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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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2
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Cinková I, Shrader AM. Individuality, species-specific features, and female discrimination of male southern white rhinoceros courtship calls. Anim Cogn 2022; 25:769-782. [PMID: 35015220 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01591-4] [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] [Received: 08/08/2021] [Revised: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Male vocalizations associated with courtship can play a key role in mate selection. They may help females obtain information about males' quality and identity and/or may contain species-specific properties that help prevent interspecies breeding. Despite vocalizations being a prominent part of the courtship of white rhinos, the role that they play in white rhino breeding behaviour has not been extensively studied. Both southern (SWR) and critically endangered northern white rhino (NWR) males intensively vocalize during courtship with hic calls. We examined these calls and found that call properties differed between NWR and SWR males. In addition, we found that individual SWR males could be identified with a high degree of accuracy using their hic calls and that the signature information capacity in hic calls would allow females to individually recognize about 11 adult males living in or moving through their home-ranges, which may help with mate selection. Then, we conducted playback experiments with wild anoestrus SWR females. The females discriminated between the NWR and SWR hic calls and between the SWR hic and SWR pant calls. However, we only found differences in the latency of observed behaviours, not in their duration or in the intensity of females' reaction. This might suggest that females which are not in oestrus are not highly responsive to a male's motivation (i.e., seeking contact or mating), but are more interested in assessing his dominance status or familiarity. Ultimately, our results indicate that courtship hic calls encode information which might help females choose mating partners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivana Cinková
- School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. .,Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology, Faculty of Science, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
| | - Adrian M Shrader
- School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.,Department of Zoology and Entomology, Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
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3
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Calcari C, Pilenga C, Baciadonna L, Gamba M, Favaro L. Long-term stability of vocal individuality cues in a territorial and monogamous seabird. Anim Cogn 2021; 24:1165-1169. [PMID: 33973095 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01518-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Revised: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The stability of individual acoustic features is fundamental in social species, and more importantly in monogamous and territorial species, showing long-term fidelity both to the partner and the breeding site. In this study, the stability over time of two discrete vocal types was investigated in the African penguin (Spheniscus demersus), a monogamous and territorial seabird. Contact calls and ecstatic display songs were recorded from an ex situ colony in 2017 and in 2020. For each vocalisation, we measured 14 spectral and temporal acoustic parameters related to both source and filter components. Two separate leave-one-out cross-validated Discriminant Function Analyses (DFA) were then performed, generating the discriminant functions from the vocalisations collected in 2017 to classify those recorded in 2020. The DFA correctly classified 62% of the contact calls (10 subjects) and 80.9% of the ecstatic display songs (seven subjects) according to the correct emitter, showing that acoustic cues to individuality encoded in both vocal types remained unchanged over four consecutive breeding seasons. We suggest that, in this monogamous and territorial bird species, individual acoustic stability could be selected for to identify groupmates and neighbours over the years and to help couples to reunite in consecutive breeding seasons, increasing individual fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Calcari
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | | | - Luigi Baciadonna
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Marco Gamba
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Livio Favaro
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
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4
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Wijers M, Trethowan P, Du Preez B, Chamaillé-Jammes S, Loveridge AJ, Macdonald DW, Markham A. Vocal discrimination of African lions and its potential for collar-free tracking. BIOACOUSTICS 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2020.1829050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Wijers
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Paul Trethowan
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Byron Du Preez
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Simon Chamaillé-Jammes
- CEFE, CNRS, University Montpellier, University Paul Valéry Montpellier, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Andrew J. Loveridge
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - David W. Macdonald
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Andrew Markham
- Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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5
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Charlton BD, Newman C, Macdonald DW, Buesching CD. Male European badger churrs: insights into call function and motivational basis. Mamm Biol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s42991-020-00033-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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6
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Green A, Clark C, Favaro L, Lomax S, Reby D. Vocal individuality of Holstein-Friesian cattle is maintained across putatively positive and negative farming contexts. Sci Rep 2019; 9:18468. [PMID: 31804583 PMCID: PMC6895157 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-54968-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2019] [Accepted: 11/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Cattle mother-offspring contact calls encode individual-identity information; however, it is unknown whether cattle are able to maintain individuality when vocalising to familiar conspecifics over other positively and negatively valenced farming contexts. Accordingly, we recorded 333 high-frequency vocalisations from 13 Holstein-Friesian heifers during oestrus and anticipation of feed (putatively positive), as well as denied feed access and upon both physical and physical & visual isolation from conspecifics (putatively negative). We measured 21 source-related and nonlinear vocal parameters and stepwise discriminant function analyses (DFA) were performed. Calls were divided into positive (n = 170) and negative valence (n = 163) with each valence acting as a 'training set' to classify calls in the oppositely valenced 'test set'. Furthermore, MANOVAs were conducted to determine which vocal parameters were implicated in individual distinctiveness. Within the putatively positive 'training set', the cross-validated DFA correctly classified 68.2% of the putatively positive calls and 52.1% of the putatively negative calls to the correct individual, respectively. Within the putatively negative 'training set', the cross-validated DFA correctly assigned 60.1% of putatively negative calls and 49.4% of putatively positive calls to the correct individual, respectively. All DFAs exceeded chance expectations indicating that vocal individuality of high-frequency calls is maintained across putatively positive and negative valence, with all vocal parameters except subharmonics responsible for this individual distinctiveness. This study shows that cattle vocal individuality of high-frequency calls is stable across different emotionally loaded farming contexts. Individual distinctiveness is likely to attract social support from conspecifics, and knowledge of these individuality cues could assist farmers in detecting individual cattle for welfare or production purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Green
- Livestock Production and Welfare Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Camden, Australia. .,Equipe Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, ENES/CRNL, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM UMR_S 1028, University of Lyon/Saint-Étienne, Saint-Étienne, France.
