1
|
Fandel AD, Silva K, Bailey H. Vocal signatures affected by population identity and environmental sound levels. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0299250. [PMID: 38635752 PMCID: PMC11025965 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Passive acoustic monitoring has improved our understanding of vocalizing organisms in remote habitats and during all weather conditions. Many vocally active species are highly mobile, and their populations overlap. However, distinct vocalizations allow the tracking and discrimination of individuals or populations. Using signature whistles, the individually distinct calls of bottlenose dolphins, we calculated a minimum abundance of individuals, characterized and compared signature whistles from five locations, and determined reoccurrences of individuals throughout the Mid-Atlantic Bight and Chesapeake Bay, USA. We identified 1,888 signature whistles in which the duration, number of extrema, start, end, and minimum frequencies of signature whistles varied significantly by site. All characteristics of signature whistles were deemed important for determining from which site the whistle originated and due to the distinct signature whistle characteristics and lack of spatial mixing of the dolphins detected at the Offshore site, we suspect that these dolphins are of a different population than those at the Coastal and Bay sites. Signature whistles were also found to be shorter when sound levels were higher. Using only the passively recorded vocalizations of this marine top predator, we obtained information about its population and how it is affected by ambient sound levels, which will increase as offshore wind energy is developed. In this rapidly developing area, these calls offer critical management insights for this protected species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amber D. Fandel
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Solomons, MD, United States of America
| | - Kirsten Silva
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Solomons, MD, United States of America
| | - Helen Bailey
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Solomons, MD, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Rege-Colt M, Oswald JN, De Weerdt J, Palacios-Alfaro JD, Austin M, Gagne E, Morán Villatoro JM, Sahley CT, Alvarado-Guerra G, May-Collado LJ. Whistle repertoire and structure reflect ecotype distinction of pantropical spotted dolphins in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Sci Rep 2023; 13:13449. [PMID: 37596372 PMCID: PMC10439233 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-40691-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The pantropical spotted dolphin in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) is found in two genetically and phenotypically diverged ecotypes, coastal and offshore. These habitats have distinct acoustic characteristics, which can lead to the evolution of distinct acoustic communication. Whistles are sounds widely used by dolphins to mediate species and individual recognition and social interactions. Here, we study the whistle acoustic structure and repertoire diversity of offshore and coastal pantropical spotted dolphins. Our results show that there is significantly more within- and across-group variation in whistle fundamental frequency between ecotypes than between offshore groups and between coastal groups. A Random Forest classification analysis performed with an accuracy of 83.99% and identified duration, peak and minimum frequency as the most informative variables for distinguishing between ecotypes. Overall, coastal spotted dolphins produced significantly shorter whistles that were significantly lower in frequency (peak, minimum and maximum, and start and end) than offshore dolphins. Ecotypes produced whistle repertoires that were similar in diversity, but different in contour composition, with the coastal ecotype producing more upsweep whistles than offshore dolphins. The results of this study suggest that acoustic adaptations to coastal and offshore environments could be important contributors to intraspecific variation of dolphin whistle repertoires.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Julie N Oswald
- Scottish Oceans Institute, Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, KY168LB, UK
| | - Joelle De Weerdt
- Association ELI-S, Education, Liberté, Indépendance - Scientifique, Allée de Verdalle 39, 33470, Gujan-Mestras, France
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
| | | | - Maia Austin
- Biology Department, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA
| | - Emma Gagne
- Biology Department, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA
| | | | | | - Gilma Alvarado-Guerra
- Instituto para el Crecimiento Sostenible de la Empresa (ICSEM), C/Hogar Padre Vito Guarato, B1, San Salvador, El Salvador
| | - Laura J May-Collado
- Biology Department, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA.
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama, Panama.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Berthet M, Coye C, Dezecache G, Kuhn J. Animal linguistics: a primer. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2023; 98:81-98. [PMID: 36189714 PMCID: PMC10091714 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
The evolution of language has been investigated by several research communities, including biologists and linguists, striving to highlight similar linguistic capacities across species. To date, however, no consensus exists on the linguistic capacities of non-human species. Major controversies remain on the use of linguistic terminology, analysis methods and behavioural data collection. The field of 'animal linguistics' has emerged to overcome these difficulties and attempt to reach uniform methods and terminology. This primer is a tutorial review of 'animal linguistics'. It describes the linguistic concepts of semantics, pragmatics and syntax, and proposes minimal criteria to be fulfilled to claim that a given species displays a particular linguistic capacity. Second, it reviews relevant methods successfully applied to the study of communication in animals and proposes a list of useful references to detect and overcome major pitfalls commonly observed in the collection of animal behaviour data. This primer represents a step towards mutual understanding and fruitful collaborations between linguists and biologists.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mélissa Berthet
- Institut Jean Nicod, Département d'études cognitives, ENS, EHESS, CNRS, PSL University, 75005, Paris, France.,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution, University of Zürich, Affolternstrasse 56, 8050, Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zürich, Affolternstrasse 56, 8050, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Camille Coye
- Institut Jean Nicod, Département d'études cognitives, ENS, EHESS, CNRS, PSL University, 75005, Paris, France.,Center for Ecology and Conservation, Bioscience Department, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK
| | | | - Jeremy Kuhn
- Institut Jean Nicod, Département d'études cognitives, ENS, EHESS, CNRS, PSL University, 75005, Paris, France
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Savagian A, Riehl C. Group chorusing as an intragroup signal in the greater ani, a communally breeding bird. Ethology 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Savagian
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Princeton University Princeton New Jersey USA
| | - Christina Riehl
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Princeton University Princeton New Jersey USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Conant PC, Li P, Liu X, Klinck H, Fleishman E, Gillespie D, Nosal EM, Roch MA. Silbido profundo: An open source package for the use of deep learning to detect odontocete whistles. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 152:3800. [PMID: 36586843 DOI: 10.1121/10.0016631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
This work presents an open-source matlab software package for exploiting recent advances in extracting tonal signals from large acoustic data sets. A whistle extraction algorithm published by Li, Liu, Palmer, Fleishman, Gillespie, Nosal, Shiu, Klinck, Cholewiak, Helble, and Roch [(2020). Proceedings of the International Joint Conference on Neural Networks, July 19-24, Glasgow, Scotland, p. 10] is incorporated into silbido, an established software package for extraction of cetacean tonal calls. The precision and recall of the new system were over 96% and nearly 80%, respectively, when applied to a whistle extraction task on a challenging two-species subset of a conference-benchmark data set. A second data set was examined to assess whether the algorithm generalized to data that were collected across different recording devices and locations. These data included 487 h of weakly labeled, towed array data collected in the Pacific Ocean on two National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) cruises. Labels for these data consisted of regions of toothed whale presence for at least 15 species that were based on visual and acoustic observations and not limited to whistles. Although the lack of per whistle-level annotations prevented measurement of precision and recall, there was strong concurrence of automatic detections and the NOAA annotations, suggesting that the algorithm generalizes well to new data.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Peter C Conant
- Department of Computer Science, San Diego State University, San Diego, California 92182, USA
| | - Pu Li
- Department of Computer Science, San Diego State University, San Diego, California 92182, USA
| | - Xiaobai Liu
- Department of Computer Science, San Diego State University, San Diego, California 92182, USA
| | - Holger Klinck
- K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, New York, New York 14850, USA
| | - Erica Fleishman
- College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA
| | - Douglas Gillespie
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, KY16 9AJ, United Kingdom
| | - Eva-Marie Nosal
- Department of Ocean and Resources Engineering, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA
| | - Marie A Roch
- Department of Computer Science, San Diego State University, San Diego, California 92182, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
The Ontogeny of Vocal Sequences: Insights from a Newborn Wild Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii). INT J PRIMATOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-022-00321-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
Abstract
AbstractObservations of early vocal behaviours in non-human primates (hereafter primates) are important for direct comparisons between human and primate vocal development. However, direct observations of births and perinatal behaviour in wild primates are rare, and the initial stages of behavioural ontogeny usually remain undocumented. Here, we report direct observations of the birth of a wild chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in Budongo Forest, Uganda, including the behaviour of the mother and other group members. We monitored the newborn’s vocal behaviour for approximately 2 hours and recorded 70 calls. We categorised the vocalisations both qualitatively, using conventional call descriptions, and quantitatively, using cluster and discriminant acoustic analyses. We found evidence for acoustically distinct vocal units, produced both in isolation and in combination, including sequences akin to adult pant hoots, a vocal utterance regarded as the most complex vocal signal produced by this species. We concluded that chimpanzees possess the capacity to produce vocal sequences composed of different call types from birth, albeit in rudimentary forms. Our observations are in line with the idea that primate vocal repertoires are largely present from birth, with fine acoustic structures undergoing ontogenetic processes. Our study provides rare and valuable empirical data on perinatal behaviours in wild primates.
