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Sharma P, Gero S, Payne R, Gruber DF, Rus D, Torralba A, Andreas J. Contextual and combinatorial structure in sperm whale vocalisations. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3617. [PMID: 38714699 PMCID: PMC11076547 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47221-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) are highly social mammals that communicate using sequences of clicks called codas. While a subset of codas have been shown to encode information about caller identity, almost everything else about the sperm whale communication system, including its structure and information-carrying capacity, remains unknown. We show that codas exhibit contextual and combinatorial structure. First, we report previously undescribed features of codas that are sensitive to the conversational context in which they occur, and systematically controlled and imitated across whales. We call these rubato and ornamentation. Second, we show that codas form a combinatorial coding system in which rubato and ornamentation combine with two context-independent features we call rhythm and tempo to produce a large inventory of distinguishable codas. Sperm whale vocalisations are more expressive and structured than previously believed, and built from a repertoire comprising nearly an order of magnitude more distinguishable codas. These results show context-sensitive and combinatorial vocalisation can appear in organisms with divergent evolutionary lineage and vocal apparatus.
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Grants
- This analysis was funded by Project CETI via grants from Dalio Philanthropies and Ocean X; Sea Grape Foundation; Virgin Unite, Rosamund Zander/Hansjorg Wyss, Chris Anderson/Jacqueline Novogratz through The Audacious Project: a collaborative funding initiative housed at TED to PS, SG, RP, DFG, DR, AT and JA. Further funding was provided by the J.H.\ and E.V.\ Wade Fund at MIT. Fieldwork for The Dominica Sperm Whale Project was supported by through a FNU fellowship for the Danish Council for Independent Research supplemented by a Sapere Aude Research Talent Award (1325-00047A), a Carlsberg Foundation expedition grant (CF14-0789), two Explorer Grants from the National Geographic Society (WW-218R-17 and NGS-64863R-19), a grant from Focused on Nature, and supplementary grants from the Arizona Center for Nature Conservation, Quarters For Conservation, the Dansk Akustisks Selskab, Oticon Foundation, and the Dansk Tennis Fond all to SG. Further funding was provided by a Discovery and Equipment grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to Hal Whitehead of Dalhousie University and a FNU large frame grant and a Villum Foundation Grant (13273) to Peter Madsen of Aarhus University.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pratyusha Sharma
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Project CETI, New York, NY, USA
| | - Shane Gero
- Project CETI, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada
- The Dominica Sperm Whale Project, Roseau, Dominica
| | | | - David F Gruber
- Project CETI, New York, NY, USA
- Baruch College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA
| | - Daniela Rus
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Project CETI, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Antonio Torralba
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Project CETI, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Jacob Andreas
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Project CETI, New York, NY, USA.
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Youngblood M. Language-like efficiency and structure in house finch song. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240250. [PMID: 38565151 PMCID: PMC10987240 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0250] [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: 01/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Communication needs to be complex enough to be functional while minimizing learning and production costs. Recent work suggests that the vocalizations and gestures of some songbirds, cetaceans and great apes may conform to linguistic laws that reflect this trade-off between efficiency and complexity. In studies of non-human communication, though, clustering signals into types cannot be done a priori, and decisions about the appropriate grain of analysis may affect statistical signals in the data. The aim of this study was to assess the evidence for language-like efficiency and structure in house finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) song across three levels of granularity in syllable clustering. The results show strong evidence for Zipf's rank-frequency law, Zipf's law of abbreviation and Menzerath's law. Additional analyses show that house finch songs have small-world structure, thought to reflect systematic structure in syntax, and the mutual information decay of sequences is consistent with a combination of Markovian and hierarchical processes. These statistical patterns are robust across three levels of granularity in syllable clustering, pointing to a limited form of scale invariance. In sum, it appears that house finch song has been shaped by pressure for efficiency, possibly to offset the costs of female preferences for complexity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mason Youngblood
- Minds and Traditions Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Thüringen, Germany
- Institute for Advanced Computational Science, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
