look at humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) song structure from western South Africa. AFRICAN ZOOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/15627020.2020.1796524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Simon Harvey Elwen
- Sea Search Research and Conservation NPO, Muizenberg, Cape Town, South Africa
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Bridget Susan James
- Sea Search Research and Conservation NPO, Muizenberg, Cape Town, South Africa
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Alexa Simone Prinsloo
- Sea Search Research and Conservation NPO, Muizenberg, Cape Town, South Africa
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Tess Gridley
- Sea Search Research and Conservation NPO, Muizenberg, Cape Town, South Africa
- Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
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28
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Smith K. How Culture and Biology Interact to Shape Language and the Language Faculty. Top Cogn Sci 2020; 12:690-712. [PMID: 30182526 PMCID: PMC7379493 DOI: 10.1111/tops.12377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2018] [Revised: 08/08/2018] [Accepted: 08/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Recent work suggests that linguistic structure develops through cultural evolution, as a consequence of the repeated cycle of learning and use by which languages persist. This work has important implications for our understanding of the evolution of the cognitive basis for language; in particular, human language and the cognitive capacities underpinning it are likely to have been shaped by co-evolutionary processes, where the cultural evolution of linguistic systems is shaped by and in turn shapes the biological evolution of the capacities underpinning language learning. I review several models of this co-evolutionary process, which suggest that the precise relationship between evolved biases in individuals and the structure of linguistic systems depends on the extent to which cultural evolution masks or unmasks individual-level cognitive biases from selection. I finish by discussing how these co-evolutionary models might be extended to cases where the biases involved in learning are themselves shaped by experience, as is the case for language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenny Smith
- Centre for Language EvolutionUniversity of Edinburgh
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29
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Searfoss AM, Pino JC, Creanza N. Chipper: Open‐source software for semi‐automated segmentation and analysis of birdsong and other natural sounds. Methods Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Abigail M. Searfoss
- Program in Chemical and Physical Biology Vanderbilt University Nashville TN USA
- Department of Biological Sciences Vanderbilt University Nashville TN USA
| | - James C. Pino
- Program in Chemical and Physical Biology Vanderbilt University Nashville TN USA
- Center for Structural Biology Vanderbilt University Nashville TN USA
| | - Nicole Creanza
- Department of Biological Sciences Vanderbilt University Nashville TN USA
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30
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Zuberbühler K. Syntax and compositionality in animal communication. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190062. [PMID: 31735152 PMCID: PMC6895557 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Syntax has been found in animal communication but only humans appear to have generative, hierarchically structured syntax. How did syntax evolve? I discuss three theories of evolutionary transition from animal to human syntax: computational capacity, structural flexibility and event perception. The computation hypothesis is supported by artificial grammar experiments consistently showing that only humans can learn linear stimulus sequences with an underlying hierarchical structure, a possible by-product of computationally powerful large brains. The structural flexibility hypothesis is supported by evidence of meaning-bearing combinatorial and permutational signal sequences in animals, with sometimes compositional features, but no evidence for generativity or hierarchical structure. Again, animals may be constrained by computational limits in short-term memory but possibly also by limits in articulatory control and social cognition. The event categorization hypothesis, finally, posits that humans are cognitively predisposed to analyse natural events by assigning agency and assessing how agents impact on patients, a propensity that is reflected by the basic syntactic units in all languages. Whether animals perceive natural events in the same way is largely unknown, although event perception may provide the cognitive grounding for syntax evolution. This article is part of the theme issue 'What can animal communication teach us about human language?'
