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De Gregorio C, Maiolini M, Raimondi T, Carugati F, Miaretsoa L, Valente D, Torti V, Giacoma C, Ravignani A, Gamba M. Isochrony as ancestral condition to call and song in a primate. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2024; 1537:41-50. [PMID: 38925552 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.15151] [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: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
Animal songs differ from calls in function and structure, and have comparative and translational value, showing similarities to human music. Rhythm in music is often distributed in quantized classes of intervals known as rhythmic categories. These classes have been found in the songs of a few nonhuman species but never in their calls. Are rhythmic categories song-specific, as in human music, or can they transcend the song-call boundary? We analyze the vocal displays of one of the few mammals producing both songs and call sequences: Indri indri. We test whether rhythmic categories (a) are conserved across songs produced in different contexts, (b) exist in call sequences, and (c) differ between songs and call sequences. We show that rhythmic categories occur across vocal displays. Vocalization type and function modulate deployment of categories. We find isochrony (1:1 ratio, like the rhythm of a ticking clock) in all song types, but only advertisement songs show three rhythmic categories (1:1, 1:2, 2:1 ratios). Like songs, some call types are also isochronous. Isochrony is the backbone of most indri vocalizations, unlike human speech, where it is rare. In indri, isochrony underlies both songs and hierarchy-less call sequences and might be ancestral to both.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara De Gregorio
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
- Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Marco Maiolini
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Teresa Raimondi
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
- Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Filippo Carugati
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Longondraza Miaretsoa
- Groupe d'étude et de recherche sur les primates de Madagascar (GERP), Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Daria Valente
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
- Parco Natura Viva Garda Zoological Park (PNV), Verona, Italy
| | - Valeria Torti
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Cristina Giacoma
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Andrea Ravignani
- Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Comparative Bioacoustics Group, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Marco Gamba
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
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De Gregorio C, Valente D, Ferrario V, Carugati F, Cristiano W, Raimondi T, Torti V, Giacoma C, Gamba M. Who you live with and what you duet for: a review of the function of primate duets in relation to their social organization. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2024; 210:281-294. [PMID: 38285176 PMCID: PMC10995044 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-023-01689-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2024]
Abstract
Duets are one of the most fascinating displays in animal vocal communication, where two animals fine-tune the timing of their emissions to create a coordinated signal. Duetting behavior is widespread in the animal kingdom and is present in insects, birds, and mammals. Duets are essential to regulate activities within and between social units. Few studies assessed the functions of these vocal emissions experimentally, and for many species, there is still no consensus on what duets are used for. Here, we reviewed the literature on the function of duets in non-human primates, investigating a possible link between the social organization of the species and the function of its duetting behavior. In primates and birds, social conditions characterized by higher promiscuity might relate to the emergence of duetting behavior. We considered both quantitative and qualitative studies, which led us to hypothesize that the shift in the social organization from pair living to a mixed social organization might have led to the emergence of mate defense and mate guarding as critical functions of duetting behavior. Territory/resource ownership and defense functions are more critical in obligate pair-living species. Finally, we encourage future experimental research on this topic to allow the formulation of empirically testable predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara De Gregorio
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy.
| | - Daria Valente
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Valeria Ferrario
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Filippo Carugati
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Walter Cristiano
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
- Environment and Health Department, Italian National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Teresa Raimondi
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Valeria Torti
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Cristina Giacoma
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Marco Gamba
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
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Zanoli A, Raimondi T, De Gregorio C, Valente D, Carugati F, Torti V, Friard O, Miaretsoa L, Giacoma C, Gamba M. "The song remains the same": not really! Vocal flexibility in the song of the indris. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:2009-2021. [PMID: 37792125 PMCID: PMC10769932 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-023-01826-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
In studying communicative signals, we can think of flexibility as a necessary correlate of creativity. Flexibility enables animals to find practical solutions and appropriate behaviors in mutable situations. In this study, we aimed to quantify the degree of flexibility in the songs of indris (Indri indri), the only singing lemur, using three different metrics: Jaro Distance, normalized diversity, and entropy. We hypothesized that the degree and the co-variation of the flexibility of indris singing together would vary according to their status and sex. We found that dominant females were more flexible than dominant males when concatenating elements into strings (element concatenation). The number of different elements in a song contribution normalized by the contribution length (contribution diversity) of dominant individuals positively co-varied for seven duetting pairs. Non-dominant individuals were more variable in element concatenation than dominant individuals, and they were more diverse in phrase type than dominant females. Independently from sex and status, individual contributions did not differ in entropy (a measure of the predictability of contributions). These results corroborate previous findings regarding the dimorphism by sex and by status of individual contributions to songs. Thus, they shed light on the presence and expression of flexibility in the behavior of a non-human primate species. Indeed, they potentially show an effect of social features in shaping vocal flexibility, which underlies many communication systems, including human language. We speculate that this degree of flexibility may account for creativity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Zanoli
- Department of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina 13, Turin, Italy.
