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Kraft FLH, Crino OL, Adeniran-Obey SO, Moraney RA, Clayton DF, George JM, Buchanan KL. Parental developmental experience affects vocal learning in offspring. Sci Rep 2024; 14:13787. [PMID: 38877207 PMCID: PMC11178867 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-64520-8] [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: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Cultural and genetic inheritance combine to enable rapid changes in trait expression, but their relative importance in determining trait expression across generations is not clear. Birdsong is a socially learned cognitive trait that is subject to both cultural and genetic inheritance, as well as being affected by early developmental conditions. We sought to test whether early-life conditions in one generation can affect song acquisition in the next generation. We exposed one generation (F1) of nestlings to elevated corticosterone (CORT) levels, allowed them to breed freely as adults, and quantified their son's (F2) ability to copy the song of their social father. We also quantified the neurogenetic response to song playback through immediate early gene (IEG) expression in the auditory forebrain. F2 males with only one corticosterone-treated parent copied their social father's song less accurately than males with two control parents. Expression of ARC in caudomedial nidopallium (NCM) correlated with father-son song similarity, and patterns of expression levels of several IEGs in caudomedial mesopallium (CMM) in response to father song playback differed between control F2 sons and those with a CORT-treated father only. This is the first study to demonstrate that developmental conditions can affect social learning and neurogenetic responses in a subsequent generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fanny-Linn H Kraft
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Ondi L Crino
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA, Australia
| | | | - Raven A Moraney
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
| | - David F Clayton
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
| | - Julia M George
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
| | - Katherine L Buchanan
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
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2
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Williams H, Lachlan RF. Evidence for cumulative cultural evolution in bird song. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200322. [PMID: 34894731 PMCID: PMC8666912 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
In studies of cumulative cultural evolution in non-human animals, the focus is most often on incremental changes that increase the efficacy of an existing form of socially learned behaviour, such as the refinement of migratory pathways. In this paper, we compare the songs of different species to describe patterns of evolution in the acoustic structure of bird songs, and explore the question of what building blocks might underlie cumulative cultural evolution of bird song using a comparative approach. We suggest that three steps occurred: first, imitation of independent sounds, or notes, via social learning; second, the formation of categories of note types; and third, assembling note types into sequences with defined structures. Simple sequences can then be repeated to form simple songs or concatenated with other sequences to form segmented songs, increasing complexity. Variant forms of both the notes and the sequencing rules may then arise due to copy errors and innovation. Some variants may become established in the population because of learning biases or selection, increasing signal efficiency, or because of cultural drift. Cumulative cultural evolution of bird songs thus arises from cognitive processes such as vocal imitation, categorization during memorization and learning biases applied to basic acoustic building blocks. 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)
- Heather Williams
- Biology Department, Williams College, Williamstown, MA 01267, USA
| | - Robert F. Lachlan
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, London TW20 0EX, UK
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Lattenkamp EZ, Hörpel SG, Mengede J, Firzlaff U. A researcher's guide to the comparative assessment of vocal production learning. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200237. [PMID: 34482725 PMCID: PMC8422597 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Vocal production learning (VPL) is the capacity to learn to produce new vocalizations, which is a rare ability in the animal kingdom and thus far has only been identified in a handful of mammalian taxa and three groups of birds. Over the last few decades, approaches to the demonstration of VPL have varied among taxa, sound production systems and functions. These discrepancies strongly impede direct comparisons between studies. In the light of the growing number of experimental studies reporting VPL, the need for comparability is becoming more and more pressing. The comparative evaluation of VPL across studies would be facilitated by unified and generalized reporting standards, which would allow a better positioning of species on any proposed VPL continuum. In this paper, we specifically highlight five factors influencing the comparability of VPL assessments: (i) comparison to an acoustic baseline, (ii) comprehensive reporting of acoustic parameters, (iii) extended reporting of training conditions and durations, (iv) investigating VPL function via behavioural, perception-based experiments and (v) validation of findings on a neuronal level. These guidelines emphasize the importance of comparability between studies in order to unify the field of vocal learning. This article is part of the theme issue 'Vocal learning in animals and humans'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ella Z. Lattenkamp