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Deng K, He QL, Wang TL, Wang JC, Cui JG. Network analysis reveals context-dependent structural complexity of social calls in serrate-legged small treefrogs. Curr Zool 2024; 70:253-261. [PMID: 38726257 PMCID: PMC11078048 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoac104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 05/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Vocal communication plays an important role in survival, reproduction, and animal social association. Birds and mammals produce complex vocal sequence to convey context-dependent information. Vocalizations are conspicuous features of the behavior of most anuran species (frogs and toads), and males usually alter their calling strategies according to ecological context to improve the attractiveness/competitiveness. However, very few studies have focused on the variation of vocal sequence in anurans. In the present study, we used both conventional method and network analysis to investigate the context-dependent vocal repertoire, vocal sequence, and call network structure in serrate-legged small treefrogs Kurixalus odontotarsus. We found that male K. odontotarsus modified their vocal sequence by switching to different call types and increasing repertoire size in the presence of a competitive rival. Specifically, compared with before and after the playback of advertisement calls, males emitted fewer advertisement calls, but more aggressive calls, encounter calls, and compound calls during the playback period. Network analysis revealed that the mean degree, mean closeness, and mean betweenness of the call networks significantly decreased during the playback period, which resulted in lower connectivity. In addition, the increased proportion of one-way motifs and average path length also indicated that the connectivity of the call network decreased in competitive context. However, the vocal sequence of K. odontotarsus did not display a clear small-world network structure, regardless of context. Our study presents a paradigm to apply network analysis to vocal sequence in anurans and has important implications for understanding the evolution and function of sequence patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke Deng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Qiao-Ling He
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Tong-Liang Wang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China
| | - Ji-Chao Wang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China
| | - Jian-Guo Cui
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
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4
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Dos Santos EB, Ball GF, Logue DM, Cornil CA, Balthazart J. Sex differences in song syntax and syllable diversity in testosterone-induced songs of adult male and female canaries. Biol Sex Differ 2023; 14:49. [PMID: 37528473 PMCID: PMC10394978 DOI: 10.1186/s13293-023-00533-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/03/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Behavioral sex differences are widespread in the animal world. These differences can be qualitative (i.e., behavior present in one sex but not the other, a true sex dimorphism) or quantitative (behavior is present at a higher rate or quality in one sex compared to the other). Singing in oscine songbirds is associated with both types of differences. In canaries, female rarely sing spontaneously but they can be induced to do so by treatments with steroids. Song in these females is, however, not fully masculinized and exhibits relatively subtle differences in quality as compared with male song. We analyzed here sex differences in syllable content and syllable use between singing male and female canaries. METHODS Songs were recorded from three groups of castrated male and three groups of photoregressed female canaries that had received Silastic™ implants filled with testosterone (T), with T plus estradiol (E2), or left empty (control). After 6 weeks of hormone treatment, 30 songs were recorded from each of the 47 subjects. Songs were segmented and each syllable was annotated. Various metrics of syllable diversity were extracted and network analysis was employed to characterize syllable sequences. RESULTS Male and female songs were characterized by marked sex differences related to syllable use. Compared to females, males had a larger syllable-type repertoire and their songs contained more syllable types. Network analysis of syllable sequences showed that males follow more fixed patterns of syllable transitions than females. Both sexes, however, produced song of the same duration containing the same number of syllables produced at similar rates (numbers per second). CONCLUSIONS Under the influence of T, canaries of both sexes are able to produce generally similar vocalizations that nevertheless differ in specific ways. The development of song during ontogeny appears to be a very sophisticated process that is presumably based on genetic and endocrine mechanisms but also on specific learning processes. These data highlight the importance of detailed behavioral analyses to identify the many dimensions of a behavior that can differ between males and females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ednei B Dos Santos
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, GIGA Neurosciences, University of Liege, 15 Avenue Hippocrate (Bat. B36), Sart Tilman, 4000, Liège 1, Belgium
| | - Gregory F Ball
- Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science; Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - David M Logue
- Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
| | - Charlotte A Cornil
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, GIGA Neurosciences, University of Liege, 15 Avenue Hippocrate (Bat. B36), Sart Tilman, 4000, Liège 1, Belgium
| | - Jacques Balthazart
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, GIGA Neurosciences, University of Liege, 15 Avenue Hippocrate (Bat. B36), Sart Tilman, 4000, Liège 1, Belgium.