| | - Teresa Raimondi
- Department of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina 13, Turin, Italy.
| | - Chiara De Gregorio
- Department of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina 13, Turin, Italy
| | - Daria Valente
- Department of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina 13, Turin, Italy
- Parco Natura Viva Garda Zoological Park, Bussolengo, Verona, Italy
| | - Filippo Carugati
- Department of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina 13, Turin, Italy
| | - Valeria Torti
- Department of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina 13, Turin, Italy
| | - Olivier Friard
- Department of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina 13, Turin, Italy
| | - Longondraza Miaretsoa
- Department of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina 13, Turin, Italy
- Groupe d'Étude et de Recherche Sur les Primates de Madagascar (GERP), Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Cristina Giacoma
- Department of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina 13, Turin, Italy
| | - Marco Gamba
- Department of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina 13, Turin, Italy
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Cristiano W, Raimondi T, Valente D, De Gregorio C, Torti V, Ferrario V, Carugati F, Miaretsoa L, Mancini L, Gamba M, Giacoma C. Singing more, singing harsher: occurrence of nonlinear phenomena in a primate' song. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:1661-1673. [PMID: 37458893 PMCID: PMC10442282 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-023-01809-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Revised: 06/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Abstract
Nonlinear phenomena (NLP) in animal vocalizations arise from irregularities in the oscillation of the vocal folds. Various non-mutually exclusive hypotheses have been put forward to explain the occurrence of NLP, from adaptive to physiological ones. Non-human primates often display NLP in their vocalizations, yet the communicative role of these features, if any, is still unclear. We here investigate the occurrence of NLP in the song of a singing primate, the indri (Indri indri), testing for the effect of sex, age, season, and duration of the vocal display on their emission. Our results show that NLP occurrence in indri depends on phonation, i.e., the cumulative duration of all the units emitted by an individual, and that NLP have higher probability to be emitted in the later stages of the song, probably due to the fatigue indris may experience while singing. Furthermore, NLP happen earlier in the vocal display of adult females than in that of the adult males, and this is probably due to the fact that fatigue occurs earlier in the former because of a greater contribution within the song. Our findings suggest, therefore, that indris may be subjected to physiological constraints during the singing process which may impair the production of harmonic sounds. However, indris may still benefit from emitting NLP by strengthening the loudness of their signals for better advertising their presence to the neighboring conspecific groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Walter Cristiano
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123, Turin, Italy.
- Ecosystems and Health Unit, Environment and Health Department, Italian National Institute of Health, 00161, Rome, Italy.
| | - Teresa Raimondi
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123, Turin, Italy
| | - Daria Valente
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123, Turin, Italy
| | - Chiara De Gregorio
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123, Turin, Italy
| | - Valeria Torti
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123, Turin, Italy
| | - Valeria Ferrario
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123, Turin, Italy
| | - Filippo Carugati
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123, Turin, Italy
| | - Longondraza Miaretsoa
- Groupe d'Étude et de Recherche sur les Primates de Madagascar (GERP), II M 78 BIS Antsakaviro, B.P 779, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Laura Mancini
- Ecosystems and Health Unit, Environment and Health Department, Italian National Institute of Health, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Marco Gamba
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123, Turin, Italy
| | - Cristina Giacoma
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123, Turin, Italy
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First evidence of contagious yawning in a wild lemur. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03284-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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De Gregorio C, Zanoli A, Carugati F, Raimondi T, Valente D, Torti V, Miaretsoa L, Rajaonson A, Gamba M, Giacoma C. Parent-offspring turn-taking dynamics influence parents’ song structure and elaboration in a singing primate. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.906322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Parent-offspring interactions are essential to interpret animal social evolution and behavior, but their role in mediating acoustic communication in animals that interact vocally is still unclear. Increasing evidence shows that primate vocal communication is way more flexible than previously assumed, and research on this topic can provide further information on how the social environment shaped vocal plasticity during the evolution of the Primate order. Indris communicate through elaborated vocal emissions, usually termed songs. Songs are interactive vocal displays in which all members of the family group alternate their emissions, taking turns during chorusing events. We aimed to understand whether specific rules regulate the turn-taking of different group members and investigate the flexibility of indris’ vocal behavior when co-singing with their offspring. We found that social factors can influence the turn-taking organization in a chorus, as offspring were more likely to drop out from the parents’ duet than join in, and we speculate that overlap might signal competition by members of the same-sex. The duet between the reproductive pair was the most common type of singing organization, followed by a duet between mothers and sons and the triadic interaction between mother, father, and son. Interestingly, parents’ solo singing seems to stimulate offspring to vocalize, and we also found that mothers and fathers simplify, at least in part, song elaboration when chorusing with offspring. Our results indicate that indris can perform short-time adjustments to the number of co-emitters and their identity: our approach is advantageous in highlighting the multilevel influences on primate vocal flexibility. Moreover, it provides evidence that some aspects of our vocal plasticity were already present in the lemur lineage.
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