| | - Cameron Clark
- Livestock Production and Welfare Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Camden, Australia
| | - Livio Favaro
- Equipe Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, ENES/CRNL, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM UMR_S 1028, University of Lyon/Saint-Étienne, Saint-Étienne, France.,Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123, Turin, Italy
| | - Sabrina Lomax
- Livestock Production and Welfare Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Camden, Australia
| | - David Reby
- Equipe Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, ENES/CRNL, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM UMR_S 1028, University of Lyon/Saint-Étienne, Saint-Étienne, France
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7
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Reby D, Wyman MT, Frey R, Charlton BD, Dalmont JP, Gilbert J. Vocal tract modelling in fallow deer: are male groans nasalized? ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 221:jeb.179416. [PMID: 29941611 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.179416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2018] [Accepted: 06/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Males of several species of deer have a descended and mobile larynx, resulting in an unusually long vocal tract, which can be further extended by lowering the larynx during call production. Formant frequencies are lowered as the vocal tract is extended, as predicted when approximating the vocal tract as a uniform quarter wavelength resonator. However, formant frequencies in polygynous deer follow uneven distribution patterns, indicating that the vocal tract configuration may in fact be rather complex. We CT-scanned the head and neck region of two adult male fallow deer specimens with artificially extended vocal tracts and measured the cross-sectional areas of the supra-laryngeal vocal tract along the oral and nasal tracts. The CT data were then used to predict the resonances produced by three possible configurations, including the oral vocal tract only, the nasal vocal tract only, or combining the two. We found that the area functions from the combined oral and nasal vocal tracts produced resonances more closely matching the formant pattern and scaling observed in fallow deer groans than those predicted by the area functions of the oral vocal tract only or of the nasal vocal tract only. This indicates that the nasal and oral vocal tracts are both simultaneously involved in the production of a non-human mammal vocalization, and suggests that the potential for nasalization in putative oral loud calls should be carefully considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Reby
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK
| | - M T Wyman
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK.,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - R Frey
- Department of Reproduction Management, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), 10315 Berlin, Germany
| | - B D Charlton
- San Diego Zoo's Institute for Conservation Research, Escondido 92027, CA, USA
| | - J P Dalmont
- Laboratoire d'Acoustique de l'Université du Mans, CNRS, 72085 le Mans, France
| | - J Gilbert
- Laboratoire d'Acoustique de l'Université du Mans, CNRS, 72085 le Mans, France
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8
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Thessen A. Adoption of Machine Learning Techniques in Ecology and Earth Science. ONE ECOSYSTEM 2016. [DOI: 10.3897/oneeco.1.e8621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
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9
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Garcia M, Wondrak M, Huber L, Fitch WT. Honest signaling in domestic piglets (Sus scrofa domesticus): vocal allometry and the information content of grunt calls. J Exp Biol 2016; 219:1913-21. [PMID: 27059064 PMCID: PMC4920241 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.138255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2016] [Accepted: 03/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The information conveyed in acoustic signals is a central topic in mammal vocal communication research. Body size is one form of information that can be encoded in calls. Acoustic allometry aims to identify the specific acoustic correlates of body size within the vocalizations of a given species, and formants are often a useful acoustic cue in this context. We conducted a longitudinal investigation of acoustic allometry in domestic piglets (Sus scrofa domesticus), asking whether formants of grunt vocalizations provide information concerning the caller's body size over time. On four occasions, we recorded grunts from 20 kunekune piglets, measured their vocal tract length by means of radiographs (X-rays) and weighed them. Controlling for effects of age and sex, we found that body weight strongly predicts vocal tract length, which in turn determines formant frequencies. We conclude that grunt formant frequencies could allow domestic pigs to assess a signaler's body size as it grows. Further research using playback experiments is needed to determine the perceptual role of formants in domestic pig communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxime Garcia
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, Vienna 1090, Austria
| | - Marianne Wondrak
- Comparative Cognition, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, University of Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, Vienna 1210, Austria Haidlhof Research Station, 2540 Bad Vöslau, Austria
| | - Ludwig Huber
- Comparative Cognition, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, University of Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, Vienna 1210, Austria Haidlhof Research Station, 2540 Bad Vöslau, Austria
| | - W Tecumseh Fitch
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, Vienna 1090, Austria
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10
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McCordic JA, Root-Gutteridge H, Cusano DA, Denes SL, Parks SE. Calls of North Atlantic right whales Eubalaena glacialis contain information on individual identity and age class. ENDANGER SPECIES RES 2016. [DOI: 10.3354/esr00735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
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11
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Ciuti S, Apollonio M. Reproductive timing in a lekking mammal: male fallow deer getting ready for female estrus. Behav Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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12