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5
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Dos Santos EB, Ball GF, Logue DM, Cornil CA, Balthazart J. Testosterone treatment reveals marked sex differences in song diversity and syllable syntax in adult canaries. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-2755085. [PMID: 37090598 PMCID: PMC10120784 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2755085/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/25/2023]
Abstract
Background. Behavioral sex differences are widespread in the animal world. These differences can be qualitative (i.e., behavior present in one sex but not the other, a true sex dimorphism) or quantitative (behavior is present at a higher rate or quality in one sex compared to the other). Singing in oscine songbirds is associated with both types of differences. In canaries, female rarely sing spontaneously but they can be induced to do so by treatments with steroids. Song in these females is however not fully masculinized and exhibits relatively subtle differences in quality as compared with male song. We analyzed here sex differences in syllable content and syllable use between singing male and female canaries. Methods. Songs were recorded from 3 groups of castrated male and 3 groups of photoregressed female canaries that had received Silasticâ"¢ implants filled with testosterone (T), with T plus estradiol (E2), or left empty (control). After 6 weeks of hormone treatment, 30 songs were recorded from each of the 47 subjects. Songs were segmented and each syllable was annotated. Various metrics of syllable diversity were extracted and network analysis was employed to characterize syllable sequences. Results. Male and female songs were characterized by marked sex differences related to syllable use. Compared to females, males had a larger syllable type repertoire and their songs contained more syllable types. Network analysis of syllable sequences showed that males follow more fixed patterns of syllable transitions than females. Both sexes however produced song of the same duration containing the same number of syllables produced at similar rates (numbers per second). Conclusions. Under the influence of T canaries of both sexes are able to produce generally similar vocalizations that nevertheless differ in specific ways. The development of song during ontogeny appears to be a very sophisticated process that is presumably based on genetic and endocrine mechanisms but also on specific learning processes. These data highlight the importance of detailed behavioral analyses in order to identify the many dimensions of a behavior that can differ between males and females.
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6
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Ivanitskii VV, Marova IM. The Syntactic Organization of Bird Song. BIOL BULL+ 2022. [DOI: 10.1134/s1062359022080076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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7
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Mielke A, Carvalho S. Chimpanzee play sequences are structured hierarchically as games. PeerJ 2022; 10:e14294. [PMID: 36411837 PMCID: PMC9675342 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Social play is ubiquitous in the development of many animal species and involves players adapting actions flexibly to their own previous actions and partner responses. Play differs from other behavioural contexts for which fine-scale analyses of action sequences are available, such as tool use and communication, in that its form is not defined by its function, making it potentially more unpredictable. In humans, play is often organised in games, where players know context-appropriate actions but string them together unpredictably. Here, we use the sequential nature of play elements to explore whether play elements in chimpanzees are structured hierarchically and follow predictable game-like patterns. Based on 5,711 play elements from 143 bouts, we extracted individual-level play sequences of 11 Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) of different ages from the Bossou community. We detected transition probabilities between play elements that exceeded expected levels and show that play elements form hierarchically clustered and interchangeable groups, indicative of at least six games that can be identified from transition networks, some with different roles for different players. We also show that increased information about preceding play elements improved predictability of subsequent elements, further indicating that play elements are not strung together randomly but that flexible action rules underlie their usage. Thus, chimpanzee play is hierarchically structured in short games which limit acceptable play elements and allow players to predict and adapt to partners' actions. This "grammar of action" approach to social interactions can be valuable in understanding cognitive and communicative abilities within and across species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Mielke
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom,School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
| | - Susana Carvalho
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom,Interdisciplinary Centre for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour (ICArEHB), Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal
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8
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Amici F, Oña L, Liebal K. Compositionality in Primate Gestural Communication and Multicomponent Signal Displays. INT J PRIMATOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-022-00316-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Abstract
AbstractCompositionality is the ability to combine meaningful elements into new combinations with novel meanings, and it has long been considered one of the main hallmarks of human communication. However, very few studies have addressed the compositional aspects of communication in species other than humans, although a comparative approach is essential to understand the evolutionary origins of human compositionality. We review previous research on compositionality in the gestural communication systems of nonhuman primates, with a special focus on the multicomponent aspects of compositionality. We start by discussing the importance of a comparative approach to study the evolution of human language and then compare the current state of the art on compositionality in the vocal, facial, and gestural communication systems of primates and other species. We further discuss alternative approaches to study compositionality in primates, which may help overcome some of the current methodological limitations in this research area. In particular, we 1) highlight the importance of interdisciplinary tools that facilitate the statistical identification of multicomponent and multimodal combinations of signals, 2) discuss different approaches to infer the meaning of signal combinations, with a special focus on the use of contextual cues and meta-communication, and 3) discuss temporal and intentional aspects of compositionality in primates. Finally, we outline possible lines of research for future studies in this area (e.g., more consistent use of terms across research areas, use of different methodological tools and larger datasets, inclusion of developmental approaches), which might shed light into the evolutionary origins of one of the most crucial properties of human communication.