Collapse
|
7
|
Allied male dolphins use vocal exchanges to "bond at a distance". Curr Biol 2022; 32:1657-1663.e4. [PMID: 35334229 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.02.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Revised: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Vocal interactions are intrinsic features of social groups and can play a pivotal role in social bonding.1,2 Dunbar's social bonding hypothesis posits that vocal exchanges evolved to "groom at a distance" when social groups became too large or complex for individuals to devote time to physical bonding activities.1,3 Tests of this hypothesis in non-human primates, however, suggest that vocal exchanges occur between more strongly bonded individuals that engage in higher grooming rates4-7 and thus do not provide evidence for replacement of physical bonding. Here, we combine data on social bond strength, whistle exchange frequency, and affiliative contact behavior rates to test this hypothesis in wild male Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, who form multi-level alliances that cooperate over access to females.8-10 We show that, although whistle exchanges are more likely to occur within the core alliance, they occur more frequently between those males that share weaker social bonds, i.e., between core allies that spend less time together, while the opposite occurs for affiliative physical contact behavior. This suggests that vocal exchanges function as a low-cost mechanism for male dolphins that spend less time in close proximity and engage in fewer affiliative contact behaviors to reinforce and maintain their valuable alliance relationships. Our findings provide new evidence outside of the primate lineage that vocal exchanges serve a bonding function and reveal that, as the social bonding hypothesis originally suggested, vocal exchanges can function as a replacement of physical bonding activities for individuals to maintain their important social relationships.
Collapse
|
8
|
Schneider S, Goettlich S, Diercks C, Dierkes PW. Discrimination of Acoustic Stimuli and Maintenance of Graded Alarm Call Structure in Captive Meerkats. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:ani11113064. [PMID: 34827796 PMCID: PMC8614505 DOI: 10.3390/ani11113064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Revised: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Preserving natural behaviors has many advantages for both research and animal welfare. Natural behaviors include producing vocalizations and responding to them. If it can be shown that the natural vocal repertoire is preserved in zoos, studies in zoos may help to expand the knowledge of acoustic behaviors and transfer it to animals in the wild. Once the meaning of diverse vocalizations is known, inferences can be made about an animal’s internal state in order to adapt and improve conditions for animals in zoos. In this paper, a natural and selective response of meerkats to potentially threatening acoustic signals such as the call of a predator is demonstrated. It can be shown that both the graded structure of meerkat alarm calls, which serves to convey the urgency of a dangerous situation, and the natural response to alarm calls are preserved. The obtained findings allow a continuation of the bioacoustic studies known for wild meerkats in zoos. The meerkat’s ability to already recognize acoustic signals as a potential threat may be crucial information for certain husbandry conditions. Vocalizing predators kept or naturally occurring near the meerkat enclosure form one example. The level of stress induced by potential threats and the associated alertness could be determined by using the graded alarm calls as a tool. Abstract Animals living in human care for several generations face the risk of losing natural behaviors, which can lead to reduced animal welfare. The goal of this study is to demonstrate that meerkats (Suricata suricatta) living in zoos can assess potential danger and respond naturally based on acoustic signals only. This includes that the graded information of urgency in alarm calls as well as a response to those alarm calls is retained in captivity. To test the response to acoustic signals with different threat potential, meerkats were played calls of various animals differing in size and threat (e.g., robin, raven, buzzard, jackal) while their behavior was observed. The emitted alarm calls were recorded and examined for their graded structure on the one hand and played back to them on the other hand by means of a playback experiment to see whether the animals react to their own alarm calls even in the absence of danger. A fuzzy clustering algorithm was used to analyze and classify the alarm calls. Subsequently, the features that best described the graded structure were isolated using the LASSO algorithm and compared to features already known from wild meerkats. The results show that the graded structure is maintained in captivity and can be described by features such as noise and duration. The animals respond to new threats and can distinguish animal calls that are dangerous to them from those that are not, indicating the preservation of natural cooperative behavior. In addition, the playback experiments show that the meerkats respond to their own alarm calls with vigilance and escape behavior. The findings can be used to draw conclusions about the intensity of alertness in captive meerkats and to adapt husbandry conditions to appropriate welfare.
Collapse
|
9
|
Oswald JN, Walmsley SF, Casey C, Fregosi S, Southall B, Janik VM. Species information in whistle frequency modulation patterns of common dolphins. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20210046. [PMID: 34482716 PMCID: PMC8419585 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The most flexible communication systems are those of open-ended vocal learners that can acquire new signals throughout their lifetimes. While acoustic signals carry information in general voice features that affect all of an individual's vocalizations, vocal learners can also introduce novel call types to their repertoires. Delphinids are known for using such learned call types in individual recognition, but their role in other contexts is less clear. We investigated the whistles of two closely related, sympatric common dolphin species, Delphinus delphis and Delphinus bairdii, to evaluate species differences in whistle contours. Acoustic recordings of single-species groups were obtained from the Southern California Bight. We used an unsupervised neural network to categorize whistles and compared the resulting whistle types between species. Of the whistle types recorded in more than one encounter, 169 were shared between species and 60 were species-specific (32 D. delphis types, 28 D. bairdii types). Delphinus delphis used 15 whistle types with an oscillatory frequency contour while only one such type was found in D. bairdii. Given the role of vocal learning in delphinid vocalizations, we argue that these differences in whistle production are probably culturally driven and could help facilitate species recognition between Delphinus species. This article is part of the theme issue 'Vocal learning in animals and humans'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Julie N. Oswald
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK
| | - Sam F. Walmsley
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK
| | - Caroline Casey
- Southall Environmental Associates, 9099 Soquel Drive, Suite 8, Aptos, CA 95003, USA
| | - Selene Fregosi
- Southall Environmental Associates, 9099 Soquel Drive, Suite 8, Aptos, CA 95003, USA
| | - Brandon Southall
- Southall Environmental Associates, 9099 Soquel Drive, Suite 8, Aptos, CA 95003, USA
- Long Marine Laboratory, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - Vincent M. Janik
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Bailey H, Fandel AD, Silva K, Gryzb E, McDonald E, Hoover AL, Ogburn MB, Rice AN. Identifying and predicting occurrence and abundance of a vocal animal species based on individually specific calls. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- H. Bailey
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Solomons Maryland 20688 USA
| | - A. D. Fandel
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Solomons Maryland 20688 USA
| | - K. Silva
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Solomons Maryland 20688 USA
| | - E. Gryzb
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Solomons Maryland 20688 USA
| | - E. McDonald
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Solomons Maryland 20688 USA
| | - A. L. Hoover
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Solomons Maryland 20688 USA
| | - M. B. Ogburn
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center 647 Contees Wharf Road Edgewater Maryland 21037 USA
| | - A. N. Rice
- Center for Conservation Bioacoustics Cornell Lab of Ornithology Cornell University Ithaca New York 14850 USA
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Mercado E, Perazio CE. All units are equal in humpback whale songs, but some are more equal than others. Anim Cogn 2021; 25:149-177. [PMID: 34363127 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01539-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2020] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Flexible production and perception of vocalizations is linked to an impressive array of cognitive capacities including language acquisition by humans, song learning by birds, biosonar in bats, and vocal imitation by cetaceans. Here, we characterize a portion of the repertoire of one of the most impressive vocalizers in nature: the humpback whale. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of sounds (units) produced by humpback whales revealed that singers gradually morphed streams of units along multiple acoustic dimensions within songs, maintaining the continuity of spectral content across subjectively dissimilar unit "types." Singers consistently produced some unit forms more frequently and intensely than others, suggesting that units are functionally heterogeneous. The precision with which singing humpback whales continuously adjusted the acoustic characteristics of units shows that they possess exquisite vocal control mechanisms and vocal flexibility beyond what is seen in most animals other than humans. The gradual morphing of units within songs that we observed is inconsistent with past claims that humpback whales construct songs from a fixed repertoire of discrete unit types. These findings challenge the results of past studies based on fixed-unit classification methods and argue for the development of new metrics for characterizing the graded structure of units. The specific vocal variations that singers produced suggest that humpback whale songs are unlikely to provide detailed information about a singer's reproductive fitness, but can reveal the precise locations and movements of singers from long distances and may enhance the effectiveness of units as sonar signals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo Mercado
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Park Hall, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA.