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Charlton BD, Keating JL, Rengui L, Huang Y, Swaisgood RR. The acoustic structure of male giant panda bleats varies according to intersexual context. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2015; 138:1305-1312. [PMID: 26428769 DOI: 10.1121/1.4928606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Although the acoustic structure of mammal vocal signals often varies according to the social context of emission, relatively few mammal studies have examined acoustic variation during intersexual advertisement. In the current study male giant panda bleats were recorded during the breeding season in three behavioural contexts: vocalising alone, during vocal interactions with females outside of peak oestrus, and during vocal interactions with peak-oestrous females. Male bleats produced during vocal interactions with peak-oestrous females were longer in duration and had higher mean fundamental frequency than those produced when males were either involved in a vocal interaction with a female outside of peak oestrus or vocalising alone. In addition, males produced bleats with higher rates of fundamental frequency modulation when they were vocalising alone than when they were interacting with females. These results show that acoustic features of male giant panda bleats have the potential to signal the caller's motivational state, and suggest that males increase the rate of fundamental frequency modulation in bleats when they are alone to maximally broadcast their quality and promote close-range contact with receptive females during the breeding season.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin D Charlton
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin (UCD), Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Jennifer L Keating
- Applied Animal Ecology, San Diego Zoo's Institute for Conservation Research, San Diego, California 92027-7000, USA
| | - Li Rengui
- China Research and Conservation Centre for the Giant Panda, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
| | - Yan Huang
- China Research and Conservation Centre for the Giant Panda, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
| | - Ronald R Swaisgood
- Applied Animal Ecology, San Diego Zoo's Institute for Conservation Research, San Diego, California 92027-7000, USA
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13
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Padilla de la Torre M, Briefer EF, Reader T, McElligott AG. Acoustic analysis of cattle (Bos taurus) mother–offspring contact calls from a source–filter theory perspective. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2014.11.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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14
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Briefer EF, Tettamanti F, McElligott AG. Emotions in goats: mapping physiological, behavioural and vocal profiles. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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15
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Demartsev V, Kershenbaum A, Ilany A, Barocas A, Bar Ziv E, Koren L, Geffen E. Male hyraxes increase song complexity and duration in the presence of alert individuals. Behav Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/aru155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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16
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Jung WJ, Lee JW, Yoo JC. "Cu-coo": can you recognize my stepparents?--A study of host-specific male call divergence in the common Cuckoo. PLoS One 2014; 9:e90468. [PMID: 24603770 PMCID: PMC3946207 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0090468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2013] [Accepted: 02/04/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The presence of multiple host-specific races in the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus has long been recognized as an evolutionary enigma but how this genetic divergence could be maintained is still equivocal. Some recent studies supported biparental genetic contribution in maintaining the host-races, implying the necessity that they should recognize and mate assortatively with those who belong to the same host-race. One potential mechanism to accomplish this is that males may produce distinctive calls according to host-specific lineages. In order to test this hypothesis, we carried out a comparative study for male cuckoo calls recorded from three distant populations, where two populations share a same host species while the other parasitizes a different host species. Populations with similar habitat structures, maintaining comparable distance interval (ca. 150 km) between neighboring ones, were selected so as to minimize any other causes of vocal differentiation except the pattern of host use. By comparing the vocal characteristics of male cuckoos at the level of individual as well as population, we found that individual males indeed produced different calls in terms of spectral and temporal features. However, these differences disappeared when we compared the calls at the population level according to host species and geographic location. In conclusion, it seems unlikely for the cuckoos to identify the stepparent of male cuckoos based solely on the vocal characteristics, although they may be able to use this cue for individual recognition. Future studies including detailed morphological and genetic comparisons will be worthwhile to further elucidate this issue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Won-Ju Jung
- Korea Institute of Ornithology & Department of Biology, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jin-Won Lee
- Korea Institute of Ornithology & Department of Biology, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- * E-mail:
| | - Jeong-Chil Yoo
- Korea Institute of Ornithology & Department of Biology, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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17
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Pitcher BJ, Briefer EF, Vannoni E, McElligott AG. Fallow bucks attend to vocal cues of motivation and fatigue. Behav Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/art131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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18
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Garcia M, Charlton BD, Wyman MT, Fitch WT, Reby D. Do red deer stags (Cervus elaphus) use roar fundamental frequency (F0) to assess rivals? PLoS One 2013; 8:e83946. [PMID: 24386312 PMCID: PMC3875517 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0083946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2013] [Accepted: 11/08/2013] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