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Sainburg T, Mai A, Gentner TQ. Long-range sequential dependencies precede complex syntactic production in language acquisition. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20212657. [PMID: 35259983 PMCID: PMC8905171 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
To convey meaning, human language relies on hierarchically organized, long-range relationships spanning words, phrases, sentences and discourse. As the distances between elements (e.g. phonemes, characters, words) in human language sequences increase, the strength of the long-range relationships between those elements decays following a power law. This power-law relationship has been attributed variously to long-range sequential organization present in human language syntax, semantics and discourse structure. However, non-linguistic behaviours in numerous phylogenetically distant species, ranging from humpback whale song to fruit fly motility, also demonstrate similar long-range statistical dependencies. Therefore, we hypothesized that long-range statistical dependencies in human speech may occur independently of linguistic structure. To test this hypothesis, we measured long-range dependencies in several speech corpora from children (aged 6 months-12 years). We find that adult-like power-law statistical dependencies are present in human vocalizations at the earliest detectable ages, prior to the production of complex linguistic structure. These linguistic structures cannot, therefore, be the sole cause of long-range statistical dependencies in language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Sainburg
- Department of Psychology, Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Center for Academic Research & Training in Anthropogeny, Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Anna Mai
- Department of Linguistics, Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Timothy Q. Gentner
- Department of Psychology, Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, Neurobiology Section, Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
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10
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Mechanisms of multimodality: androgenic hormones and adaptive flexibility in multimodal displays. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.08.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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Sainburg T, Gentner TQ. Toward a Computational Neuroethology of Vocal Communication: From Bioacoustics to Neurophysiology, Emerging Tools and Future Directions. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 15:811737. [PMID: 34987365 PMCID: PMC8721140 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.811737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently developed methods in computational neuroethology have enabled increasingly detailed and comprehensive quantification of animal movements and behavioral kinematics. Vocal communication behavior is well poised for application of similar large-scale quantification methods in the service of physiological and ethological studies. This review describes emerging techniques that can be applied to acoustic and vocal communication signals with the goal of enabling study beyond a small number of model species. We review a range of modern computational methods for bioacoustics, signal processing, and brain-behavior mapping. Along with a discussion of recent advances and techniques, we include challenges and broader goals in establishing a framework for the computational neuroethology of vocal communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Sainburg
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Center for Academic Research & Training in Anthropogeny, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Timothy Q. Gentner
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Neurobiology Section, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
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13
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Sawant S, Arvind C, Joshi V, Robin VV. Spectrogram cross‐correlation can be used to measure the complexity of bird vocalizations. Methods Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Suyash Sawant
- Department of Biology Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati Tirupati India
| | - Chiti Arvind
- Department of Biology Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati Tirupati India
| | - Viral Joshi
- Department of Biology Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati Tirupati India
| | - V. V. Robin
- Department of Biology Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati Tirupati India
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Abstract
Understanding facial signals in humans and other species is crucial for understanding the evolution, complexity, and function of the face as a communication tool. The Facial Action Coding System (FACS) enables researchers to measure facial movements accurately, but we currently lack tools to reliably analyse data and efficiently communicate results. Network analysis can provide a way to use the information encoded in FACS datasets: by treating individual AUs (the smallest units of facial movements) as nodes in a network and their co-occurrence as connections, we can analyse and visualise differences in the use of combinations of AUs in different conditions. Here, we present ‘NetFACS’, a statistical package that uses occurrence probabilities and resampling methods to answer questions about the use of AUs, AU combinations, and the facial communication system as a whole in humans and non-human animals. Using highly stereotyped facial signals as an example, we illustrate some of the current functionalities of NetFACS. We show that very few AUs are specific to certain stereotypical contexts; that AUs are not used independently from each other; that graph-level properties of stereotypical signals differ; and that clusters of AUs allow us to reconstruct facial signals, even when blind to the underlying conditions. The flexibility and widespread use of network analysis allows us to move away from studying facial signals as stereotyped expressions, and towards a dynamic and differentiated approach to facial communication.
