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Transcriptome Analyses Provide Insights into the Auditory Function in Trachemys scripta elegans. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12182410. [PMID: 36139269 PMCID: PMC9495000 DOI: 10.3390/ani12182410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Revised: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
An auditory ability is essential for communication in vertebrates, and considerable attention has been paid to auditory sensitivity in mammals, birds, and frogs. Turtles were thought to be deaf for a long time; however, recent studies have confirmed the presence of an auditory ability in Trachemys scripta elegans as well as sex-related differences in hearing sensitivity. Earlier studies mainly focused on the morphological and physiological functions of the hearing organ in turtles; thus, the gene expression patterns remain unclear. In this study, 36 transcriptomes from six tissues (inner ear, tympanic membrane, brain, eye, lung, and muscle) were sequenced to explore the gene expression patterns of the hearing system in T. scripta elegans. A weighted gene co-expression network analysis revealed that hub genes related to the inner ear and tympanic membrane are involved in development and signal transduction. Moreover, we identified six differently expressed genes (GABRA1, GABRG2, GABBR2, GNAO1, SLC38A1, and SLC12A5) related to the GABAergic synapse pathway as candidate genes to explain the differences in sexually dimorphic hearing sensitivity. Collectively, this study provides a critical foundation for genetic research on auditory functions in turtles.
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Using spot pattern recognition to examine population biology, evolutionary ecology, sociality, and movements of giraffes: a 70-year retrospective. Mamm Biol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s42991-022-00261-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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French F. Expanding Aesthetics. Front Vet Sci 2022; 9:855087. [PMID: 35601399 PMCID: PMC9114928 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2022.855087] [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: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper seeks to expand traditional aesthetic dimensions of design beyond the limits of human capability in order to encompass other species' sensory modalities. To accomplish this, the idea of inclusivity is extended beyond human cultural and personal identities and needs, to embrace multi-species experiences of places, events and interactions in the world. This involves drawing together academic perspectives from ecology, neuroscience, anthropology, philosophy and interaction design, as well as exploring artistic perspectives and demonstrating how these different frames of reference can inspire and complement each other. This begins with a rationale for the existence of non-human aesthetics, followed by an overview of existing research into non-human aesthetic dimensions. Novel aesthetic categories are proposed and the challenge of how to include non-human aesthetic sensibility in design is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fiona French
- School of Computing and Digital Media, London Metropolitan University, London, United Kingdom
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Sibiryakova OV, Volodin IA, Volodina EV. Polyphony of domestic dog whines and vocal cues to body size. Curr Zool 2020; 67:165-176. [PMID: 33854534 PMCID: PMC8026154 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoaa042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
In domestic dogs Canis familiaris, vocal traits have been investigated for barks and growls, and the relationship between individual body size and vocal traits investigated for growls, with less corresponding information for whines. In this study, we examined the frequency and temporal traits of whines of 20 adult companion dogs (9 males, 11 females), ranging in body mass from 3.5 to 70.0 kg and belonging to 16 breeds. Dog whines (26–71 per individual, 824 in total) were recorded in conditioned begging contexts modeled by dog owners. Whines had 3 independent fundamental frequencies: the low, the high and the ultra-high that occurred singly as monophonic calls or simultaneously as 2-voice biphonic or 3-voice polyphonic calls. From the smallest to largest dog, the upper frequency limit varied from 0.24 to 2.13 kHz for the low fundamental frequency, from 2.95 to 10.46 kHz for the high fundamental frequency and from 9.99 to 23.26 kHz for the ultra-high fundamental frequency. Within individuals, the low fundamental frequency was lower in monophonic than in biphonic whines, whereas the high fundamental frequency did not differ between those whine types. All frequency variables of the low, high, and ultra-high fundamental frequencies correlated negatively with dog body mass. For duration, no correlation with body mass was found. We discuss potential production mechanisms and sound sources for each fundamental frequency; point to the acoustic similarity between high-frequency dog whines and rodent ultrasonic calls and hypothesize that ultra-high fundamental frequencies function to allow private, “tete-a-tete” communication between members of social groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga V Sibiryakova