- Division of Neurobiology, Department of Biology II, LMU Munich, Germany
- Neurogenetics of Vocal Communication Group, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Stephen G. Hörpel
- Neurogenetics of Vocal Communication Group, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Animal Sciences, Chair of Zoology, TU Munich, Germany
| | - Janine Mengede
- Neurogenetics of Vocal Communication Group, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Uwe Firzlaff
- Department of Animal Sciences, Chair of Zoology, TU Munich, Germany
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Vernes SC, Kriengwatana BP, Beeck VC, Fischer J, Tyack PL, ten Cate C, Janik VM. The multi-dimensional nature of vocal learning. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200236. [PMID: 34482723 PMCID: PMC8419582 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
How learning affects vocalizations is a key question in the study of animal communication and human language. Parallel efforts in birds and humans have taught us much about how vocal learning works on a behavioural and neurobiological level. Subsequent efforts have revealed a variety of cases among mammals in which experience also has a major influence on vocal repertoires. Janik and Slater (Anim. Behav.60, 1-11. (doi:10.1006/anbe.2000.1410)) introduced the distinction between vocal usage and production learning, providing a general framework to categorize how different types of learning influence vocalizations. This idea was built on by Petkov and Jarvis (Front. Evol. Neurosci.4, 12. (doi:10.3389/fnevo.2012.00012)) to emphasize a more continuous distribution between limited and more complex vocal production learners. Yet, with more studies providing empirical data, the limits of the initial frameworks become apparent. We build on these frameworks to refine the categorization of vocal learning in light of advances made since their publication and widespread agreement that vocal learning is not a binary trait. We propose a novel classification system, based on the definitions by Janik and Slater, that deconstructs vocal learning into key dimensions to aid in understanding the mechanisms involved in this complex behaviour. We consider how vocalizations can change without learning, and a usage learning framework that considers context specificity and timing. We identify dimensions of vocal production learning, including the copying of auditory models (convergence/divergence on model sounds, accuracy of copying), the degree of change (type and breadth of learning) and timing (when learning takes place, the length of time it takes and how long it is retained). We consider grey areas of classification and current mechanistic understanding of these behaviours. Our framework identifies research needs and will help to inform neurobiological and evolutionary studies endeavouring to uncover the multi-dimensional nature of vocal learning. This article is part of the theme issue 'Vocal learning in animals and humans'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonja C. Vernes
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
- Neurogenetics of Vocal Communication Group, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Veronika C. Beeck
- Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Julia Fischer
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Centre, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Primate Cognition, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Peter L. Tyack
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Carel ten Cate
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Williams H. Mechanisms of Cultural Evolution in the Songs of Wild Bird Populations. Front Psychol 2021; 12:643343. [PMID: 33981272 PMCID: PMC8107227 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.643343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Young songbirds draw the source material for their learned songs from parents, peers, and unrelated adults, as well as from innovation. These learned songs are used for intraspecific communication, and have well-documented roles for such functions as territory maintenance and mate attraction. The songs of wild populations differ, forming local "dialects" that may shift over time, suggesting that cultural evolution is at work. Recent work has focused on the mechanisms responsible for the cultural evolution of bird songs within a population, including drift, learning biases (such as conformity and rare-form copying), and selection (including sexual selection). In many songs or song repertoires, variability is partitioned, with some songs or song segments being stable and consistent, while others vary within the population and across time, and still others undergo population-wide transitions over time. This review explores the different mechanisms that shape the cultural evolution of songs in wild populations, with specific reference to a long-term investigation of a single population of philopatric Savannah sparrows. Males learn a single four-segment song during their 1st year and sing the same song thereafter. Within this song, the buzz segment is a population marker, and may be stable for decades - variant forms occur but eventually disappear. In contrast, the middle segment is highly variable both within the population and over time; changes in relative prevalence of different forms may be due to cultural drift or a rare-form learning bias. Within the introductory segment, a high note cluster was replaced by a click train between 1982 and 2010, following an S-shaped trajectory characteristic