| | - Christina E Perazio
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Park Hall, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA.,School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of New England, Biddeford, ME, USA
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Foy C, Deleforge A, Di Carlo D. Mean absorption estimation from room impulse responses using virtually supervised learning. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2021; 150:1286. [PMID: 34470260 DOI: 10.1121/10.0005888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
In the context of building acoustics and the acoustic diagnosis of an existing room, it introduces and investigates a new approach to estimate the mean absorption coefficients solely from a room impulse response (RIR). This inverse problem is tackled via virtually supervised learning, namely, the RIR-to-absorption mapping is implicitly learned by regression on a simulated dataset using artificial neural networks. Simple models based on well-understood architectures are the focus of this work. The critical choices of geometric, acoustic, and simulation parameters, which are used to train the models, are extensively discussed and studied while keeping in mind the conditions that are representative of the field of building acoustics. Estimation errors from the learned neural models are compared to those obtained with classical formulas that require knowledge of the room's geometry and reverberation times. Extensive comparisons made on a variety of simulated test sets highlight different conditions under which the learned models can overcome the well-known limitations of the diffuse sound field hypothesis underlying these formulas. Results obtained on real RIRs measured in an acoustically configurable room show that at 1 kHz and above, the proposed approach performs comparably to classical models when reverberation times can be reliably estimated and continues to work even when they cannot.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cédric Foy
- Unité mixte de recherche en acoustique environnementale (UMR AE), Cerema, Université Gustave Eiffel, Institut français des sciences et technologies des transports (Ifsttar), Strasbourg, 67035, France
| | - Antoine Deleforge
- Université de Lorraine, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), Inria, Laboratoire lorrain de recherche en informatique et ses applications (LORIA), Nancy, F-54000, France
| | - Diego Di Carlo
- Université Rennes, Inria, CNRS, Institut de recherche en informatique et systèmes alétoires (IRISA), France
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Cooperation-based concept formation in male bottlenose dolphins. Nat Commun 2021; 12:2373. [PMID: 33888703 PMCID: PMC8062458 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22668-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
In Shark Bay, Western Australia, male bottlenose dolphins form a complex nested alliance hierarchy. At the first level, pairs or trios of unrelated males cooperate to herd individual females. Multiple first-order alliances cooperate in teams (second-order alliances) in the pursuit and defence of females, and multiple teams also work together (third-order alliances). Yet it remains unknown how dolphins classify these nested alliance relationships. We use 30 years of behavioural data combined with 40 contemporary sound playback experiments to 14 allied males, recording responses with drone-mounted video and a hydrophone array. We show that males form a first-person social concept of cooperative team membership at the second-order alliance level, independently of first-order alliance history and current relationship strength across all three alliance levels. Such associative concepts develop through experience and likely played an important role in the cooperative behaviour of early humans. These results provide evidence that cooperation-based concepts are not unique to humans, occurring in other animal societies with extensive cooperation between non-kin.
Collapse
|
14
|
Ozanich E, Thode A, Gerstoft P, Freeman LA, Freeman S. Deep embedded clustering of coral reef bioacoustics. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2021; 149:2587. [PMID: 33940892 DOI: 10.1121/10.0004221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 03/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Deep clustering was applied to unlabeled, automatically detected signals in a coral reef soundscape to distinguish fish pulse calls from segments of whale song. Deep embedded clustering (DEC) learned latent features and formed classification clusters using fixed-length power spectrograms of the signals. Handpicked spectral and temporal features were also extracted and clustered with Gaussian mixture models (GMM) and conventional clustering. DEC, GMM, and conventional clustering were tested on simulated datasets of fish pulse calls (fish) and whale song units (whale) with randomized bandwidth, duration, and SNR. Both GMM and DEC achieved high accuracy and identified clusters with fish, whale, and overlapping fish and whale signals. Conventional clustering methods had low accuracy in scenarios with unequal-sized clusters or overlapping signals. Fish and whale signals recorded near Hawaii in February-March 2020 were clustered with DEC, GMM, and conventional clustering. DEC features demonstrated the highest accuracy of 77.5% on a small, manually labeled dataset for classifying signals into fish and whale clusters.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emma Ozanich
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92037, USA
| | - Aaron Thode
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92037, USA
| | - Peter Gerstoft
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92037, USA
| | - Lauren A Freeman
- Naval Undersea Warfare Center Newport, Newport, Rhode Island 02841, USA
| | - Simon Freeman
- Naval Undersea Warfare Center Newport, Newport, Rhode Island 02841, USA
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Doolittle EL. "Hearken to the Hermit-Thrush": A Case Study in Interdisciplinary Listening. Front Psychol 2020; 11:613510. [PMID: 33362674 PMCID: PMC7756056 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.613510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Birdsong is widely analysed and discussed by people coming from both musical and scientific backgrounds. Both approaches provide valuable insight, but I argue that it is only through combining musical and scientific points of view, as well as perspectives from more tangentially related fields, that we can obtain the best possible understanding of birdsong. In this paper, I discuss how my own training as a musician, and in particular as a composer, affects how I listen to and parse birdsong. I identify nine areas of overlap between human music and birdsong, which may serve as starting points both for musical and scientific analysis, as well as for interdisciplinary analysis as practiced in the developing field of "zoomusicology." Using the hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus) as an example, I discuss how the song of a single species has been described by writers from a variety of disciplines, including music, literature, and the sciences, as well as how we can contextualise these varied perspectives in terms of broader cultural thought trends. I end with discussion of how combining approaches from multiple fields can help us to figure out new questions to ask, can help us identify how our own cultural biases may affect how we hear birdsong, and ultimately can help us develop richer and more nuanced understandings of the songs themselves.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emily L Doolittle
- Department of Research and Knowledge Exchange, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Filatova OA. Independent acoustic variation of the higher- and lower-frequency components of biphonic calls can facilitate call recognition and social affiliation in killer whales. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0236749. [PMID: 32730308 PMCID: PMC7392277 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0236749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Each resident-type (R-type) killer whale pod has a set of stereotyped calls that are culturally transmitted from mother to offspring. The functions of particular call types are not yet clearly understood, but it is believed that calls with two independently modulated frequency components (biphonic calls) play an important role in pod communication and cohesion at long ranges. In this study we examined the possible functions of biphonic calls in R-type killer whales. First, we tested the hypothesis that the additional component enhances the potential of a call to identify the family affiliation. We found that the similarity patterns of the lower- and higher frequency components across the families were largely unrelated. Calls were classified more accurately to their respective family when both lower- and higher-frequency components were considered. Second, we tested the long-range detectability of the lower- and higher-frequency components. After adjusting the received levels by the killer whale hearing sensitivity to different frequency ranges, the sensation level of the higher-frequency component was higher than the amplitude of the lower-frequency component. Our results suggest that the higher-frequency component of killer whale biphonic calls varies independently of the lower-frequency component, which enhances the efficiency of these calls as family markers. The acoustic variation of the higher-frequency component allows the recognition of family identity of a caller even if the shape of the lower-frequency component accidentally becomes similar in unrelated families. The higher-frequency component can also facilitate family recognition when the lower-frequency component is masked by low-frequency noise.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Olga A. Filatova
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
R G Dombroski J, Parks SE, A C Flores P, Martín López LM, Shorter KA, Groch KR. Animal-borne tags provide insights into the acoustic communication of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) on the calving grounds. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2020; 147:EL498. [PMID: 32611191 DOI: 10.1121/10.0001391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2020] [Accepted: 05/25/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
This study investigated the repertoire, call-type variability and call rates of southern right whales on a calving ground off Brazil in the western South Atlantic. Acoustic tag data were collected from four lactating females and one juvenile. Pulsive, hybrid, and upcalls showed the greatest variability among call-types with up to 23% of non-standard forms detected. Quiet sounds (grunt, single, and double pulse) were detected for the first time in this species on the calving grounds. Although the sample size was limited, results suggest that social interaction increased call-type diversity and call rates, in line with other acoustic studies on right whales.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Julia R G Dombroski
- Department of Biology, Syracuse University, 114 Life Sciences Complex, Syracuse, New York 13210, USA
| | - Susan E Parks
- Department of Biology, Syracuse University, 114 Life Sciences Complex, Syracuse, New York 13210, USA
| | | | | | - K Alex Shorter
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Harbor, Michigan 48109, USA
| | - Karina R Groch
- Instituto Australis, CP 201 Imbituba, SC- 88780-000, , , , , ,