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15
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Sivalinghem S, Mason AC. Function of structured signalling in the black widow spider Latrodectus hesperus. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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16
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Zhan X, Liang D, Lin X, Li L, Wei C, Dingle C, Liu Y. Background noise but not urbanization level impacted song frequencies in an urban songbird in the Pearl River Delta, Southern China. Glob Ecol Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
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17
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Opaev AS, Kolesnikova YA. Song theme sharing in the Grey-crowned Warbler Phylloscopus tephrocephalus. BIOACOUSTICS 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2021.1910568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- A. S. Opaev
- Laboratory of Comparative Ethology and Biocommunication, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Y. A. Kolesnikova
- Laboratory of Comparative Ethology and Biocommunication, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation
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18
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Opaev AS. The Singing Behaviour of the Long-Tailed Shrike (Lanius schach erythronotus). BIOL BULL+ 2020. [DOI: 10.1134/s1062359020070122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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19
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Zsebők S, Herczeg G, Laczi M, Nagy G, Vaskuti É, Hargitai R, Hegyi G, Herényi M, Markó G, Rosivall B, Szász E, Szöllősi E, Török J, Garamszegi LZ. Sequential organization of birdsong: relationships with individual quality and fitness. Behav Ecol 2020; 32:82-93. [PMID: 33708006 PMCID: PMC7937035 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2020] [Revised: 09/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Many vocalizing animals produce the discrete elements of their acoustic signals in a specific sequential order, but we know little about the biological relevance of this ordering. For that, we must characterize the degree by which individuals differ in how they organize their signals sequentially and relate these differences to variation in quality and fitness. In this study, we fulfilled these tasks in male collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis). We characterized the sequential order of syllables with a network analysis approach and studied the consistency of network variables on distinct time scales (within day, between days, and between years), and assessed their relationship with such quality indicators like age, body condition, arrival date, and fitness related proxies like survival to the next year and pairing success. We found that the syllables were associated nonrandomly with one another and both the frequency differences of consecutive syllables and the number of motif types were higher in the original than in randomized syllable sequences. Average degree and small-worldness showed considerable among-individual differences and decreasing repeatability with increasing time scale. Furthermore, we found relationships between male age and average degree among and within individuals. Accordingly, older males produce syllable sequences by using common syllables less often than younger individuals. However, the network variables showed no relationship with fitness-related variables. In conclusion, the sequential organization of birdsong has the potential to encode individual-specific characteristics, which thus could be used as signal in social interactions and thus potentially could be subject to sexual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sándor Zsebők
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary.,Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Alkotmány u. 2-4, Vácrátót, Hungary
| | - Gábor Herczeg
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Miklós Laczi
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary.,The Barn Owl Foundation, Temesvári út 8., Orosztony, Hungary
| | - Gergely Nagy
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary.,Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Alkotmány u. 2-4, Vácrátót, Hungary
| | - Éva Vaskuti
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary.,Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Alkotmány u. 2-4, Vácrátót, Hungary
| | - Rita Hargitai
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gergely Hegyi
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Márton Herényi
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary.,Department of Zoology and Animal Ecology, Szent István University, Páter Károly u. 1.,Gödöllő, Hungary
| | - Gábor Markó
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary.,Department of Plant Pathology, Szent István University, Villányi út 29-43, HBudapest, Hungary
| | - Balázs Rosivall
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Eszter Szász
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Eszter Szöllősi
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary
| | - János Török
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary.,Ecology Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C,, Budapest, Hungary
| | - László Zsolt Garamszegi
- Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Alkotmány u. 2-4, Vácrátót, Hungary.,Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Department of Plant Systematics, Ecology and Theoretical Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary
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20
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Brumley J, Taylor C, Suzuki R, Ikegami T, Vesna V, Iwata H. Bird Song Diamond in Deep Space 8k. AI & SOCIETY 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00146-018-0862-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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21
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Allen JA, Garland EC, Dunlop RA, Noad MJ. Network analysis reveals underlying syntactic features in a vocally learnt mammalian display, humpback whale song. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20192014. [PMID: 31847766 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Vocal communication systems have a set of rules that govern the arrangement of acoustic signals, broadly defined as 'syntax'. However, there is a limited understanding of potentially shared or analogous rules across vocal displays in different taxa. Recent work on songbirds has investigated syntax using network-based modelling. This technique quantifies features such as connectivity (adjacent signals in a sequence) and recurring patterns. Here, we apply network-based modelling to the complex, hierarchically structured songs of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) from east Australia. Given the song's annual evolving pattern and the cultural conformity of males within a population, network modelling captured the patterns of multiple song types over 13 consecutive years. Song arrangements in each year displayed clear 'small-world' network structure, characterized by clusters of highly connected sounds. Transitions between these connected sounds further suggested a combination of both structural stability and variability. Small-world network structure within humpback songs may facilitate the characteristic and persistent vocal learning observed. Similar small-world structures and transition patterns are found in several birdsong displays, indicating common syntactic patterns among vocal learning in multiple taxa. Understanding the syntactic rules governing vocal displays in multiple, independently evolving lineages may indicate what rules or structural features are important to the evolution of complex communication, including human language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenny A Allen
- Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Laboratory, School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland 4343, Australia.,School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland 4222, Australia
| | - Ellen C Garland
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Sea Mammal Research Unit, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH, UK
| | - Rebecca A Dunlop
- Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Laboratory, School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland 4343, Australia
| | - Michael J Noad
- Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Laboratory, School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland 4343, Australia
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22
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Sainburg T, Theilman B, Thielk M, Gentner TQ. Parallels in the sequential organization of birdsong and human speech. Nat Commun 2019; 10:3636. [PMID: 31406118 PMCID: PMC6690877 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-11605-y] [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: 07/09/2018] [Accepted: 07/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Human speech possesses a rich hierarchical structure that allows for meaning to be altered by words spaced far apart in time. Conversely, the sequential structure of nonhuman communication is thought to follow non-hierarchical Markovian dynamics operating over only short distances. Here, we show that human speech and birdsong share a similar sequential structure indicative of both hierarchical and Markovian organization. We analyze the sequential dynamics of song from multiple songbird species and speech from multiple languages by modeling the information content of signals as a function of the sequential distance between vocal elements. Across short sequence-distances, an exponential decay dominates the information in speech and birdsong, consistent with underlying Markovian processes. At longer sequence-distances, the decay in information follows a power law, consistent with underlying hierarchical processes. Thus, the sequential organization of acoustic elements in two learned vocal communication signals (speech and birdsong) shows functionally equivalent dynamics, governed by similar processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Sainburg
- Department of Psychology, University of California, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Center for Academic Research & Training in Anthropogeny, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Brad Theilman
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Marvin Thielk
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Timothy Q Gentner
- Department of Psychology, University of California, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
- Neurobiology Section, Division of Biological Sciences, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
- Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
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23
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Junker RR, Kuppler J, Amo L, Blande JD, Borges RM, van Dam NM, Dicke M, Dötterl S, Ehlers BK, Etl F, Gershenzon J, Glinwood R, Gols R, Groot AT, Heil M, Hoffmeister M, Holopainen JK, Jarau S, John L, Kessler A, Knudsen JT, Kost C, Larue-Kontic AAC, Leonhardt SD, Lucas-Barbosa D, Majetic CJ, Menzel F, Parachnowitsch AL, Pasquet RS, Poelman EH, Raguso RA, Ruther J, Schiestl FP, Schmitt T, Tholl D, Unsicker SB, Verhulst N, Visser ME, Weldegergis BT, Köllner TG. Covariation and phenotypic integration in chemical communication displays: biosynthetic constraints and eco-evolutionary implications. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2018; 220:739-749. [PMID: 28256726 DOI: 10.1111/nph.14505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2016] [Accepted: 01/29/2017] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Chemical communication is ubiquitous. The identification of conserved structural elements in visual and acoustic communication is well established, but comparable information on chemical communication displays (CCDs) is lacking. We assessed the phenotypic integration of CCDs in a meta-analysis to characterize patterns of covariation in CCDs and identified functional or biosynthetically constrained modules. Poorly integrated plant CCDs (i.e. low covariation between scent compounds) support the notion that plants often utilize one or few key compounds to repel antagonists or to attract pollinators and enemies of herbivores. Animal CCDs (mostly insect pheromones) were usually more integrated than those of plants (i.e. stronger covariation), suggesting that animals communicate via fixed proportions among compounds. Both plant and animal CCDs were composed of modules, which are groups of strongly covarying compounds. Biosynthetic similarity of compounds revealed biosynthetic constraints in the covariation patterns of plant CCDs. We provide a novel perspective on chemical communication and a basis for future investigations on structural properties of CCDs. This will facilitate identifying modules and biosynthetic constraints that may affect the outcome of selection and thus provide a predictive framework for evolutionary trajectories of CCDs in plants and animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert R Junker
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Jonas Kuppler
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Luisa Amo
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), NL-6700, EH Wageningen, the Netherlands
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - James D Blande
- Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, 70211, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Renee M Borges
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India
| | - Nicole M van Dam
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig/Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Marcel Dicke
- Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, PO Box 16, 6700 AA, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Stefan Dötterl
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Bodil K Ehlers
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Vejlsøvej 25, 8600, Silkeborg, Denmark
| | - Florian Etl
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, 1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Jonathan Gershenzon