of both selective sweeps in population genetics and the replacement of one form by another in human language. In the case of the Savannah sparrows, this replacement may have been due to sexual selection. In subsequent generations, the number of clicks within trains increased, a form of cultural directional selection. In contrast to the narrowing of a trait's range during directional selection in genetic systems, variation in the number of clicks in a train increased as the mean value shifted because improvisation during song learning allowed the range of the trait to expand. Thus, in the single short song of the Savannah sparrow, at least four different mechanisms appear to contribute to three different types of cultural evolutionary outcomes. In the future, it will be import to explore the conditions that favor the application of specific (and perhaps conditional) learning rules, and studies such as the ongoing song seeding experiment in the Kent Island Savannah sparrow population will help in understanding the mechanisms that promote or repress changes in a population's song.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather Williams
- Biology Department, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, United States
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6
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Dinh JP, Peters S, Nowicki S. Song performance improves with continued singing across the morning in a songbird. Anim Behav 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.06.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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7
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Green PA, Brandley NC, Nowicki S. Categorical perception in animal communication and decision-making. Behav Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The information an animal gathers from its environment, including that associated with signals, often varies continuously. Animals may respond to this continuous variation in a physical stimulus as lying in discrete categories rather than along a continuum, a phenomenon known as categorical perception. Categorical perception was first described in the context of speech and thought to be uniquely associated with human language. Subsequent work has since discovered that categorical perception functions in communication and decision-making across animal taxa, behavioral contexts, and sensory modalities. We begin with an overview of how categorical perception functions in speech perception and, then, describe subsequent work illustrating its role in nonhuman animal communication and decision-making. We synthesize this work to suggest that categorical perception may be favored where there is a benefit to 1) setting consistent behavioral response rules in the face of variation and potential overlap in the physical structure of signals, 2) especially rapid decision-making, or 3) reducing the costs associated with processing and/or comparing signals. We conclude by suggesting other systems in which categorical perception may play a role as a next step toward understanding how this phenomenon may influence our thinking about the function and evolution of animal communication and decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick A Green
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
- Biology Department, Duke University, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Nicholas C Brandley
- Department of Biology, College of Wooster, Ruth W. Williams Hall, Wooster, OH, USA
| | - Stephen Nowicki
- Biology Department, Duke University, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical School, Durham, NC, USA
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9
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Riebel K, Odom KJ, Langmore NE, Hall ML. New insights from female bird song: towards an integrated approach to studying male and female communication roles. Biol Lett 2019; 15:20190059. [PMID: 30940020 PMCID: PMC6501358 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2019.0059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2019] [Accepted: 03/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Historically, bird song has been regarded as a sex-specific signalling trait; males sing to attract females and females drive the evolution of signal exaggeration by preferring males with ever more complex songs. This view provides no functional role for female song. Historic geographical research biases generalized pronounced sex differences of phylogenetically derived northern temperate zone songbirds to all songbirds. However, we now know that female song is common and that both sexes probably sang in the ancestor of modern songbirds. This calls for research on adaptive explanations and mechanisms regulating female song, and a reassessment of questions and approaches to identify selection pressures driving song elaboration in both sexes and subsequent loss of female song in some clades. In this short review and perspective we highlight newly emerging questions and propose a research framework to investigate female song and song sex differences across species. We encourage experimental tests of mechanism, ontogeny, and function integrated with comparative evolutionary analyses. Moreover, we discuss the wider implications of female bird song research for our understanding of male and female communication roles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Riebel
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, 2333 BE, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Karan J. Odom
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, 2333 BE, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Naomi E. Langmore
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia