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Melo-Santos G, Walmsley SF, Marmontel M, Oliveira-da-Costa M, Janik VM. Repeated downsweep vocalizations of the Araguaian river dolphin, Inia araguaiaensis. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2020; 147:748. [PMID: 32113279 DOI: 10.1121/10.0000624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2019] [Accepted: 01/09/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Araguaian botos (Inia araguaiaensis) are known to produce pulsed as well as tonal sounds. This study documents the first evidence for repetitive sequences of downsweep whistles in botos that appear to be shared between individuals, and the context of their occurrence is investigated. Boat surveys were conducted along the Tocantins River located in the Eastern Amazon over a period of 42 days between 2012 and 2018. Eighty-two groups of Araguaian botos were observed, and 43 h of sound recordings were acquired. 632 downsweep whistles were recorded in 10 encounters. Four of these encounters contained downsweep bouts (21 bouts with ≥2 whistles) with short inter-call intervals (bout criterion 50 s) and up to 161 whistles. A statistical relationship was not found between downsweep occurrence and any of the contextual parameters that were investigated, including socializing, travelling, feeding, group size, presence of calves, and socio-sexual displays. The rarity of these signals makes them unlikely candidates for individual or group identification. It is more likely that they are associated with very specific contexts, such as nursing or mating, both of which were rarely observed in this study. Further studies are required to investigate context specificity and elucidate the function of these signals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Melo-Santos
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, East Sands, KY16 8LB, St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Sam F Walmsley
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, East Sands, KY16 8LB, St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Miriam Marmontel
- Research Group on Amazonian Aquatic Mammals, Mamirauá Sustainable, Development Institute, Estrada do Bexiga No. 2584, Tefé, Brazil
| | | | - Vincent M Janik
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, East Sands, KY16 8LB, St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Danishevskaya AY, Filatova OA, Samarra FIP, Miller PJO, Ford JKB, Yurk H, Matkin CO, Hoyt E. Crowd intelligence can discern between repertoires of killer whale ecotypes. BIOACOUSTICS 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2018.1538902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Olga A. Filatova
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
| | | | - Patrick J O. Miller
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Scotland
| | - John K B Ford
- Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Nanaimo, Canada
| | - Harald Yurk
- JASCO Research Ltd., British Columbia, Canada
| | | | - Erich Hoyt
- Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Allington Park, Bridport, UK
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Bianco MJ, Gerstoft P, Traer J, Ozanich E, Roch MA, Gannot S, Deledalle CA. Machine learning in acoustics: Theory and applications. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2019; 146:3590. [PMID: 31795641 DOI: 10.1121/1.5133944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 140] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Acoustic data provide scientific and engineering insights in fields ranging from biology and communications to ocean and Earth science. We survey the recent advances and transformative potential of machine learning (ML), including deep learning, in the field of acoustics. ML is a broad family of techniques, which are often based in statistics, for automatically detecting and utilizing patterns in data. Relative to conventional acoustics and signal processing, ML is data-driven. Given sufficient training data, ML can discover complex relationships between features and desired labels or actions, or between features themselves. With large volumes of training data, ML can discover models describing complex acoustic phenomena such as human speech and reverberation. ML in acoustics is rapidly developing with compelling results and significant future promise. We first introduce ML, then highlight ML developments in four acoustics research areas: source localization in speech processing, source localization in ocean acoustics, bioacoustics, and environmental sounds in everyday scenes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Bianco
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Peter Gerstoft
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - James Traer
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Emma Ozanich
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Marie A Roch
- Department of Computer Science, San Diego State University, San Diego, California 92182, USA
| | - Sharon Gannot
- Faculty of Engineering, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Charles-Alban Deledalle
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Bergler C, Schröter H, Cheng RX, Barth V, Weber M, Nöth E, Hofer H, Maier A. ORCA-SPOT: An Automatic Killer Whale Sound Detection Toolkit Using Deep Learning. Sci Rep 2019; 9:10997. [PMID: 31358873 PMCID: PMC6662697 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-47335-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2018] [Accepted: 07/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Large bioacoustic archives of wild animals are an important source to identify reappearing communication patterns, which can then be related to recurring behavioral patterns to advance the current understanding of intra-specific communication of non-human animals. A main challenge remains that most large-scale bioacoustic archives contain only a small percentage of animal vocalizations and a large amount of environmental noise, which makes it extremely difficult to manually retrieve sufficient vocalizations for further analysis - particularly important for species with advanced social systems and complex vocalizations. In this study deep neural networks were trained on 11,509 killer whale (Orcinus orca) signals and 34,848 noise segments. The resulting toolkit ORCA-SPOT was tested on a large-scale bioacoustic repository - the Orchive - comprising roughly 19,000 hours of killer whale underwater recordings. An automated segmentation of the entire Orchive recordings (about 2.2 years) took approximately 8 days. It achieved a time-based precision or positive-predictive-value (PPV) of 93.2% and an area-under-the-curve (AUC) of 0.9523. This approach enables an automated annotation procedure of large bioacoustics databases to extract killer whale sounds, which are essential for subsequent identification of significant communication patterns. The code will be publicly available in October 2019 to support the application of deep learning to bioaoucstic research. ORCA-SPOT can be adapted to other animal species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christian Bergler
- Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Department of Computer Science, Pattern Recognition Lab, Martensstr. 3, 91058, Erlangen, Germany.
| | - Hendrik Schröter
- Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Department of Computer Science, Pattern Recognition Lab, Martensstr. 3, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Rachael Xi Cheng
- Department of Ecological Dynamics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) in the Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V., Alfred-Kowalke-Straße 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany
| | - Volker Barth
- Anthro-Media, Nansenstr. 19, 12047, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Elmar Nöth
- Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Department of Computer Science, Pattern Recognition Lab, Martensstr. 3, 91058, Erlangen, Germany.
| | - Heribert Hofer
- Department of Ecological Dynamics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) in the Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V., Alfred-Kowalke-Straße 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology, Chemistry, Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustrasse 3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Oertzenweg 19b, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Andreas Maier
- Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Department of Computer Science, Pattern Recognition Lab, Martensstr. 3, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Fearey J, Elwen SH, James BS, Gridley T. Identification of potential signature whistles from free-ranging common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) in South Africa. Anim Cogn 2019; 22:777-789. [PMID: 31177344 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-019-01274-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2019] [Revised: 05/07/2019] [Accepted: 06/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Conveying identity is important for social animals to maintain individually based relationships. Communication of identity information relies on both signal encoding and perception. Several delphinid species use individually distinctive signature whistles to transmit identity information, best described for the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). In this study, we investigate signature whistle use in wild common dolphins (Delphinus delphis). Acoustic recordings were analysed from 11 encounters from three locations in South Africa (Hout Bay, False Bay, and Plettenberg Bay) during 2009, 2016 and 2017. The frequency contours of whistles were visually categorised, with 29 signature whistle types (SWTs) identified through contour categorisation and a bout analysis approach developed specifically to identify signature whistles in bottlenose dolphins (SIGID). Categorisation verification was conducted using an unsupervised neural network (ARTwarp) at both a 91% and 96% vigilance parameter. For this, individual SWTs were analysed type by type and then in a 'global' analysis whereby all 497 whistle contours were categorised simultaneously. Overall the analysis demonstrated high stereotypy in the structure and temporal production of whistles, consistent with signature whistle use. We suggest that individual identity information may be encoded in these whistle contours. However, the large group sizes and high degree of vocal activity characteristic of this dolphin species generate a cluttered acoustic environment with high potential for masking from conspecific vocalisations. Therefore, further investigation into the mechanisms of identity perception in such acoustically cluttered environments is required to demonstrate the function of these stereotyped whistle types in common dolphins.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J Fearey
- Sea Search Research and Conservation NPC, 4 Bath Rd, Muizenberg, Cape Town, 7945, South Africa
- Department of Statistical Sciences, Centre for Statistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7700, South Africa
| | - S H Elwen
- Sea Search Research and Conservation NPC, 4 Bath Rd, Muizenberg, Cape Town, 7945, South Africa
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria , 0002, South Africa
| | - B S James
- Sea Search Research and Conservation NPC, 4 Bath Rd, Muizenberg, Cape Town, 7945, South Africa
| | - T Gridley
- Sea Search Research and Conservation NPC, 4 Bath Rd, Muizenberg, Cape Town, 7945, South Africa.
- Department of Statistical Sciences, Centre for Statistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7700, South Africa.