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119234, Russia
| | - Ilya A Volodin
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119234, Russia.,Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, Russia
| | - Elena V Volodina
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, Russia
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Burger AL, Fennessy J, Fennessy S, Dierkes PW. Nightly selection of resting sites and group behavior reveal antipredator strategies in giraffe. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:2917-2927. [PMID: 32211165 PMCID: PMC7083675 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2019] [Revised: 01/21/2020] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
This study presents the first findings on nocturnal behavior patterns of wild Angolan giraffe. We characterized their nocturnal behavior and analyzed the influence of ecological factors such as group size, season, and habitat use. Giraffe were observed using night vision systems and thermal imaging cameras on Okapuka Ranch, Namibia. A total of 77 giraffe were observed during 24 nights over two distinct periods-July-August 2016 (dry season) and February-March 2017 (wet season). Photoperiod had a marked influence on their activity and moving behavior. At dusk, giraffe reduced the time spent moving and increasingly lay down and slept at the onset of darkness. Body postures that likely correspond to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep posture (RSP) were observed 15.8 ± 18.3 min after giraffe sat down. Season had a significant effect with longer RSP phases during the dry season (dry: 155.2 ± 191.1 s, n = 79; wet: 85.8 ± 94.9 s, n = 73). Further analyses of the influence of social behavior patterns did not show an effect of group size on RSP lengths. When a group of giraffe spent time at a specific resting site, several individuals were alert (vigilant) while other group members sat down or took up RSP. Simultaneous RSP events within a group were rarely observed. Resting sites were characterized by single trees or sparse bushes on open areas allowing for good visibility in a relatively sheltered location.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Lena Burger
- Bioscience Education and Zoo BiologyGoethe University FrankfurtFrankfurt am MainGermany
| | - Julian Fennessy
- Giraffe Conservation FoundationWindhoekNamibia
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental SciencesUniversity of New South WalesSydneyNSWAustralia
| | | | - Paul W. Dierkes
- Bioscience Education and Zoo BiologyGoethe University FrankfurtFrankfurt am MainGermany
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Jakob-Hoff R, Kingan M, Fenemore C, Schmid G, Cockrem JF, Crackle A, Bemmel EV, Connor R, Descovich K. Potential Impact of Construction Noise on Selected Zoo Animals. Animals (Basel) 2019; 9:E504. [PMID: 31370284 PMCID: PMC6721009 DOI: 10.3390/ani9080504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Revised: 07/08/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In anticipation of a major construction project in an urban New Zealand zoo, a study was initiated to assess the response to construction noise of selected animal species (elephant, giraffe, emu and alligator) previously observed to be sensitive to this kind of noise. The overall aim was to detect any signs of aversive responses to this noise to enable keepers to recognize these and take any necessary mitigating actions during the construction period. The experimental approach involved the creation of acoustic maps of each focal animal enclosure, a series of 90-min video recordings of the animals' behavior in response to ambient noise (control) and amplified broadcast of pre-recorded continuous and intermittent construction noise. Concentration of fecal corticosterone metabolites was also measured for the emus. Key findings were that giraffes, elephants and emus appeared to show an increase in behaviors that could indicate stress or agitation including vigilance and locomotion and may prefer quieter regions of their enclosure during sound exposure. Giraffes also increased close contact with conspecifics when exposed to construction noise. While alligators did not show clear evidence of noise-related stress, our findings indicated that all focal species showed some behavioral responses to recorded construction noise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Jakob-Hoff
- New Zealand Centre for Conservation Medicine, Auckland Zoo, Auckland 1022, New Zealand.