It is well established that in humans, male voices are disproportionately lower pitched than female voices, and recent studies suggest that this dimorphism in fundamental frequency (F0) results from both intrasexual (male competition) and intersexual (female mate choice) selection for lower pitched voices in men. However, comparative investigations indicate that sexual dimorphism in F0 is not universal in terrestrial mammals. In the highly polygynous and sexually dimorphic Scottish red deer Cervus elaphus scoticus, more successful males give sexually-selected calls (roars) with higher minimum F0s, suggesting that high, rather than low F0s advertise quality in this subspecies. While playback experiments demonstrated that oestrous females prefer higher pitched roars, the potential role of roar F0 in male competition remains untested. Here we examined the response of rutting red deer stags to playbacks of re-synthesized male roars with different median F0s. Our results show that stags’ responses (latencies and durations of attention, vocal and approach responses) were not affected by the F0 of the roar. This suggests that intrasexual selection is unlikely to strongly influence the evolution of roar F0 in Scottish red deer stags, and illustrates how the F0 of terrestrial mammal vocal sexual signals may be subject to different selection pressures across species. Further investigations on species characterized by different F0 profiles are needed to provide a comparative background for evolutionary interpretations of sex differences in mammalian vocalizations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxime Garcia
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Megan T. Wyman
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - W. Tecumseh Fitch
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - David Reby
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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19
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Yen SC, Shieh BS, Wang YT, Wang Y. Rutting Vocalizations of Formosan Sika DeerCervus nippon taiouanus—Acoustic Structure, Seasonal and Diurnal Variations, and Individuality. Zoolog Sci 2013; 30:1025-31. [DOI: 10.2108/zsj.30.1025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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20
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Stachowicz JB, Vannoni E, Pitcher BJ, Briefer EF, Geffen E, McElligott AG. Acoustic divergence in the rut vocalizations of Persian and European fallow deer. J Zool (1987) 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- J. B. Stachowicz
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies; University of Zurich; Zurich Switzerland
| | - E. Vannoni
- Institute of Anatomy; University of Zurich; Zurich Switzerland
| | - B. J. Pitcher
- Biological and Experimental Psychology; School of Biological and Chemical Sciences; Queen Mary University of London; London UK
| | - E. F. Briefer
- Biological and Experimental Psychology; School of Biological and Chemical Sciences; Queen Mary University of London; London UK
- Institute of Agricultural Sciences; ETH Zürich; Zürich Switzerland
| | - E. Geffen
- Department of Zoology; Tel Aviv University; Tel Aviv Israel
| | - A. G. McElligott
- Biological and Experimental Psychology; School of Biological and Chemical Sciences; Queen Mary University of London; London UK
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21
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Naulty F, Harty H, Hayden TJ. Freedom to choose: unconstrained mate-searching behaviour by female fallow deer (Dama dama). FOLIA ZOOLOGICA 2013. [DOI: 10.25225/fozo.v62.i2.a10.2013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Favel Naulty
- Mammal Research Group, UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science, Science Centre West, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland;, ,
| | - Hilda Harty
- Mammal Research Group, UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science, Science Centre West, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland;, ,
| | - Thomas J. Hayden
- Mammal Research Group, UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science, Science Centre West, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland;, ,
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Passilongo D, Reby D, Carranza J, Apollonio M. Roaring high and low: composition and possible functions of the Iberian stag's vocal repertoire. PLoS One 2013; 8:e63841. [PMID: 23667678 PMCID: PMC3648515 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0063841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2012] [Accepted: 04/12/2013] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
We provide a detailed description of the rutting vocalisations of free-ranging male Iberian deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus, Hilzheimer 1909), a geographically isolated and morphologically differentiated subspecies of red deer Cervus elaphus. We combine spectrographic examinations, spectral analyses and automated classifications to identify different call types, and compare the composition of the vocal repertoire with that of other red deer subspecies. Iberian stags give bouts of roars (and more rarely, short series of barks) that are typically composed of two different types of calls. Long Common Roars are mostly given at the beginning or at the end of the bout, and are characterised by a high fundamental frequency (F0) resulting in poorly defined formant frequencies but a relatively high amplitude. In contrast, Short Common Roars are typically given in the middle or at the end of the bout, and are characterised by a lower F0 resulting in relatively well defined vocal tract resonances, but low amplitude. While we did not identify entirely Harsh Roars (as described in the Scottish red deer subspecies (Cervus elaphus scoticus)), a small percentage of Long Common Roars contained segments of deterministic chaos. We suggest that the evolution of two clearly distinct types of Common Roars may reflect divergent selection pressures favouring either vocal efficiency in high pitched roars or the communication of body size in low-pitched, high spectral density roars highlighting vocal tract resonances. The clear divergence of the Iberian red deer vocal repertoire from those of other documented European red deer populations reinforces the status of this geographical variant as a distinct subspecies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Passilongo
- Department of Science for Nature and Environmental Resources, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy.