- Department of Biochemistry, Max-Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Robert Glinwood
- Department of Crop Production Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7043, S750 07, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Rieta Gols
- Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, PO Box 16, 6700 AA, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Astrid T Groot
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, 1090 GE, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Department of Entomology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Martin Heil
- Departamento de Ingeniería Genética, CINVESTAV - Irapuato, Irapuato, CP 36821, México
| | - Mathias Hoffmeister
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Jarmo K Holopainen
- Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, 70211, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Stefan Jarau
- Institute for Neurobiology, Ulm University, Helmholtzstr. 10/1, 89081, Ulm, Germany
| | - Lena John
- Institute for Neurobiology, Ulm University, Helmholtzstr. 10/1, 89081, Ulm, Germany
| | - Andre Kessler
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - Jette T Knudsen
- Deptartment of Biology, Lund University, SE 223 62, Lund, Sweden
- Nattaro Labs AB, Medicon Village, 223 81, Lund, Sweden
| | - Christian Kost
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Research Group Experimental Ecology and Evolution, 07745, Jena, Germany
- Department of Ecology, School of Biology/Chemistry, University of Osnabrück, 49074, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Anne-Amélie C Larue-Kontic
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Sara Diana Leonhardt
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Würzburg University, 97074, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Dani Lucas-Barbosa
- Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, PO Box 16, 6700 AA, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Cassie J Majetic
- Department of Biology, Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA
| | - Florian Menzel
- Institute of Zoology, University of Mainz, 55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Amy L Parachnowitsch
- Plant Ecology and Evolution, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, 75236, Sweden
| | - Rémy S Pasquet
- Department of ECOBIO, IRD, 44 Bd de Dunkerque, 13572, Marseille Cedex 02, France
| | - Erik H Poelman
- Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, PO Box 16, 6700 AA, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Robert A Raguso
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - Joachim Ruther
- Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Florian P Schiestl
- Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Zürich, Zollikerstrasse 107, 8008, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Schmitt
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Würzburg University, 97074, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Dorothea Tholl
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
| | - Sybille B Unsicker
- Department of Biochemistry, Max-Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Niels Verhulst
- Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, PO Box 16, 6700 AA, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Marcel E Visser
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), NL-6700, EH Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Berhane T Weldegergis
- Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, PO Box 16, 6700 AA, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Tobias G Köllner
- Department of Biochemistry, Max-Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, 07745, Jena, Germany
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24
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Carabidae Semiochemistry: Current and Future Directions. J Chem Ecol 2018; 44:1069-1083. [PMID: 30232615 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-018-1011-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2018] [Revised: 08/14/2018] [Accepted: 08/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Ground beetles (Carabidae) are recognized for their diverse, chemically-mediated defensive behaviors. Produced using a pair of pygidial glands, over 250 chemical constituents have been characterized across the family thus far, many of which are considered allomones. Over the past century, our knowledge of Carabidae exocrine chemistry has increased substantially, yet the role of these defensive compounds in mediating behavior other than repelling predators is largely unknown. It is also unclear whether non-defensive compounds produced by ground beetles mediate conspecific and heterospecific interactions, such as sex-aggregation pheromones or kairomones, respectively. Here we review the current state of non-exocrine Carabidae semiochemistry and behavioral research, discuss the importance of semiochemical research including but not limited to allomones, and describe next-generation methods for elucidating the underlying genetics and evolution of chemically-mediated behavior.
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25
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HILL SD, ARYAL A, PAWLEY MDM, JI W. So much for the city: Urban-rural song variation in a widespread Asiatic songbird. Integr Zool 2018; 13:194-205. [DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Samuel D. HILL
- Human-Wildlife Interactions Research Group, Institute of Natural and Mathematical Sciences; Massey University; Auckland New Zealand
| | - Achyut ARYAL
- Human-Wildlife Interactions Research Group, Institute of Natural and Mathematical Sciences; Massey University; Auckland New Zealand
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science; University of Sydney; Sydney Australia
- Department of Forestry and Resource Management; Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology; Rotorua New Zealand
| | - Matthew D. M. PAWLEY
- Institute of Natural and Mathematical Sciences; Massey University; Auckland New Zealand
| | - Weihong JI
- Human-Wildlife Interactions Research Group, Institute of Natural and Mathematical Sciences; Massey University; Auckland New Zealand
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26
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Tchernichovski O, Lipkind D. Animal Communication: Origins of Sequential Structure in Birdsong. Curr Biol 2017; 27:R1268-R1269. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.10.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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27