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Melo-Santos G, Figueiredo Rodrigues AL, Tardin RH, de Sá Maciel I, Marmontel M, Da Silva ML, May-Collado LJ. The newly described Araguaian river dolphins, Inia araguaiaensis (Cetartiodactyla, Iniidae), produce a diverse repertoire of acoustic signals. PeerJ 2019; 7:e6670. [PMID: 31041149 PMCID: PMC6476290 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.6670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2018] [Accepted: 02/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The recent discovery of the Araguaian river dolphin (Inia araguaiaensis) highlights how little we know about the diversity and biology of river dolphins. In this study, we described the acoustic repertoire of this newly discovered species in concert with their behaviour. We analysed frequency contours of 727 signals (sampled at 10 ms temporal resolution). These contours were analyzed using an adaptive resonance theory neural network combined with dynamic time-warping (ARTwarp). Using a critical similarity value of 96%, frequency contours were categorized into 237 sound-types. The most common types were emitted when calves were present suggesting a key role in mother-calf communication. Our findings show that the acoustic repertoire of river dolphins is far from simple. Furthermore, the calls described here are similar in acoustic structure to those produced by social delphinids, such as orcas and pilot whales. Uncovering the context in which these signals are produced may help understand the social structure of this species and contribute to our understanding of the evolution of acoustic communication in whales.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Melo-Santos
- Sea Mammal Research Unit/Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom
- BioMA—Biology and Conservation of Amazonian Aquatic Mammals, Belém, Pará, Brazil
- Graduate program in Theory and Research of Behavior, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil
- Research Group on Amazonian Aquatic Mammals, Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development, Tefé, Amazonas, Brazil
- Laboratory of Ornithology and Bioacoustics, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil
| | - Angélica Lúcia Figueiredo Rodrigues
- BioMA—Biology and Conservation of Amazonian Aquatic Mammals, Belém, Pará, Brazil
- Graduate program in Theory and Research of Behavior, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil
| | - Rodrigo Hipólito Tardin
- Department of Ecology, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Laboratory of Bioacoustics and Cetacean Ecology, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Israel de Sá Maciel
- Laboratory of Bioacoustics and Cetacean Ecology, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Graduate Program in Animal Biology, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Miriam Marmontel
- Research Group on Amazonian Aquatic Mammals, Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development, Tefé, Amazonas, Brazil
| | - Maria Luisa Da Silva
- Graduate program in Theory and Research of Behavior, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil
- Laboratory of Ornithology and Bioacoustics, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil
| | | |
Collapse
|
24
|
Coffey KR, Marx RE, Neumaier JF. DeepSqueak: a deep learning-based system for detection and analysis of ultrasonic vocalizations. Neuropsychopharmacology 2019; 44:859-868. [PMID: 30610191 PMCID: PMC6461910 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-018-0303-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 135] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2018] [Revised: 12/04/2018] [Accepted: 12/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Rodents engage in social communication through a rich repertoire of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs). Recording and analysis of USVs has broad utility during diverse behavioral tests and can be performed noninvasively in almost any rodent behavioral model to provide rich insights into the emotional state and motor function of the test animal. Despite strong evidence that USVs serve an array of communicative functions, technical and financial limitations have been barriers for most laboratories to adopt vocalization analysis. Recently, deep learning has revolutionized the field of machine hearing and vision, by allowing computers to perform human-like activities including seeing, listening, and speaking. Such systems are constructed from biomimetic, "deep", artificial neural networks. Here, we present DeepSqueak, a USV detection and analysis software suite that can perform human quality USV detection and classification automatically, rapidly, and reliably using cutting-edge regional convolutional neural network architecture (Faster-RCNN). DeepSqueak was engineered to allow non-experts easy entry into USV detection and analysis yet is flexible and adaptable with a graphical user interface and offers access to numerous input and analysis features. Compared to other modern programs and manual analysis, DeepSqueak was able to reduce false positives, increase detection recall, dramatically reduce analysis time, optimize automatic syllable classification, and perform automatic syntax analysis on arbitrarily large numbers of syllables, all while maintaining manual selection review and supervised classification. DeepSqueak allows USV recording and analysis to be added easily to existing rodent behavioral procedures, hopefully revealing a wide range of innate responses to provide another dimension of insights into behavior when combined with conventional outcome measures.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kevin R. Coffey
- 0000000122986657grid.34477.33Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98104 USA
| | - Ruby E. Marx
- 0000000122986657grid.34477.33Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98104 USA
| | - John F. Neumaier
- 0000000122986657grid.34477.33Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98104 USA
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Monczak A, Ji Y, Soueidan J, Montie EW. Automatic detection, classification, and quantification of sciaenid fish calls in an estuarine soundscape in the Southeast United States. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0209914. [PMID: 30650120 PMCID: PMC6334970 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2018] [Accepted: 12/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
In the Southeast USA, major contributors to estuarine soundscapes are the courtship calls produced by fish species belonging to the family Sciaenidae. Long-term monitoring of sciaenid courtship sounds may be valuable in understanding reproductive phenology, but this approach produces massive acoustic datasets. With this in mind, we designed a feature-based, signal detector for sciaenid fish calls and tested the efficacy of this detector against manually reviewed data. Acoustic recorders were deployed to collect sound samples for 2 min every 20 min at four stations in the May River estuary, South Carolina, USA from February to November, 2014. Manual analysis of acoustic files revealed that four fish species, belonging to the family Sciaenidae, were the major sound producers in this estuarine soundscape, and included black drum (Pogonias cromis), silver perch (Bairdiella chrysoura), spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus), and red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus). Recorded calls served as an acoustic library of signature features that were used to create a signal detector to automatically detect, classify, and quantify the number of calls in each acoustic file. Correlation between manual and automatic detection was significant and precision varied from 61% to 100%. Automatic detection provided quantitative data on calling rates for this long-term data set. Positive temperature anomalies increased calling rates of black drum, silver perch, and spotted seatrout, while negative anomalies increased calling rates of red drum. Acoustic monitoring combined with automatic detection could be an additional or alternative method for monitoring sciaenid spawning and changes in phenology associated with climate change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Monczak
- Department of Natural Sciences, University of South Carolina Beaufort, Bluffton, South Carolina, United States of America
| | - Yiming Ji
- Department of Mathematics and Computational Science, University of South Carolina Beaufort, Bluffton, South Carolina, United States of America
| | - Jamileh Soueidan
- Department of Natural Sciences, University of South Carolina Beaufort, Bluffton, South Carolina, United States of America
| | - Eric W. Montie
- Department of Natural Sciences, University of South Carolina Beaufort, Bluffton, South Carolina, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Briefer EF. Vocal contagion of emotions in non-human animals. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 285:rspb.2017.2783. [PMID: 29491174 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2017] [Accepted: 02/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Communicating emotions to conspecifics (emotion expression) allows the regulation of social interactions (e.g. approach and avoidance). Moreover, when emotions are transmitted from one individual to the next, leading to state matching (emotional contagion), information transfer and coordination between group members are facilitated. Despite the high potential for vocalizations to influence the affective state of surrounding individuals, vocal contagion of emotions has been largely unexplored in non-human animals. In this paper, I review the evidence for discrimination of vocal expression of emotions, which is a necessary step for emotional contagion to occur. I then describe possible proximate mechanisms underlying vocal contagion of emotions, propose criteria to assess this phenomenon and review the existing evidence. The literature so far shows that non-human animals are able to discriminate and be affected by conspecific and also potentially heterospecific (e.g. human) vocal expression of emotions. Since humans heavily rely on vocalizations to communicate (speech), I suggest that studying vocal contagion of emotions in non-human animals can lead to a better understanding of the evolution of emotional contagion and empathy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elodie F Briefer
- Institute of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 2, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Bowers MT, Friedlaender AS, Janik VM, Nowacek DP, Quick NJ, Southall BL, Read AJ. Selective reactions to different killer whale call categories in two delphinid species. J Exp Biol 2018; 221:jeb162479. [PMID: 29895580 PMCID: PMC6515772 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.162479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2017] [Accepted: 04/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The risk of predation is often invoked as an important factor influencing the evolution of social organization in cetaceans, but little direct information is available about how these aquatic mammals respond to predators or other perceived threats. We used controlled playback experiments to examine the behavioral responses of short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) off Cape Hatteras, NC, USA, and Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus) off the coast of Southern California, USA, to the calls of a potential predator, mammal-eating killer whales. We transmitted calls of mammal-eating killer whales, conspecifics and baleen whales to 10 pilot whales and four Risso's dolphins equipped with multi-sensor archival acoustic recording tags (DTAGs). Only playbacks of killer whale calls resulted in significant changes in tagged animal heading. The strong responses observed in both species occurred only following exposure to a subset of killer whale calls, all of which contained multiple non-linear properties. This finding suggests that these structural features of killer whale calls convey information about predatory risk to pilot whales and Risso's dolphins. The observed responses differed between the two species; pilot whales approached the sound source while Risso's dolphins fled following playbacks. These divergent responses likely reflect differences in anti-predator response mediated by the social structure of the two species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew T Bowers
- Division of Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
- Southall Environmental Associates, Inc., 9099 Soquel Drive, Suite 8, Aptos, CA 95003, USA
| | - Ari S Friedlaender
- Southall Environmental Associates, Inc., 9099 Soquel Drive, Suite 8, Aptos, CA 95003, USA
- Institute for Marine Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, 115 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
| | - Vincent M Janik
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, East Sands, St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK
| | - Douglas P Nowacek
- Division of Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
- Electrical and Computer Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Nicola J Quick
- Division of Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
| | - Brandon L Southall
- Southall Environmental Associates, Inc., 9099 Soquel Drive, Suite 8, Aptos, CA 95003, USA
| | - Andrew J Read
- Division of Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
King SL, Friedman WR, Allen SJ, Gerber L, Jensen FH, Wittwer S, Connor RC, Krützen M. Bottlenose Dolphins Retain Individual Vocal Labels in Multi-level Alliances. Curr Biol 2018; 28:1993-1999.e3. [PMID: 29887310 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2018] [Revised: 03/26/2018] [Accepted: 05/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Cooperation between allied individuals and groups is ubiquitous in human societies, and vocal communication is known to play a key role in facilitating such complex human behaviors [1, 2]. In fact, complex communication may be a feature of the kind of social cognition required for the formation of social alliances, facilitating both partner choice and the execution of coordinated behaviors [3]. As such, a compelling avenue for investigation is what role flexible communication systems play in the formation and maintenance of cooperative partnerships in other alliance-forming animals. Male bottlenose dolphins in some populations form complex multi-level alliances, where individuals cooperate in the pursuit and defense of an important resource: access to females [4]. These strong relationships can last for decades and are critical to each male's reproductive success [4]. Convergent vocal accommodation is used to signal social proximity to a partner or social group in many taxa [5, 6], and it has long been thought that allied male dolphins also converge onto a shared signal to broadcast alliance identity [5-8]. Here, we combine a decade of data on social interactions with dyadic relatedness estimates to show that male dolphins that form multi-level alliances in an open social network retain individual vocal labels that are distinct from those of their allies. Our results differ from earlier reports of signature whistle convergence among males that form stable alliance pairs. Instead, they suggest that individual vocal labels play a central role in the maintenance of differentiated relationships within complex nested alliances.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie L King
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.