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Ji A, Johnson MT, Walsh EJ, McGee J, Armstrong DL. Discrimination of individual tigers (Panthera tigris) from long distance roars. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2013; 133:1762-1769. [PMID: 23464045 DOI: 10.1121/1.4789936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
This paper investigates the extent of tiger (Panthera tigris) vocal individuality through both qualitative and quantitative approaches using long distance roars from six individual tigers at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, NE. The framework for comparison across individuals includes statistical and discriminant function analysis across whole vocalization measures and statistical pattern classification using a hidden Markov model (HMM) with frame-based spectral features comprised of Greenwood frequency cepstral coefficients. Individual discrimination accuracy is evaluated as a function of spectral model complexity, represented by the number of mixtures in the underlying Gaussian mixture model (GMM), and temporal model complexity, represented by the number of sequential states in the HMM. Results indicate that the temporal pattern of the vocalization is the most significant factor in accurate discrimination. Overall baseline discrimination accuracy for this data set is about 70% using high level features without complex spectral or temporal models. Accuracy increases to about 80% when more complex spectral models (multiple mixture GMMs) are incorporated, and increases to a final accuracy of 90% when more detailed temporal models (10-state HMMs) are used. Classification accuracy is stable across a relatively wide range of configurations in terms of spectral and temporal model resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- An Ji
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Marquette University, 1515 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233, USA
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Bocci A, Telford M, Laiolo P. Determinants of the acoustic behaviour of red deer during breeding in a wild alpine population, and implications for species survey. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2013. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2012.705331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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25
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Jansen DAWAM, Cant MA, Manser MB. Segmental concatenation of individual signatures and context cues in banded mongoose (Mungos mungo) close calls. BMC Biol 2012; 10:97. [PMID: 23206242 PMCID: PMC3529192 DOI: 10.1186/1741-7007-10-97] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2012] [Accepted: 12/03/2012] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND All animals are anatomically constrained in the number of discrete call types they can produce. Recent studies suggest that by combining existing calls into meaningful sequences, animals can increase the information content of their vocal repertoire despite these constraints. Additionally, signalers can use vocal signatures or cues correlated to other individual traits or contexts to increase the information encoded in their vocalizations. However, encoding multiple vocal signatures or cues using the same components of vocalizations usually reduces the signals' reliability. Segregation of information could effectively circumvent this trade-off. In this study we investigate how banded mongooses (Mungos mungo) encode multiple vocal signatures or cues in their frequently emitted graded single syllable close calls. RESULTS The data for this study were collected on a wild, but habituated, population of banded mongooses. Using behavioral observations and acoustical analysis we found that close calls contain two acoustically different segments. The first being stable and individually distinct, and the second being graded and correlating with the current behavior of the individual, whether it is digging, searching or moving. This provides evidence of Marler's hypothesis on temporal segregation of information within a single syllable call type. Additionally, our work represents an example of an identity cue integrated as a discrete segment within a single call that is independent from context. This likely functions to avoid ambiguity between individuals or receivers having to keep track of several context-specific identity cues. CONCLUSIONS Our study provides the first evidence of segmental concatenation of information within a single syllable in non-human vocalizations. By reviewing descriptions of call structures in the literature, we suggest a general application of this mechanism. Our study indicates that temporal segregation and segmental concatenation of vocal signatures or cues is likely a common, but so far neglected, dimension of information coding in animal vocal communication. We argue that temporal segregation of vocal signatures and cues evolves in species where communication of multiple unambiguous signals is crucial, but is limited by the number of call types produced.
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Affiliation(s)
- David AWAM Jansen
- Animal Behaviour, Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Michael A Cant
- Daphne du Maurier, Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, TR10 9EZ, UK
| | - Marta B Manser
- Animal Behaviour, Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
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Pollard KA, Blumstein DT. Evolving communicative complexity: insights from rodents and beyond. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2012; 367:1869-78. [PMID: 22641825 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2011.0221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Social living goes hand in hand with communication, but the details of this relationship are rarely simple. Complex communication may be described by attributes as diverse as a species' entire repertoire, signallers' individualistic signatures, or complex acoustic phenomena within single calls. Similarly, attributes of social complexity are diverse and may include group size, social role diversity, or networks of interactions and relationships. How these different attributes of social and communicative complexity co-evolve is an active question in behavioural ecology. Sciurid rodents (ground squirrels, prairie dogs and marmots) provide an excellent model system for studying these questions. Sciurid studies have found that demographic role complexity predicts alarm call repertoire size, while social group size predicts alarm call individuality. Along with other taxa, sciurids reveal an important insight: different attributes of sociality are linked to different attributes of communication. By breaking social and communicative complexity down to different attributes, focused studies can better untangle the underlying evolutionary relationships and move us closer to a comprehensive theory of how sociality and communication evolve.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly A Pollard
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
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Nagy CM, Rockwell RF. Identification of individual Eastern Screech-OwlsMegascopsasiovia vocalization analysis. BIOACOUSTICS 2012. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2011.651829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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KIDJO NICOLAS, CARGNELUTTI BRUNO, CHARLTON BENJAMIND, WILSON CHRISTIAN, REBY DAVID. VOCAL BEHAVIOUR IN THE ENDANGERED CORSICAN DEER: DESCRIPTION AND PHYLOGENETIC IMPLICATIONS. BIOACOUSTICS 2012. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2008.9753598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Developmental changes of nasal and oral calls in the goitred gazelle Gazella subgutturosa, a nonhuman mammal with a sexually dimorphic and descended larynx. Naturwissenschaften 2012; 98:919-31. [PMID: 21976026 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-011-0843-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2011] [Revised: 09/04/2011] [Accepted: 09/06/2011] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
In goitred gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa), sexual dimorphism of larynx size and position is reminiscent of the case in humans, suggesting shared features of vocal ontogenesis in both species. This study investigates the ontogeny of nasal and oral calls in 23 (10 male and 13 female) individually identified goitred gazelles from shortly after birth up to adolescence. The fundamental frequency (f0) and formants were measured as the acoustic correlates of the developing sexual dimorphism. Settings for LPC analysis of formants were based on anatomical dissections of 5 specimens. Along ontogenesis, compared to females, male f0 was consistently lower both in oral and nasal calls and male formants were lower in oral calls, whereas the first two formants of nasal calls did not differ between sexes. In goitred gazelles, significant sex differences in f0 and formants appeared as early as the second week of life, while in humans they emerge only before puberty. This result suggests different pathways of vocal ontogenesis in the goitred gazelles and in humans.