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaus Zuberbühler
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchatel, Rue Emile Argand 11, 2000 Neuchatel, Switzerland
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9JP, UK
- Centre for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution, University of Zurich, Plattenstrasse 54, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland
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31
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Allen JA, Garland EC, Dunlop RA, Noad MJ. Network analysis reveals underlying syntactic features in a vocally learnt mammalian display, humpback whale song. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20192014. [PMID: 31847766 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Vocal communication systems have a set of rules that govern the arrangement of acoustic signals, broadly defined as 'syntax'. However, there is a limited understanding of potentially shared or analogous rules across vocal displays in different taxa. Recent work on songbirds has investigated syntax using network-based modelling. This technique quantifies features such as connectivity (adjacent signals in a sequence) and recurring patterns. Here, we apply network-based modelling to the complex, hierarchically structured songs of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) from east Australia. Given the song's annual evolving pattern and the cultural conformity of males within a population, network modelling captured the patterns of multiple song types over 13 consecutive years. Song arrangements in each year displayed clear 'small-world' network structure, characterized by clusters of highly connected sounds. Transitions between these connected sounds further suggested a combination of both structural stability and variability. Small-world network structure within humpback songs may facilitate the characteristic and persistent vocal learning observed. Similar small-world structures and transition patterns are found in several birdsong displays, indicating common syntactic patterns among vocal learning in multiple taxa. Understanding the syntactic rules governing vocal displays in multiple, independently evolving lineages may indicate what rules or structural features are important to the evolution of complex communication, including human language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenny A Allen
- Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Laboratory, School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland 4343, Australia.,School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland 4222, Australia
| | - Ellen C Garland
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Sea Mammal Research Unit, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH, UK
| | - Rebecca A Dunlop
- Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Laboratory, School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland 4343, Australia
| | - Michael J Noad
- Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Laboratory, School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland 4343, Australia
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Abstract
In recent decades, a burgeoning literature has documented the cultural transmission of behavior through social learning in numerous vertebrate and invertebrate species. One meaning of “cultural evolution in animals” refers to these discoveries, and I present an overview of key findings. I then address the other meaning of the term focused on cultural changes within a lineage. Such changes in humans, described as “cumulative cultural evolution,” have been spectacular, but relatively little attention has yet been paid to the topic in nonhuman animals, other than asserting that the process is unique to humans. A variety of evidence including both controlled experiments and field observations has begun to challenge this view, and in some behavioral domains, notably birdsong, cultural evolution has been studied for many years. In this review, I dissect concepts of cultural evolution and cumulative culture and appraise the accumulating evidence bearing on their nature and significance for evolutionary biology at large.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Whiten
- Centre for Social Learning and Cultural Evolution, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9JP, United Kingdom
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Owen C, Rendell L, Constantine R, Noad MJ, Allen J, Andrews O, Garrigue C, Michael Poole M, Donnelly D, Hauser N, Garland EC. Migratory convergence facilitates cultural transmission of humpback whale song. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:190337. [PMID: 31598287 PMCID: PMC6774987 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.190337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2019] [Accepted: 07/30/2019] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Cultural transmission of behaviour is important in a wide variety of vertebrate taxa from birds to humans. Vocal traditions and vocal learning provide a strong foundation for studying culture and its transmission in both humans and cetaceans. Male humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) perform complex, culturally transmitted song displays that can change both evolutionarily (through accumulations of small changes) or revolutionarily (where a population rapidly adopts a novel song). The degree of coordination and conformity underlying song revolutions makes their study of particular interest. Acoustic contact on migratory routes may provide a mechanism for cultural revolutions of song, yet these areas of contact remain uncertain. Here, we compared songs recorded from the Kermadec Islands, a recently discovered migratory stopover, to multiple South Pacific wintering grounds. Similarities in song themes from the Kermadec Islands and multiple wintering locations (from New Caledonia across to the Cook Islands) suggest a location allowing cultural transmission of song eastward across the South Pacific, active song learning (hybrid songs) and the potential for cultural convergence after acoustic isolation at the wintering grounds. As with the correlations in humans between genes, communication and migration, the migration patterns of humpback whales are written into their songs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clare Owen
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 8LB, UK
| | - Luke Rendell
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 8LB, UK
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, UK
| | - Rochelle Constantine
- South Pacific Whale Research Consortium, PO Box 3069, Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
| | - Michael J. Noad
- South Pacific Whale Research Consortium, PO Box 3069, Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
- Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Laboratory, School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland 4343, Australia
| | - Jenny Allen
- Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Laboratory, School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland 4343, Australia
| | - Olive Andrews
- South Pacific Whale Research Consortium, PO Box 3069, Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
- Conservation International, Pacific Islands Programme, Science Building 302, University of Auckland, 23 Symonds Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
- Niue Whale Research Project, Alofi, Niue
| | - Claire Garrigue
- South Pacific Whale Research Consortium, PO Box 3069, Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
- Opération Cétacés, Noumea 98802, New Caledonia
- UMR ENTROPIE (IRD, Université de La Réunion, CNRS, Laboratoire d'excellence-CORAIL), BPA5, 98848 Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia
| | - M. Michael Poole
- South Pacific Whale Research Consortium, PO Box 3069, Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
- Marine Mammal Research Program, BP 698, Maharepa, 98728 Moorea, French Polynesia
| | - David Donnelly
- South Pacific Whale Research Consortium, PO Box 3069, Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
- Killer Whales Australia, 8 Campbell Parade, Box Hill South, Victoria 3128, Australia
| | - Nan Hauser
- South Pacific Whale Research Consortium, PO Box 3069, Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
- Cook Islands Whale Research, PO Box 3069, Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
| | - Ellen C. Garland
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 8LB, UK
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, UK
- South Pacific Whale Research Consortium, PO Box 3069, Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
- Author for correspondence: Ellen C. Garland e-mail:
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Paxton KL, Sebastián-González E, Hite JM, Crampton LH, Kuhn D, Hart PJ. Loss of cultural song diversity and the convergence of songs in a declining Hawaiian forest bird community. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:190719. [PMID: 31598249 PMCID: PMC6731710 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.190719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2019] [Accepted: 07/23/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The effects of population decline on culturally transmitted behaviours in animals have rarely been described, but may have major implications to population viability. Learned vocal signals in birds are of critical importance to behaviours associated with reproduction, intrasexual interactions and group cohesion, and the complexity of vocal signals such as song can serve as an honest signal of an individual's quality as well as the viability of a population. In this study, we examined how rapid population declines recently experienced by Hawaiian honeycreepers on the island of Kaua'i (USA) may have influenced the diversity, complexity and similarity of learned honeycreeper songs. We analysed the acoustic characteristics of songs recorded during three time periods over a 40-year time frame for three species of declining Kaua'i honeycreepers. We detected a loss of song complexity and diversity over the 40-year time period that paralleled dramatic population declines. Concurrent with the loss of complexity, we also found that the acoustic characteristics of the three honeycreepers' songs became more similar to one another. To our knowledge, this is the first documentation of convergence of acoustic characteristics among rapidly declining species. The reduction in song complexity and diversity and convergence of songs not only signals a loss of culturally transmitted behaviours in these endemic Hawaiian honeycreepers, but also potential challenges to the recovery of these rapidly declining species. Moreover, the present study highlights that there is a 'hidden' cost to declining populations beyond just the loss of individuals that is not often considered, the loss of culturally transmitted social behaviours.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Esther Sebastián-González
- Department of Applied Biology, Miguel Hernández University, Avenida de la Universidad s/n 03202 Elche, Spain
| | - Justin M. Hite
- Kauai Forest Bird Recovery Project, Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit, Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife, University of Hawai‘i Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | - Lisa H. Crampton
- Kauai Forest Bird Recovery Project, Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit, Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife, University of Hawai‘i Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | - David Kuhn
- SoundsHawaiian, PO Box 1018, Waimea, HI 96796, USA
| | - Patrick J. Hart
- Department of Biology, University of Hawai‘i Hilo, Hilo, HI 96720, USA
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Song variation of the South Eastern Indian Ocean pygmy blue whale population in the Perth Canyon, Western Australia. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0208619. [PMID: 30668600 PMCID: PMC6342329 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2018] [Accepted: 11/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Sea noise collected over 2003 to 2017 from the Perth Canyon, Western Australia was analysed for variation in the South Eastern Indian Ocean pygmy blue whale song structure. The primary song-types were: P3, a three unit phrase (I, II and III) repeated with an inter-song interval (ISI) of 170-194 s; P2, a phrase consisting of only units II & III repeated every 84-96 s; and P1 with a phrase consisting of only unit II repeated every 45-49 s. The different ISI values were approximate multiples of each other within a season. When comparing data from each season, across seasons, the ISI value for each song increased significantly through time (all fits had p << 0.001), at 0.30 s/Year (95%CI 0.217-0.383), 0.8 s/Year (95%CI 0.655-1.025) and 1.73 s/Year (95%CI 1.264-2.196) for the P1, P2 and P3 songs respectively. The proportions of each song-type averaged at 21.5, 24.2 and 56% for P1, P2 and P3 occurrence respectively and these ratios could vary by up to ± 8% (95% CI) amongst years. On some occasions animals changed the P3 ISI to be significantly shorter (120-160 s) or longer (220-280 s). Hybrid song patterns occurred where animals combined multiple phrase types into a repeated song. In recent years whales introduced further complexity by splitting song units. This variability of song-type and proportions implies abundance measure for this whale sub population based on song detection needs to factor in trends in song variability to make data comparable between seasons. Further, such variability in song production by a sub population of pygmy blue whales raises questions as to the stability of the song types that are used to delineate populations. The high level of song variability may be driven by an increasing number of background whale callers creating 'noise' and so forcing animals to alter song in order to 'stand out' amongst the crowd.