| | - Whitney R Friedman
- Department of Cognitive Science, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Simon J Allen
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | - Livia Gerber
- Evolutionary Genetics Group, Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Frants H Jensen
- Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Samuel Wittwer
- Evolutionary Genetics Group, Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Richard C Connor
- Biology Department, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, MA, USA
| | - Michael Krützen
- Evolutionary Genetics Group, Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Zsebők S, Herczeg G, Blázi G, Laczi M, Nagy G, Török J, Garamszegi LZ. Minimum spanning tree as a new, robust repertoire size comparison method: simulation and test on birdsong. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2467-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
|
30
|
Fu Y, Kloepper LN. A systematic method for isolating, tracking and discriminating time-frequency components of bat echolocation calls. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2018; 143:716. [PMID: 29495687 DOI: 10.1121/1.5023205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Echolocating bats can rapidly modify frequency modulation (FM) curvatures of their calls when facing challenging echolocation tasks. Frequency parameters, such as start/end/peak frequency, have often been extracted from the time-frequency domain to study the call variation. Even though this kind of signal investigation method reveals important findings, these approaches to analyze bat echolocation calls use bulk parameters, which hide subtleties in the call structure that may be important to the bat. In some cases, calls can have the same start and end frequencies but have different FM curvatures, and subsequently may influence the sensory task performance. In the present study, the authors demonstrate an algorithm using a combination of digital filters, power limited time-frequency information, derivative dynamic time warping, and agglomerative hierarchical clustering to extract and categorize the time-frequency components (TFCs) of 21 calls from Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) to quantitatively compare FM curvatures. The detailed curvature analysis shows an alternative perspective to look into the TFCs and hence serves as the preliminary step to understand the adaptive call design of bats.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yanqing Fu
- Department of Biology, Saint Mary's College, 149 Le Mans Hall, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
| | - Laura N Kloepper
- Department of Biology, Saint Mary's College, 149 Le Mans Hall, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Abramson JZ, Hernández-Lloreda MV, García L, Colmenares F, Aboitiz F, Call J. Imitation of novel conspecific and human speech sounds in the killer whale ( Orcinus orca). Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:20172171. [PMID: 29386364 PMCID: PMC5805929 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2017] [Accepted: 01/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Vocal imitation is a hallmark of human spoken language, which, along with other advanced cognitive skills, has fuelled the evolution of human culture. Comparative evidence has revealed that although the ability to copy sounds from conspecifics is mostly uniquely human among primates, a few distantly related taxa of birds and mammals have also independently evolved this capacity. Remarkably, field observations of killer whales have documented the existence of group-differentiated vocal dialects that are often referred to as traditions or cultures and are hypothesized to be acquired non-genetically. Here we use a do-as-I-do paradigm to study the abilities of a killer whale to imitate novel sounds uttered by conspecific (vocal imitative learning) and human models (vocal mimicry). We found that the subject made recognizable copies of all familiar and novel conspecific and human sounds tested and did so relatively quickly (most during the first 10 trials and three in the first attempt). Our results lend support to the hypothesis that the vocal variants observed in natural populations of this species can be socially learned by imitation. The capacity for vocal imitation shown in this study may scaffold the natural vocal traditions of killer whales in the wild.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- José Z Abramson
- Departamento de Psiquiatría, Facultad de Medicina and Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencias, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Marcoleta 391, Santiago, Chile
- Centro de Estudios Avanzados, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile
- Facultad de Ciencias, Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria, Universidad Mayor, Camino La Pirámide 5750, Huechuraba, Santiago, Chile
| | - Mª Victoria Hernández-Lloreda
- Departamento de Metodología de las Ciencias del Comportamiento, Facultad de Psicología
- Grupo UCM de Psicobiología Social, Evolutiva y Comparada, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28223, Madrid, Spain
| | - Lino García
- Departamento de Psicobiología, Facultad de Psicología, Campus de Somosaguas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28223, Madrid, Spain
| | - Fernando Colmenares
- Grupo UCM de Psicobiología Social, Evolutiva y Comparada, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28223, Madrid, Spain
- Dpto. Teoría de la Señal y Comunicaciones ETSIST, UPM, Spain
| | - Francisco Aboitiz
- Departamento de Psiquiatría, Facultad de Medicina and Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencias, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Marcoleta 391, Santiago, Chile
| | - Josep Call
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Mary's Quad, South Street, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9JP, UK
- Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Clink DJ, Crofoot MC, Marshall AJ. Application of a semi-automated vocal fingerprinting approach to monitor Bornean gibbon females in an experimentally fragmented landscape in Sabah, Malaysia. BIOACOUSTICS 2018. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2018.1426042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Dena J. Clink
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Margaret C. Crofoot
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa Ancon, Republic of Panama
| | - Andrew J. Marshall
- Department of Anthropology, Program in the Environment, and School for Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Fischer J, Wadewitz P, Hammerschmidt K. Structural variability and communicative complexity in acoustic communication. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
|
34
|
Filatova OA, Ivkovich TV, Guzeev MA, Burdin AM, Hoyt E. Social complexity and cultural transmission of dialects in killer whales. BEHAVIOUR 2017. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Many social animals have cultural traditions that may shape their societies while the social structure can in turn influence how the culture is acquired. Killer whales possess culturally transmitted dialects. The divergence of dialects was thought to occur simultaneously and consistently with the gradual fission of matrilines. In this paper we compare the social associations across matrilineal units, Bayesian phylogeny of dialects and similarity of particular syllables to test whether dialects affect social structure and whether associations or common origin define similarity of call types. We found that neither phylogeny of dialects nor similarity of syllables was correlated to associations between matrilineal units, but similarity of syllables was correlated to phylogeny of dialects for four of the six syllables analysed. The complexity and fluidity of social ties between matrilineal units and the variation in cultural transmission patterns produce a complex relationship between the social network and the socially learned vocalizations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Olga A. Filatova
- Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University, Vorobiovy gory 1/12, Moscow 119992, Russia
| | - Tatiana V. Ivkovich
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Universitetskaya emb. 7/9, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg 199034, Russia
| | - Mikhail A. Guzeev
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Universitetskaya emb. 7/9, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg 199034, Russia
| | - Alexandr M. Burdin
- Kamchatka Branch of Pacific Institute of Geography FEB RAS, Pr. Rybakov 19-a, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky 683024, Russia
| | - Erich Hoyt
- Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Park House, Allington Park, Bridport, Dorset DT6 5DD, UK
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Heiler J, Elwen S, Kriesell H, Gridley T. Changes in bottlenose dolphin whistle parameters related to vessel presence, surface behaviour and group composition. Anim Behav 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.04.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
|
36
|
Hiley HM, Perry S, Hartley S, King SL. What’s occurring? Ultrasonic signature whistle use in Welsh bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). BIOACOUSTICS 2016. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2016.1174885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Helen M. Hiley
- Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre, New Quay, UK
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Sarah Perry
- Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre, New Quay, UK
| | | | - Stephanie L. King
- Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre, New Quay, UK
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Animal Biology (M092), University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Disentangling canid howls across multiple species and subspecies: Structure in a complex communication channel. Behav Processes 2016; 124:149-57. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2016.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2015] [Revised: 01/15/2016] [Accepted: 01/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
|
38
|
Vester H, Hammerschmidt K, Timme M, Hallerberg S. Quantifying group specificity of animal vocalizations without specific sender information. Phys Rev E 2016; 93:022138. [PMID: 26986319 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.93.022138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Recordings of animal vocalization can lack information about sender and context. This is often the case in studies on marine mammals or in the increasing number of automated bioacoustics monitorings. Here, we develop a framework to estimate group specificity without specific sender information. We introduce and apply a bag-of-calls-and-coefficients approach (BOCCA) to study ensembles of cepstral coefficients calculated from vocalization signals recorded from a given animal group. Comparing distributions of such ensembles of coefficients by computing relative entropies reveals group specific differences. Applying the BOCCA to ensembles of calls recorded from group of long-finned pilot whales in northern Norway, we find that differences of vocalizations within social groups of pilot whales (Globicephala melas) are significantly lower than intergroup differences.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Heike Vester
- Ocean Sounds, Sauoya 01, 8312 Henningsvaer, Norway
| | - Kurt Hammerschmidt
- Cognitive Ethology Lab, German Primate Center, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Marc Timme
- Network Dynamics, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sarah Hallerberg