| | - Michelle L. Hall
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
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10
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Boogert NJ, Lachlan RF, Spencer KA, Templeton CN, Farine DR. Stress hormones, social associations and song learning in zebra finches. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 373:20170290. [PMID: 30104435 PMCID: PMC6107560 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of information provided by others is a common short-cut adopted to inform decision-making. However, instead of indiscriminately copying others, animals are often selective in what, when and whom they copy. How do they decide which 'social learning strategy' to use? Previous research indicates that stress hormone exposure in early life may be important: while juvenile zebra finches copied their parents' behaviour when solving novel foraging tasks, those exposed to elevated levels of corticosterone (CORT) during development copied only unrelated adults. Here, we tested whether this switch in social learning strategy generalizes to vocal learning. In zebra finches, juvenile males often copy their father's song; would CORT-treated juveniles in free-flying aviaries switch to copying songs of other males? We found that CORT-treated juveniles copied their father's song less accurately as compared to control juveniles. We hypothesized that this could be due to having weaker social foraging associations with their fathers, and found that sons that spent less time foraging with their fathers produced less similar songs. Our findings are in line with a novel hypothesis linking early-life stress and social learning: early-life CORT exposure may affect social learning indirectly as a result of the way it shapes social affiliations.This article is part of the theme issue 'Causes and consequences of individual differences in cognitive abilities'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neeltje J Boogert
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Robert F Lachlan
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Karen A Spencer
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9JP, UK
| | | | - Damien R Farine
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell 78315, Germany
- Chair of Biodiversity and Collective Behaviour, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78464, Germany
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Pike CD, Kriengwatana BP. Vocal tract constancy in birds and humans. Behav Processes 2018; 163:99-112. [PMID: 30145277 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2017] [Revised: 07/30/2018] [Accepted: 08/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Humans perceive speech as being relatively stable despite acoustic variation caused by vocal tract (VT) differences between speakers. Humans use perceptual 'vocal tract normalisation' (VTN) and other processes to achieve this stability. Similarity in vocal apparatus/acoustics between birds and humans means that birds might also experience VT variation. This has the potential to impede bird communication. No known studies have explicitly examined this, but a number of studies show perceptual stability or 'perceptual constancy' in birds similar to that seen in humans when dealing with VT variation. This review explores similarities between birds and humans and concludes that birds show sufficient evidence of perceptual constancy to warrant further research in this area. Future work should 1) quantify the multiple sources of variation in bird vocalisations, including, but not limited to VT variations, 2) determine whether vocalisations are perniciously disrupted by any of these and 3) investigate how birds reduce variation to maintain perceptual constancy and perceptual efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cleopatra Diana Pike
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Mary's Quad, South Street, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JP, UK.
| | - Buddhamas Pralle Kriengwatana
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Mary's Quad, South Street, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JP, UK
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12
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Lachlan RF, Ratmann O, Nowicki S. Cultural conformity generates extremely stable traditions in bird song. Nat Commun 2018; 9:2417. [PMID: 29925831 PMCID: PMC6010409 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04728-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2017] [Accepted: 05/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Cultural traditions have been observed in a wide variety of animal species. It remains unclear, however, what is required for social learning to give rise to stable traditions: what level of precision and what learning strategies are required. We address these questions by fitting models of cultural evolution to learned bird song. We recorded 615 swamp sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) song repertoires, and compared syllable frequency distributions to the output of individual-based simulations. We find that syllables are learned with an estimated error rate of 1.85% and with a conformist bias in learning. This bias is consistent with a simple mechanism of overproduction and selective attrition. Finally, we estimate that syllable types could frequently persist for more than 500 years. Our results demonstrate conformist bias in natural animal behaviour and show that this, along with moderately precise learning, may support traditions whose stability rivals those of humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert F Lachlan
- Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, UK.