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Rekdahl ML, Garland EC, Carvajal GA, King CD, Collins T, Razafindrakoto Y, Rosenbaum H. Culturally transmitted song exchange between humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae) in the southeast Atlantic and southwest Indian Ocean basins. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:172305. [PMID: 30564382 PMCID: PMC6281946 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.172305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2017] [Accepted: 11/02/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
In migratory marine species, investigating population connectivity and structure can be challenging given barriers to dispersal are less evident and multiple factors may influence individual movement patterns. Male humpback whales sing a song display that can provide insights into contemporary connectivity patterns, as there can be a cultural exchange of a single, population-wide shared song type with neighbouring populations in acoustic contact. Here, we investigated song exchange between populations located on the east and west coasts of Africa using 5 years of concurrent data (2001-2005). Songs were qualitatively and quantitatively transcribed by measuring acoustic features of all song units and then compared using both Dice's similarity index and the Levenshtein distance similarity index (LSI) to quantitatively calculate song similarity. Song similarity varied among individuals and potentially between populations depending on the year (Dice: 36-100%, LSI: 21-100%), suggesting varying levels of population connectivity and/or interchange among years. The high degree of song sharing indicated in this study further supports genetic studies that demonstrate interchange between these two populations and reinforces the emerging picture of broad-scale connectivity in Southern Hemisphere populations. Further research incorporating additional populations and years would be invaluable for better understanding of fine-scale, song interchange patterns between Southern Hemisphere male humpback whales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melinda L. Rekdahl
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Ocean Giants Program, Global Conservation Program, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10460-1099, USA
| | - Ellen C. Garland
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH, UK
| | - Gabriella A. Carvajal
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Ocean Giants Program, Global Conservation Program, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10460-1099, USA
- School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5000, USA
| | - Carissa D. King
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Ocean Giants Program, Global Conservation Program, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10460-1099, USA
| | - Tim Collins
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Ocean Giants Program, Global Conservation Program, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10460-1099, USA
| | - Yvette Razafindrakoto
- COSAP Sahamalaza Miaro Dugong C/O Madagascar National Parks Sahamalaza, Analalava, Maromandia, Madagascar
| | - Howard Rosenbaum
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Ocean Giants Program, Global Conservation Program, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10460-1099, USA
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Isbilen ES, Christiansen MH. Chunk‐Based Memory Constraints on the Cultural Evolution of Language. Top Cogn Sci 2018; 12:713-726. [DOI: 10.1111/tops.12376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2017] [Revised: 06/28/2018] [Accepted: 07/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Abstract
Why do humpback whales sing? This paper considers the hypothesis that humpback whales may use song for long range sonar. Given the vocal and social behavior of humpback whales, in several cases it is not apparent how they monitor the movements of distant whales or prey concentrations. Unless distant animals produce sounds, humpback whales are unlikely to be aware of their presence or actions. Some field observations are strongly suggestive of the use of song as sonar. Humpback whales sometimes stop singing and then rapidly approach distant whales in cases where sound production by those whales is not apparent, and singers sometimes alternately sing and swim while attempting to intercept another whale that is swimming evasively. In the evolutionary development of modern cetaceans, perceptual mechanisms have shifted from reliance on visual scanning to the active generation and monitoring of echoes. It is hypothesized that as the size and distance of relevant events increased, humpback whales developed adaptive specializations for long-distance echolocation. Differences between use of songs by humpback whales and use of sonar by other echolocating species are discussed, as are similarities between bat echolocation and singing by humpback whales. Singing humpback whales are known to emit sounds intense enough to generate echoes at long ranges, and to flexibly control the timing and qualities of produced sounds. The major problem for the hypothesis is the lack of recordings of echoes from other whales arriving at singers immediately before they initiate actions related to those whales. An earlier model of echoic processing by singing humpback whales is here revised to incorporate recent discoveries. According to the revised model, both direct echoes from targets and modulations in song-generated reverberation can provide singers with information that can help them make decisions about future actions related to mating, traveling, and foraging. The model identifies acoustic and structural features produced by singing humpback whales that may facilitate a singer's ability to interpret changes in echoic scenes and suggests that interactive signal coordination by singing whales may help them to avoid mutual interference. Specific, testable predictions of the model are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo Mercado III
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, United States
- Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Program, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, United States
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Whiten A, Ayala FJ, Feldman MW, Laland KN. The extension of biology through culture. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:7775-7781. [PMID: 28739924 PMCID: PMC5544333 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1707630114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Whiten
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews KY16 9JP, United Kingdom;
| | - Francisco J Ayala
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697
| | | | - Kevin N Laland
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews KY16 9JP, United Kingdom
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