- Network Dynamics, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Kershenbaum A, Blumstein DT, Roch MA, Akçay Ç, Backus G, Bee MA, Bohn K, Cao Y, Carter G, Cäsar C, Coen M, DeRuiter SL, Doyle L, Edelman S, Ferrer-i-Cancho R, Freeberg TM, Garland EC, Gustison M, Harley HE, Huetz C, Hughes M, Bruno JH, Ilany A, Jin DZ, Johnson M, Ju C, Karnowski J, Lohr B, Manser MB, McCowan B, Mercado E, Narins PM, Piel A, Rice M, Salmi R, Sasahara K, Sayigh L, Shiu Y, Taylor C, Vallejo EE, Waller S, Zamora-Gutierrez V. Acoustic sequences in non-human animals: a tutorial review and prospectus. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2016; 91:13-52. [PMID: 25428267 PMCID: PMC4444413 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 139] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2014] [Revised: 10/02/2014] [Accepted: 10/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Animal acoustic communication often takes the form of complex sequences, made up of multiple distinct acoustic units. Apart from the well-known example of birdsong, other animals such as insects, amphibians, and mammals (including bats, rodents, primates, and cetaceans) also generate complex acoustic sequences. Occasionally, such as with birdsong, the adaptive role of these sequences seems clear (e.g. mate attraction and territorial defence). More often however, researchers have only begun to characterise - let alone understand - the significance and meaning of acoustic sequences. Hypotheses abound, but there is little agreement as to how sequences should be defined and analysed. Our review aims to outline suitable methods for testing these hypotheses, and to describe the major limitations to our current and near-future knowledge on questions of acoustic sequences. This review and prospectus is the result of a collaborative effort between 43 scientists from the fields of animal behaviour, ecology and evolution, signal processing, machine learning, quantitative linguistics, and information theory, who gathered for a 2013 workshop entitled, 'Analysing vocal sequences in animals'. Our goal is to present not just a review of the state of the art, but to propose a methodological framework that summarises what we suggest are the best practices for research in this field, across taxa and across disciplines. We also provide a tutorial-style introduction to some of the most promising algorithmic approaches for analysing sequences. We divide our review into three sections: identifying the distinct units of an acoustic sequence, describing the different ways that information can be contained within a sequence, and analysing the structure of that sequence. Each of these sections is further subdivided to address the key questions and approaches in that area. We propose a uniform, systematic, and comprehensive approach to studying sequences, with the goal of clarifying research terms used in different fields, and facilitating collaboration and comparative studies. Allowing greater interdisciplinary collaboration will facilitate the investigation of many important questions in the evolution of communication and sociality.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Arik Kershenbaum
- National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, 1122 Volunteer Blvd., Suite 106, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-3410, USA
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Daniel T. Blumstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, 621 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA
| | - Marie A. Roch
- Department of Computer Science, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Dr, San Diego, CA 92182, USA
| | - Çağlar Akçay
- Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Gregory Backus
- Department of Biomathematics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
| | - Mark A. Bee
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 100 Ecology Building, 1987 Upper Buford Cir, Falcon Heights, MN 55108, USA
| | - Kirsten Bohn
- Integrated Science, Florida International University, Modesto Maidique Campus, 11200 SW 8th Street, AHC-4, 351, Miami, FL 33199, USA
| | - Yan Cao
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W Campbell Rd, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
| | - Gerald Carter
- Biological Sciences Graduate Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Cristiane Cäsar
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, St Mary’s Quad South Street, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JP, UK
| | - Michael Coen
- Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin, K6/446 Clinical Sciences Center, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792-4675, USA
| | - Stacy L. DeRuiter
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St. Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9SS, UK
| | - Laurance Doyle
- Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe, SETI Institute, 189 Bernardo Ave, Suite 100, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | - Shimon Edelman
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, 211 Uris Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853-7601, USA
| | - Ramon Ferrer-i-Cancho
- Department of Computer Science, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, (Catalonia), Calle Jordi Girona, 31, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Todd M. Freeberg
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Austin Peay Building, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA
| | - Ellen C. Garland
- National Marine Mammal Laboratory, AFSC/NOAA, 7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Seattle, Washington 98115, USA
| | - Morgan Gustison
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Heidi E. Harley
- Division of Social Sciences, New College of Florida, 5800 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota, FL 34243, USA
| | - Chloé Huetz
- CNPS, CNRS UMR 8195, Université Paris-Sud, UMR 8195, Batiments 440-447, Rue Claude Bernard, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - Melissa Hughes
- Department of Biology, College of Charleston, 66 George St, Charleston, SC 29424, USA
| | - Julia Hyland Bruno
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, The City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Amiyaal Ilany
- National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, 1122 Volunteer Blvd., Suite 106, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-3410, USA
| | - Dezhe Z. Jin
- Department of Physics, Pennsylvania State University, 104 Davey Lab, University Park, PA 16802-6300, USA
| | - Michael Johnson
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Marquette University, 1515 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53233, USA
| | - Chenghui Ju
- Department of Biology, Queen College, The City Univ. of New York, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, New York 11367, USA
| | - Jeremy Karnowski
- Department of Cognitive Science, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0515, USA
| | - Bernard Lohr
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA
| | - Marta B. Manser
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Brenda McCowan
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, 1 Peter J Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Eduardo Mercado
- Department of Psychology; Evolution, Ecology, & Behavior, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Park Hall Room 204, Buffalo, NY 14260-4110, USA
| | - Peter M. Narins
- Department of Integrative Biology & Physiology, University of California Los Angeles, 612 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA 90095-7246, USA
| | - Alex Piel
- Division of Biological Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Pembroke Street Cambridge, CB2 3QG, UK
| | - Megan Rice
- Department of Psychology, California State University San Marcos, 333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Rd., San Marcos, CA 92096-0001, USA
| | - Roberta Salmi
- Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia at Athens, 355 S Jackson St, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Kazutoshi Sasahara
- Graduate School of Information Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Laela Sayigh
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 86 Water St, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
| | - Yu Shiu
- Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Charles Taylor
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, 621 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA
| | - Edgar E. Vallejo
- Department of Computer Science, Monterrey Institute of Technology, Ave. Eugenio Garza Sada 2501 Sur Col. Tecnológico C.P. 64849, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
| | - Sara Waller
- Department of Philosophy, Montana State University, 2-155 Wilson Hall, Bozeman, Montana 59717, USA
| | - Veronica Zamora-Gutierrez
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environmental Research, University College London, London WC1H 0AG, UK
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Roch MA, Batchelor H, Baumann-Pickering S, Berchok CL, Cholewiak D, Fujioka E, Garland EC, Herbert S, Hildebrand JA, Oleson EM, Van Parijs S, Risch D, Širović A, Soldevilla MS. Management of acoustic metadata for bioacoustics. ECOL INFORM 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2015.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
|
41
|
Magnúsdóttir EE, Miller PJO, Lim R, Rasmussen MH, Lammers MO, Svavarsson J. Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) song unit and phrase repertoire progression on a subarctic feeding ground. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2015; 138:3362-3374. [PMID: 26627808 DOI: 10.1121/1.4935517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The songs of the male humpback whales have traditionally been associated with breeding activities at low latitude breeding grounds during winter. This study provides the first detailed analysis of humpback whale songs recorded in the subarctic waters of Iceland using passive acoustic recorders. Recordings were collected during three winter seasons: 2008-2009, 2009-2010, and 2011 during which singing was detected in all seasons. Peak song occurrence was during January-February in all years; this coincides with the timing of the peak breeding season of humpback whales in the Northern hemisphere. A total of 2810 song units from all years were measured and statistically divided into 14 groups, which constructed 25 phrases. The song unit repertoires included stable song unit types that occurred frequently in songs during all years while the occurrence of other song unit types varied more between years. Around 60% of the phrases were conserved between the first two study seasons, while the majority of phrases found during the last study season had not been observed before. This study indicates the importance of a subarctic feeding ground for song progression and song exchange and possibly as an opportunistic mating ground for migrating or overwintering humpback whales.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Edda E Magnúsdóttir
- The University of Iceland's Research Center in Húsavík, 640 Húsavík, Iceland
| | - Patrick J O Miller
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of Saint Andrews, Saint Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK
| | - Rangyn Lim
- The University of Iceland's Research Center in Húsavík, 640 Húsavík, Iceland
| | | | - Marc O Lammers
- Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, Kaneohe, Hawaii 96744, USA
| | - Jörundur Svavarsson
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Mishima Y, Morisaka T, Itoh M, Matsuo I, Sakaguchi A, Miyamoto Y. Individuality embedded in the isolation calls of captive beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). ZOOLOGICAL LETTERS 2015; 1:27. [PMID: 26605072 PMCID: PMC4657357 DOI: 10.1186/s40851-015-0028-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2015] [Accepted: 08/26/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Species with fission-fusion social systems tend to exchange individualized contact calls to maintain group cohesion. Signature whistles by bottlenose dolphins are unique compared to the contact calls of other non-human animals in that they include identity information independent of voice cues. Further, dolphins copy the signatures of conspecifics and use them to label specific individuals. Increasing our knowledge of the contact calls of other cetaceans that have a fluid social structure may thus help us better understand the evolutionary and adaptive significance of all forms of individually distinctive calls. It was recently reported that one type of broadband pulsed sounds (PS1), rather than whistles, may function as individualized contact calls in captive belugas. The objective of this study was to assess the function and individual distinctiveness of PS1 calls in an isolation context. Recordings were made from five captive belugas, including both sexes and various ages. RESULTS PS1 was the predominant call type (38 % in total) out of five broader sound categories. One sub-adult and three adults had individually distinctive and stereotyped pulse repetition pattern in PS1; one calf showed no clear stereotyped pulse repetition pattern. While visual inspection of the PS1 power spectra uncovered no apparent individual specificity, statistical analyses revealed that both temporal and spectral parameters had inter-individual differences and that there was greater inter-individual than intra-individual variability. Discriminant function analysis based on five temporal and spectral parameters classified PS1 calls into individuals with an overall correct classification rate of 80.5 %, and the most informative parameter was the average Inter-pulse interval, followed by peak frequency. CONCLUSION These results suggest that belugas use individually distinctive contact calls in an isolation context. If belugas encode signature information in PS1 calls, as seen in bottlenose dolphins, the pulse repetition pattern may be the carrier, as it is individually stereotyped and appears to require vocal development. This idea is supported by the finding that the average inter-pulse interval is the most powerful discriminator in discriminant analysis. Playback experiments will elucidate which parameters are perceived as individual characteristics, and whether one of the parameters functions as a signature.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yuka Mishima