| | - Michael Kingan
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
| | - Chiaki Fenemore
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
| | - Gian Schmid
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
| | - John F Cockrem
- School of Veterinary Science, Massey University, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand
| | - Amanda Crackle
- New Zealand Centre for Conservation Medicine, Auckland Zoo, Auckland 1022, New Zealand
| | - Emily Van Bemmel
- School of Environmental and Animal Sciences, Unitec Institute of Technology, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
| | - Rebecca Connor
- School of Environmental and Animal Sciences, Unitec Institute of Technology, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
| | - Kris Descovich
- School of Environmental and Animal Sciences, Unitec Institute of Technology, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
- Centre for Animal Welfare and Ethics, School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland 4343, Australia
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Kasozi H, Montgomery RA. How do giraffes locate one another? A review of visual, auditory, and olfactory communication among giraffes. J Zool (1987) 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- H. Kasozi
- The Research on the Ecology of Carnivores and their Prey Laboratory Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Michigan State University East Lansing MI USA
| | - R. A. Montgomery
- The Research on the Ecology of Carnivores and their Prey Laboratory Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Michigan State University East Lansing MI USA
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Volodina EV, Volodin IA, Chelysheva EV, Frey R. Hiss and snort call types of wild-living giraffes Giraffa camelopardalis: acoustic structure and context. BMC Res Notes 2018; 11:12. [PMID: 29316966 PMCID: PMC5761111 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-017-3103-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2017] [Accepted: 12/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Vocalization as part of vigilance behaviour is widespread across animal taxa, including ruminants. Calls of wild-living giraffes have never been recorded and spectrographically investigated. This study reports the acoustic structure of vigilance-related hiss and snort calls of wild-living giraffes Giraffa camelopardalis. RESULTS The hiss and snort calls were emitted during five recording sessions produced by nine individual giraffes (8 adults and 1 subadult) in their natural environment in Namibia (3 individuals) and Kenya (6 individuals). These calls attended vigilance behaviour toward humans in hides or in vehicles and cheetahs as natural predators of giraffe young. This study provides spectrographic analyses of 22 hiss and 20 snort calls. The giraffe hisses were broadband vocalizations of an average duration of 0.72 s (from 0.24 to 1.04 s) and a peak frequency of 0.69 kHz. The giraffe snorts were broadband pulsed calls of an average duration of 0.28 s (from 0.13 to 0.55 s), a peak frequency at 0.20 kHz and comprised a prominent low-frequency pulsation of 23.7 pulses/s. The acoustic structure of giraffe hisses is reminiscent of vigilance-related hisses of musk deer Moschus moschiferus. Giraffe snorts differ from snorts of other ruminants by their prominent pulsed pattern.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ilya A. Volodin
- Scientific Research Department, Moscow Zoo, Moscow, 123242 Russia
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119234 Russia
| | - Elena V. Chelysheva
- Mara-Meru Cheetah Project, Sarit Centre, P.O. Box 1611, Nairobi, 00606 Kenya
| | - Roland Frey
- Department of Reproduction Management, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, 10315 Berlin, Germany
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Remarkable vocal identity in wild-living mother and neonate saiga antelopes: a specialization for breeding in huge aggregations? Naturwissenschaften 2017; 104:11. [PMID: 28243711 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-017-1433-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2016] [Revised: 01/17/2017] [Accepted: 01/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Saiga antelopes Saiga tatarica tatarica give birth in large aggregations, and offspring follow the herd soon after birth. Herding is advantageous as anti-predator strategy; however, communication between mothers and neonates is strongly complicated in large aggregations. Individual series of nasal and oral contact calls of mother and neonate saiga antelopes were selected from recordings made with automated recording systems placed near the hiding neonates on the saiga breeding grounds in Northern Kazakhstan during synchronized parturitions of 30,000 calving females. We used for comparison of the acoustic structure of nasal and oral contact calls 168 nasal calls of 18 mothers, 192 oral calls of 21 mothers, 78 nasal calls of 16 neonates, and 197 oral calls of 22 neonates. In the oral calls of either mothers or neonates, formant frequencies were higher and the duration was longer than in the nasal calls, whereas fundamental frequencies did not differ between oral and nasal calls. Discriminant function analysis (DFA) based on six acoustic variables, accurately classified individual identity for 99.4% of oral calls of 18 mothers, for 89.3% of nasal calls of 18 mothers, and for 94.4% of oral calls of 18 neonates. The average value of correct classification to individual was higher in mother oral than in mother nasal calls and in mother oral calls than in neonate oral calls; no significant difference was observed between mother nasal and neonate oral calls. Variables mainly responsible for vocal identity were the fundamental frequency and the second and third formants in either mothers or neonates, and in either nasal or oral calls. The high vocal identity of mothers and neonates suggests a powerful potential for the mutual mother-offspring recognition in dense aggregations of saiga antelopes as an important component of their survival strategy.
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Volodin IA, Volodina EV, Frey R. Bull bellows and bugles: a remarkable convergence of low and high-frequency vocalizations between male domestic cattle Bos taurus and the rutting calls of Siberian and North American wapiti. BIOACOUSTICS 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2016.1275805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ilya A. Volodin
- Faculty of Biology, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- Scientific Research Department, Moscow Zoo, Moscow, Russia
| | | | - Roland Frey
- Department of Reproduction Management, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
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Infrasonic and Seismic Communication in the Vertebrates with Special Emphasis on the Afrotheria: An Update and Future Directions. VERTEBRATE SOUND PRODUCTION AND ACOUSTIC COMMUNICATION 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-27721-9_7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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