| | - Oliver Ratmann
- Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Stephen Nowicki
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical School, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
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Sewall KB, Anderson RC, Soha JA, Peters S, Nowicki S. Early life conditions that impact song learning in male zebra finches also impact neural and behavioral responses to song in females. Dev Neurobiol 2018; 78:10.1002/dneu.22600. [PMID: 29675841 PMCID: PMC6195868 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.22600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2017] [Revised: 04/02/2018] [Accepted: 04/18/2018] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Early life stressors can impair song in songbirds by negatively impacting brain development and subsequent learning. Even in species in which only males sing, early life stressors might also impact female behavior and its underlying neural mechanisms, but fewer studies have examined this possibility. We manipulated brood size in zebra finches to simultaneously examine the effects of developmental stress on male song learning and female behavioral and neural response to song. Although adult male HVC volume was unaffected, we found that males from larger broods imitated tutor song less accurately. In females, early condition did not affect the direction of song preference: all females preferred tutor song over unfamiliar song in an operant test. However, treatment did affect the magnitude of behavioral response to song: females from larger broods responded less during song preference trials. This difference in activity level did not reflect boldness per se, as a separate measure of this trait did not differ with brood size. Additionally, in females we found a treatment effect on expression of the immediate early gene ZENK in response to tutor song in brain regions involved in song perception (dNCM) and social motivation (LSc.vl, BSTm, TnA), but not in a region implicated in song memory (CMM). These results are consistent with the hypothesis that developmental stressors that impair song learning in male zebra finches also influence perceptual and/or motivational processes in females. However, our results suggest that the learning of tutor song by females is robust to disturbance by developmental stress. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2018.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kendra B. Sewall
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
- School of Neuroscience, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Rindy C. Anderson
- Department Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Davie, FL, USA
| | - Jill A. Soha
- Biology Department, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Susan Peters
- Biology Department, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Stephen Nowicki
- Biology Department, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical School, Durham, NC, USA
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DuBois AL, Nowicki S, Peters S, Rivera-Cáceres KD, Searcy WA. Song is not a reliable signal of general cognitive ability in a songbird. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.01.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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15
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Wheatcroft D, Qvarnström A. Reproductive character displacement of female, but not male song discrimination in an avian hybrid zone. Evolution 2017; 71:1776-1786. [DOI: 10.1111/evo.13267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2017] [Revised: 04/20/2017] [Accepted: 05/02/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- David Wheatcroft
- Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics Uppsala University Norbyvägen 18D 752 36 Sweden
| | - Anna Qvarnström
- Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics Uppsala University Norbyvägen 18D 752 36 Sweden
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16
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17
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Riebel K. Understanding Sex Differences in Form and Function of Bird Song: The Importance of Studying Song Learning Processes. Front Ecol Evol 2016. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2016.00062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Soha JA, Peters S. Vocal Learning in Songbirds and Humans: A Retrospective in Honor of Peter Marler. Ethology 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
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Abstract
Some of the psychological abilities that underlie human speech are shared with other species. One hallmark of speech is that linguistic context affects both how speech sounds are categorized into phonemes, and how different versions of phonemes are produced. We here confirm earlier findings that swamp sparrows categorically perceive the notes that constitute their learned songs and then investigate how categorical boundaries differ according to context. We clustered notes according to their acoustic structure, and found statistical evidence for clustering into 10 population-wide note types. Examining how three related types were perceived, we found, in both discrimination and labeling tests, that an "intermediate" note type is categorized with a "short" type when it occurs at the beginning of a song syllable, but with a "long" type at the end of a syllable. In sum, three produced note-type clusters appear to be underlain by two perceived categories. Thus, in birdsong, as in human speech, categorical perception is context-dependent, and as is the case for human phonology, there is a complex relationship between underlying categorical representations and surface forms. Our results therefore suggest that complex phonology can evolve even in the absence of rich linguistic components, like syntax and semantics.
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Riebel K, Lachlan RF, Slater PJ. Learning and Cultural Transmission in Chaffinch Song. ADVANCES IN THE STUDY OF BEHAVIOR 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.asb.2015.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
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