- />The Graduate School of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, 4-5-7, Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8477 Japan
| | - Tadamichi Morisaka
- />Institute of Innovative Science and Technology, Tokai University, 3-20-1, Orido, Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka-shi, Shizuoka 424-8610 Japan
| | - Miho Itoh
- />Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium, 1-3, Minato-machi, Minato-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 455-0003 Japan
| | - Ikuo Matsuo
- />Department of Information Science, Tohoku Gakuin University, 2-1-1, Tenjinzawa, Izumiku, Sendai, Miyagi 981-3193 Japan
| | - Aiko Sakaguchi
- />The Graduate School of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, 4-5-7, Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8477 Japan
| | - Yoshinori Miyamoto
- />The Graduate School of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, 4-5-7, Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8477 Japan
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Kershenbaum A, Garland EC. Quantifying similarity in animal vocal sequences: which metric performs best? Methods Ecol Evol 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.12433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Ellen C. Garland
- School of Biology University of St. Andrews St. Andrews Fife KY16 9TH UK
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Ranjard L, Withers SJ, Brunton DH, Ross HA, Parsons S. Integration over song classification replicates: song variant analysis in the hihi. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2015; 137:2542-2551. [PMID: 25994687 DOI: 10.1121/1.4919329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Human expert analyses are commonly used in bioacoustic studies and can potentially limit the reproducibility of these results. In this paper, a machine learning method is presented to statistically classify avian vocalizations. Automated approaches were applied to isolate bird songs from long field recordings, assess song similarities, and classify songs into distinct variants. Because no positive controls were available to assess the true classification of variants, multiple replicates of automatic classification of song variants were analyzed to investigate clustering uncertainty. The automatic classifications were more similar to the expert classifications than expected by chance. Application of these methods demonstrated the presence of discrete song variants in an island population of the New Zealand hihi (Notiomystis cincta). The geographic patterns of song variation were then revealed by integrating over classification replicates. Because this automated approach considers variation in song variant classification, it reduces potential human bias and facilitates the reproducibility of the results.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Louis Ranjard
- Bioinformatics Institute, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland Mail Centre, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
| | - Sarah J Withers
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland Mail Centre, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
| | - Dianne H Brunton
- The Institute of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, Massey University, Albany Campus, Private Bag 102 904, North Shore Mail Centre, Auckland 0745, New Zealand
| | - Howard A Ross
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland Mail Centre, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
| | - Stuart Parsons
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland Mail Centre, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
King SL, Janik VM. Come dine with me: food-associated social signalling in wild bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Anim Cogn 2015; 18:969-74. [PMID: 25688042 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-015-0851-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2014] [Revised: 02/05/2015] [Accepted: 02/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Food-related signalling is widespread in the animal kingdom with some food-associated vocalizations considered functionally referential. Food calls can, however, vary greatly in the type of information they convey. Thus, there are a multitude of purposes for which food calls are used, including social recruitment, caller spacing, the indication of type, quantity, quality, divisibility of food, the caller's hunger level and even as tools to manipulate prey behaviour. Yet little work has focused on the social aspect of food calling in animals. We investigated the association of social signals in wild bottlenose dolphins with foraging behaviour where context-specific food-associated calls are commonly produced. Our data showed that specific social signals were significantly correlated with food call production and these calls rarely occurred in the absence of food calls. We suggest that animals are sharing additional information on the food patch itself with their social affiliates.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie L King
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 8LB, UK,
| | | |
Collapse
|
46
|
King SL, Harley HE, Janik VM. The role of signature whistle matching in bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus. Anim Behav 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.07.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
|
47
|
Kriesell HJ, Elwen SH, Nastasi A, Gridley T. Identification and characteristics of signature whistles in wild bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from Namibia. PLoS One 2014; 9:e106317. [PMID: 25203814 PMCID: PMC4159226 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0106317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2013] [Accepted: 08/05/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
A signature whistle type is a learned, individually distinctive whistle type in a dolphin's acoustic repertoire that broadcasts the identity of the whistle owner. The acquisition and use of signature whistles indicates complex cognitive functioning that requires wider investigation in wild dolphin populations. Here we identify signature whistle types from a population of approximately 100 wild common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) inhabiting Walvis Bay, and describe signature whistle occurrence, acoustic parameters and temporal production. A catalogue of 43 repeatedly emitted whistle types (REWTs) was generated by analysing 79 hrs of acoustic recordings. From this, 28 signature whistle types were identified using a method based on the temporal patterns in whistle sequences. A visual classification task conducted by 5 naïve judges showed high levels of agreement in classification of whistles (Fleiss-Kappa statistic, κ = 0.848, Z = 55.3, P<0.001) and supported our categorisation. Signature whistle structure remained stable over time and location, with most types (82%) recorded in 2 or more years, and 4 identified at Walvis Bay and a second field site approximately 450 km away. Whistle acoustic parameters were consistent with those of signature whistles documented in Sarasota Bay (Florida, USA). We provide evidence of possible two-voice signature whistle production by a common bottlenose dolphin. Although signature whistle types have potential use as a marker for studying individual habitat use, we only identified approximately 28% of those from the Walvis Bay population, despite considerable recording effort. We found that signature whistle type diversity was higher in larger dolphin groups and groups with calves present. This is the first study describing signature whistles in a wild free-ranging T. truncatus population inhabiting African waters and it provides a baseline on which more in depth behavioural studies can be based.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Joy Kriesell
- Department of Conservation Biology, Georg-August University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Namibian Dolphin Project, Walvis Bay, Namibia
| | - Simon Harvey Elwen
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Gauteng, South Africa
- Namibian Dolphin Project, Walvis Bay, Namibia
| | - Aurora Nastasi
- Namibian Dolphin Project, Walvis Bay, Namibia
- Sapienza Università di Roma, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Rome, Italy
| | - Tess Gridley
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Gauteng, South Africa
- Namibian Dolphin Project, Walvis Bay, Namibia
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Variation in Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis) whistles: using a broadband recording system to analyze acoustic parameters in three areas of southeastern Brazil. Acta Ethol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s10211-014-0183-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
|
49
|
Kershenbaum A, Sayigh LS, Janik VM. The encoding of individual identity in dolphin signature whistles: how much information is needed? PLoS One 2013; 8:e77671. [PMID: 24194893 PMCID: PMC3806847 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0077671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2013] [Accepted: 09/12/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) produce many vocalisations, including whistles that are unique to the individual producing them. Such “signature whistles” play a role in individual recognition and maintaining group integrity. Previous work has shown that humans can successfully group the spectrographic representations of signature whistles according to the individual dolphins that produced them. However, attempts at using mathematical algorithms to perform a similar task have been less successful. A greater understanding of the encoding of identity information in signature whistles is important for assessing similarity of whistles and thus social influences on the development of these learned calls. We re-examined 400 signature whistles from 20 individual dolphins used in a previous study, and tested the performance of new mathematical algorithms. We compared the measure used in the original study (correlation matrix of evenly sampled frequency measurements) to one used in several previous studies (similarity matrix of time-warped whistles), and to a new algorithm based on the Parsons code, used in music retrieval databases. The Parsons code records the direction of frequency change at each time step, and is effective at capturing human perception of music. We analysed similarity matrices from each of these three techniques, as well as a random control, by unsupervised clustering using three separate techniques: k-means clustering, hierarchical clustering, and an adaptive resonance theory neural network. For each of the three clustering techniques, a seven-level Parsons algorithm provided better clustering than the correlation and dynamic time warping algorithms, and was closer to the near-perfect visual categorisations of human judges. Thus, the Parsons code captures much of the individual identity information present in signature whistles, and may prove useful in studies requiring quantification of whistle similarity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Arik Kershenbaum
- National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States of America ; Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
50
|
Mielke A, Zuberbühler K. A method for automated individual, species and call type recognition in free-ranging animals. Anim Behav 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.04.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
|