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Klenova AV, Zubakin VA, Zubakina EV. Inter- and intra-season stability of vocal individual signatures in a social seabird, the crested auklet. Acta Ethol 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s10211-011-0120-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
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Efremova KO, Volodin IA, Volodina EV, Frey R, Soldatova NV, Lapshina EN, Makarov IS, Gorbunov KS. Effect of sex and age on structural features of nasal calls and body size in fawns of the goitered gazelle, Gazella subgutturosa (Artiodactyla, Bovidae). BIOL BULL+ 2011. [DOI: 10.1134/s1062359011070028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Charlton BD, Reby D. Context-related acoustic variation in male fallow deer (Dama dama) groans. PLoS One 2011; 6:e21066. [PMID: 21695159 PMCID: PMC3113910 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0021066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2011] [Accepted: 05/19/2011] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
While social and behavioural contexts are known to affect the acoustic structure of vocal signals in several mammal species, few studies have investigated context-related acoustic variation during inter-sexual advertisement and/or intra-sexual competition. Here we recorded male fallow deer groans during the breeding season and investigated how key acoustic parameters (fundamental frequency and formant frequencies) vary as a function of the social context in which they are produced. We found that in the presence of females, male fallow deer produced groans with higher mean fundamental frequency when vocal males were also present than they did when no vocal males were in close vicinity. We attribute this to the increased arousal state typically associated with this context. In addition, groan minimum formant frequency spacing was slightly, but significantly lower (indicating marginally more extended vocal tracts) when males were alone than when potential mates and/or competitors were nearby. This indicates that, contrary to our predictions, male fallow deer do not exaggerate the acoustic impression of their body size by further lowering their formant frequencies in the presence of potential mating partners and competitors. Furthermore, since the magnitude of the variation in groan minimum formant frequency spacing remains small compared to documented inter-individual differences, our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that formants are reliable static cues to body size during intra- and inter-sexual advertisement that do not concurrently encode dynamic motivation-related information.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - David Reby
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Sussex, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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Charlton BD, Ellis WAH, McKinnon AJ, Brumm J, Nilsson K, Fitch WT. Perception of male caller identity in Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus): acoustic analysis and playback experiments. PLoS One 2011; 6:e20329. [PMID: 21633499 PMCID: PMC3102089 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0020329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2011] [Accepted: 04/21/2011] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to signal individual identity using vocal signals and distinguish between conspecifics based on vocal cues is important in several mammal species. Furthermore, it can be important for receivers to differentiate between callers in reproductive contexts. In this study, we used acoustic analyses to determine whether male koala bellows are individually distinctive and to investigate the relative importance of different acoustic features for coding individuality. We then used a habituation-discrimination paradigm to investigate whether koalas discriminate between the bellow vocalisations of different male callers. Our results show that male koala bellows are highly individualized, and indicate that cues related to vocal tract filtering contribute the most to vocal identity. In addition, we found that male and female koalas habituated to the bellows of a specific male showed a significant dishabituation when they were presented with bellows from a novel male. The significant reduction in behavioural response to a final rehabituation playback shows this was not a chance rebound in response levels. Our findings indicate that male koala bellows are highly individually distinctive and that the identity of male callers is functionally relevant to male and female koalas during the breeding season. We go on to discuss the biological relevance of signalling identity in this species' sexual communication and the potential practical implications of our findings for acoustic monitoring of male population levels.
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Frey R, Volodin I, Volodina E, Soldatova NV, Juldaschev ET. Descended and mobile larynx, vocal tract elongation and rutting roars in male goitred gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa Güldenstaedt, 1780). J Anat 2011; 218:566-85. [PMID: 21413987 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7580.2011.01361.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Similar to male humans, Homo sapiens, the males of a few polygynous ruminants - red deer Cervus elaphus, fallow deer Dama dama and Mongolian gazelle Procapra gutturosa- have a more or less enlarged, low-resting larynx and are capable of additional dynamic vocal tract elongation by larynx retraction during their rutting calls. The vocal correlates of a large larynx and an elongated vocal tract, a low fundamental frequency and low vocal tract resonance frequencies, deter rival males and attract receptive females. The males of the polygynous goitred gazelle, Gazella subgutturosa, provide another, independently evolved, example of an enlarged and low-resting larynx of high mobility. Relevant aspects of the rutting behaviour of territorial wild male goitred gazelles are described. Video and audio recordings served to study the acoustic effects of the enlarged larynx and vocal tract elongation on male rutting calls. Three call types were discriminated: roars, growls and grunts. In addition, the adult male vocal anatomy during the emission of rutting calls is described and functionally discussed using a 2D-model of larynx retraction. The combined morphological, behavioural and acoustic data are discussed in relation to the hypothesis of sexual selection for male-specific deep voices, resulting in convergent features of vocal anatomy in a few polygynous ruminants and in human males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roland Frey
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), Berlin, Germany.
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SCHNEIDEROVÁ IRENA, POLICHT RICHARD. ALARM CALLS OF THE EUROPEAN GROUND SQUIRRELSPERMOPHILUS CITELLUSAND THE TAURUS GROUND SQUIRRELS. TAURENSISENCODE INFORMATION ABOUT CALLER IDENTITY. BIOACOUSTICS 2011. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2011.9753631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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36
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Individual identity is communicated through multiple pathways in male rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) songs. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-010-1069-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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37
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Bragina EV, Beme IR. Siberian crane duet as an individual signature of a pair: comparison of visual and statistical classification techniques. Acta Ethol 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s10211-010-0073-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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Briefer E, Vannoni E, McElligott AG. Quality prevails over identity in the sexually selected vocalisations of an ageing mammal. BMC Biol 2010; 8:35. [PMID: 20380690 PMCID: PMC2858104 DOI: 10.1186/1741-7007-8-35] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2009] [Accepted: 04/09/2010] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Male sexually selected vocalisations generally contain both individuality and quality cues that are crucial in intra- as well as inter-sexual communication. As individuality is a fixed feature whereas male phenotypic quality changes with age, individuality and quality cues may be subjected to different selection pressures over time. Individuality (for example, morphology of the vocal apparatus) and quality (for example, body size and dominance status) can both affect the vocal production mechanism, inducing the same components of vocalisations to convey both kinds of information. In this case, do quality-related changes to the acoustic structure of calls induce a modification of vocal cues to identity from year to year? We investigated this question in fallow deer (Dama dama), in which some acoustic parameters of vocalisations (groans) code for both individuality and quality. RESULTS We carried out a longitudinal analysis of groan individuality, examining the effects of age and dominance rank on the acoustic structure of groans of the same males recorded during consecutive years. We found both age- and rank-related changes to groans; the minimum values of the highest formant frequencies and the fundamental frequency increased with the age of males and they decreased when males became more dominant. Both age- and rank-related acoustic parameters contributed to individuality. Male quality changed with age, inducing a change in quality-related parameters and thus, a modification of vocal cues to male individuality between years. CONCLUSIONS The encoding of individuality and quality information in the same components of vocalisations induces a tradeoff between these two kinds of signals over time. Fallow deer vocalisations are honest signals of quality that are not fixed over time but are modified dynamically according to male quality. As they are more reliable cues to quality than to individuality, they may not be used by conspecifics to recognize a given male from one year to another, but potentially used by both sexes to assess male quality during each breeding season.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elodie Briefer
- Queen Mary University of London, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Elisabetta Vannoni
- Zoologisches Institut, Universität Zürich, Switzerland
- Current address: Anatomisches Institut, Universität Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Alan G McElligott
- Queen Mary University of London, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
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Charlton BD, Zhihe Z, Snyder RJ. Vocal cues to identity and relatedness in giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2009; 126:2721-2732. [PMID: 19894848 DOI: 10.1121/1.3224720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
A range of acoustic characteristics typically carry information on individual identity in mammalian calls. In addition, physical similarities in vocal production anatomy among closely related individuals may result in similarities in the acoustic structure of vocalizations. Here, acoustic analyses based on source-filter theory were used to determine whether giant panda bleats are individually distinctive, to investigate the relative importance of different source-(larynx) and filter-(vocal tract) related acoustic features for coding individuality, and to test whether closely related individuals have similarities in call structure. The results revealed that giant panda bleats are highly individualized and indicate that source-related features, in particular, mean fundamental frequency, amplitude variation per second, and the mean extent of each amplitude modulation, contribute the most to vocal identity. In addition, although individual pairwise relatedness was not correlated with overall acoustic similarity, it was highly correlated with amplitude modulation rate and fundamental frequency range, suggesting that these acoustic features are heritable components of giant panda bleats that could be used as a measure of genetic relatedness. The ecological relevance of acoustically signaling information on caller identity and the potential practical implications for acoustic monitoring of population levels in this endangered species are discussed.
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Matrosova VA, Volodin IA, Volodina EV. Short-Term and Long-Term Individuality in Speckled Ground Squirrel Alarm Calls. J Mammal 2009. [DOI: 10.1644/08-mamm-a-032.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
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Vannoni E, McElligott AG. Low frequency groans indicate larger and more dominant fallow deer (Dama dama) males. PLoS One 2008; 3:e3113. [PMID: 18769619 PMCID: PMC2518835 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 119] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2008] [Accepted: 08/06/2008] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Models of honest advertisement predict that sexually selected calls should signal male quality. In most vertebrates, high quality males have larger body sizes that determine higher social status and in turn higher reproductive success. Previous research has emphasised the importance of vocal tract resonances or formant frequencies of calls as cues to body size in mammals. However, the role of the acoustic features of vocalisations as cues to other quality-related phenotypic characteristics of callers has rarely been investigated. Methodology/Principal Findings We examined whether the acoustic structure of fallow deer groans provides reliable information on the quality of the caller, by exploring the relationships between male quality (body size, dominance rank, and mating success) and the frequency components of calls (fundamental frequency, formant frequencies, and formant dispersion). We found that body size was not related to the fundamental frequency of groans, whereas larger males produced groans with lower formant frequencies and lower formant dispersion. Groans of high-ranking males were characterised by lower minimum fundamental frequencies and to a lesser extent, by lower formant dispersions. Dominance rank was the factor most strongly related to mating success, with higher-ranking males having higher mating success. The minimum fundamental frequency and the minimum formant dispersion were indirectly related to male mating success (through dominance rank). Conclusion/Significance Our study is the first to show that sexually selected vocalisations can signal social dominance in mammals other than primates, and reveals that independent acoustic components encode accurate information on different phenotypic aspects of male quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabetta Vannoni
- Zoologisches Institut, Universität Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
- * E-mail: (EV); (AGM)
| | - Alan G. McElligott
- Zoologisches Institut, Universität Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
- * E-mail: (EV); (AGM)
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Kunc HP, Wolf JBW. Seasonal Changes of Vocal Rates and Their Relation to Territorial Status in Male Galápagos Sea Lions (Zalophus wollebaeki). Ethology 2008. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2008.01484.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Frey R, Volodin I, Volodina E. A nose that roars: anatomical specializations and behavioural features of rutting male saiga. J Anat 2007; 211:717-36. [PMID: 17971116 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7580.2007.00818.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The involvement of the unique saiga nose in vocal production has been neglected so far. Rutting male saigas produce loud nasal roars. Prior to roaring, they tense and extend their noses in a highly stereotypic manner. This change of nose configuration includes dorsal folding and convex curving of the nasal vestibulum and is maintained until the roar ends. Red and fallow deer males that orally roar achieve a temporary increase of vocal tract length (vtl) by larynx retraction. Saiga males attain a similar effect by pulling their flexible nasal vestibulum rostrally, allowing for a temporary elongation of the nasal vocal tract by about 20%. Decrease of formant frequencies and formant dispersion, as acoustic effects of an increase of vtl, are assumed to convey important information on the quality of a dominant male to conspecifics, e.g. on body size and fighting ability. Nasal roaring in saiga may equally serve to deter rival males and to attract females. Anatomical constraints might have set a limit to the rostral pulling of the nasal vestibulum. It seems likely that the sexual dimorphism of the saiga nose was induced by sexual selection. Adult males of many mammalian species, after sniffing or licking female urine or genital secretions, raise their head and strongly retract their upper lip and small nasal vestibulum while inhalating orally. This flehmen behaviour is assumed to promote transport of non-volatile substances via the incisive ducts into the vomeronasal organs for pheromone detection. The flehmen aspect in saiga involves the extensive flexible walls of the greatly enlarged nasal vestibulum and is characterized by a distinctly concave configuration of the nose region, the reverse of that observed in nasal roaring. A step-by-step model for the gradual evolution of the saiga nose is presented here.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roland Frey
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany.
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Vannoni E, McElligott AG. Individual Acoustic Variation in Fallow Deer (Dama dama) Common and Harsh Groans: A Source-Filter Theory Perspective. Ethology 2007. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2006.01323.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Hirsch BT. COSTS AND BENEFITS OF WITHIN‐GROUP SPATIAL POSITION: A FEEDING COMPETITION MODEL. QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY 2007; 82:9-27. [PMID: 17354992 DOI: 10.1086/511657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
An animal's within-group spatial position has several important fitness consequences. Risk of predation, time spent engaging in antipredatory behavior and feeding competition can all vary with respect to spatial position. Previous research has found evidence that feeding rates are higher at the group edge in many species, but these studies have not represented the entire breadth of dietary diversity and ecological situations faced by many animals. In particular the presence of concentrated, defendable food patches can lead to increased feeding rates by dominants in the center of the group that are able to monopolize or defend these areas. To fully understand the tradeoffs of within-group spatial position in relation to a variety of factors, it is important to be able to predict where individuals should preferably position themselves in relation to feeding rates and food competition. A qualitative model is presented here to predict how food depletion time, abundance of food patches within a group, and the presence of prior knowledge of feeding sites affect the payoffs of different within-group spatial positions for dominant and subordinate animals. In general, when feeding on small abundant food items, individuals at the front edge of the group should have higher foraging success. When feeding on slowly depleted, rare food items, dominants will often have the highest feeding rates in the center of the group. Between these two extreme points of a continuum, an individual's optimal spatial position is predicted to be influenced by an additional combination of factors, such as group size, group spread, satiation rates, and the presence of producer-scrounger tactics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben T Hirsch
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University Stony Brook, New York 11794, USA.
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Bartos L, Fricová B, Bartosová-Víchová J, Panamá J, Sustr P, Smídová E. Estimation of the probability of fighting in fallow deer (Dama dama) during the rut. Aggress Behav 2007; 33:7-13. [PMID: 17441001 DOI: 10.1002/ab.20162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Fighting between males is a frequent component of the rutting behavior of Cervidae. Frequent conflicts are exhausting; fighting may be risky and can lead to serious injuries or even death. We focused on the process of assessment of the opponent's fighting ability and escalation of the combat, estimating the probability of fighting based on the encounter components such as groaning and parallel walk. In this study, we observed the agonistic behavior of fallow deer bucks (Dama dama) during the rut over four seasons. During this time, we recorded 205 encounters between bucks. Non-contact display, which allows contestants to assess their opponents fighting ability, occurred in 83% of the encounters. The highest predicted probability of a fight was found when both of the males vocalized and turned into the parallel walk. The chance of a clear outcome decreased when the males were fighting in comparison to when they did not fight. The initiator of the competitive encounter won 41% of the cases, while the attacked buck won 23% of the encounters. If the contestants avoided fighting, however, the initiator won 78% of encounters. Therefore, the initiator was more successful when no fight occurred compared to when the encounters escalated into fighting. In most cases where ritualized behavior occurred, one of the opponents left after vocalization or parallel walk occurred. Thus, vocalization and parallel walk increased the probability for a clear outcome. The probability of a fight was lowest in situations where the males displayed asymmetric behavior. Increased symmetry of the contestants' behavior was strongly correlated with a higher probability of a fight. Thus, these results indicate that fallow deer bucks use efficient tactic during the rut, which, in turn, minimizes the chance of injury while fighting during the breeding season.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ludek Bartos
- Ethology Group, Research Institute of Animal Production, Prague, Czech Republic.
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Acoustic features of vocalizations of Korean native cows (Bos taurus coreanea) in two different conditions. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2006. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2006.01.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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