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Tchernichovski O, Feher O, Fimiarz D, Conley D. How social learning adds up to a culture: from birdsong to human public opinion. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017; 220:124-132. [PMID: 28057835 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.142786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Distributed social learning may occur at many temporal and spatial scales, but it rarely adds up to a stable culture. Cultures vary in stability and diversity (polymorphism), ranging from chaotic or drifting cultures, through cumulative polymorphic cultures, to stable monolithic cultures with high conformity levels. What features can sustain polymorphism, preventing cultures from collapsing into either chaotic or highly conforming states? We investigate this question by integrating studies across two quite separate disciplines: the emergence of song cultures in birds, and the spread of public opinion and social conventions in humans. In songbirds, the learning process has been studied in great detail, while in human studies the structure of social networks has been experimentally manipulated on large scales. In both cases, the manner in which communication signals are compressed and filtered - either during learning or while traveling through the social network - can affect culture polymorphism and stability. We suggest a simple mechanism of a shifting balance between converging and diverging social forces to explain these effects. Understanding social forces that shape cultural evolution might be useful for designing agile communication systems, which are stable and polymorphic enough to promote gradual changes in institutional behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ofer Tchernichovski
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College, 695 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Olga Feher
- Department of Psychology and Language Sciences, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, 3 Charles Street, EH8 9JS, UK
| | - Daniel Fimiarz
- Division of Science, The City College of New York, New York, NY 10031, USA
| | - Dalton Conley
- Department of Sociology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
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28
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It's complicated: the association between songbird extrapair paternity and within-song complexity. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.06.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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29
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Taylor CE, Brumley JT, Hedley RW, Cody ML. Sensitivity of California Thrashers (Toxostoma redivivum) to song syntax. BIOACOUSTICS 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2016.1274917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Charles E. Taylor
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - John T. Brumley
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Institute of Engineering Mechanics and Systems, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Richard W. Hedley
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Martin L. Cody
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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30
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31
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Moore RK, Marxer R, Thill S. Vocal Interactivity in-and-between Humans, Animals, and Robots. Front Robot AI 2016. [DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2016.00061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
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32
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Sasahara K, Tchernichovski O, Takahasi M, Suzuki K, Okanoya K. A rhythm landscape approach to the developmental dynamics of birdsong. J R Soc Interface 2016; 12:rsif.2015.0802. [PMID: 26538559 PMCID: PMC4685852 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2015.0802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Unlike simple biological rhythms, the rhythm of the oscine bird song is a learned time series of diverse sounds that change dynamically during vocal ontogeny. How to quantify rhythm development is one of the most important challenges in behavioural biology. Here, we propose a simple method, called ‘rhythm landscape’, to visualize and quantify how rhythm structure, which is measured as durational patterns of sounds and silences, emerges and changes over development. Applying this method to the development of Bengalese finch songs, we show that the rhythm structure begins with a broadband rhythm that develops into diverse rhythms largely through branching from precursors. Furthermore, an information-theoretic measure, the Jensen–Shannon divergence, was used to characterize the crystallization process of birdsong rhythm, which started with a high rate of rhythm change and progressed to a stage of slow refinement. This simple method provides a useful description of rhythm development, thereby helping to reveal key temporal constraints on complex biological rhythms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazutoshi Sasahara
- Department of Complex Systems Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan Laboratory for Biolinguistics, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Ofer Tchernichovski
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College, City University of New York, 695 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Miki Takahasi
- Laboratory for Biolinguistics, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Kenta Suzuki
- Laboratory for Biolinguistics, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama 351-0198, Japan Faculty of Health Sciences, Nihon Institute of Medical Science, 1276 Shimogawara, Moroyama-machi, Iruma-gun, Saitama 350-0435, Japan
| | - Kazuo Okanoya
- Laboratory for Biolinguistics, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama 351-0198, Japan Department of Life Sciences, University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan
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33
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Janney E, Taylor H, Scharff C, Rothenberg D, Parra LC, Tchernichovski O. Temporal regularity increases with repertoire complexity in the Australian pied butcherbird's song. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2016; 3:160357. [PMID: 27703699 PMCID: PMC5043318 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.160357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2016] [Accepted: 08/08/2016] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Music maintains a characteristic balance between repetition and novelty. Here, we report a similar balance in singing performances of free-living Australian pied butcherbirds. Their songs include many phrase types. The more phrase types in a bird's repertoire, the more diverse the singing performance can be. However, without sufficient temporal organization, avian listeners may find diverse singing performances difficult to perceive and memorize. We tested for a correlation between the complexity of song repertoire and the temporal regularity of singing performance. We found that different phrase types often share motifs (notes or stereotyped groups of notes). These shared motifs reappeared in strikingly regular temporal intervals across different phrase types, over hundreds of phrases produced without interruption by each bird. We developed a statistical estimate to quantify the degree to which phrase transition structure is optimized for maximizing the regularity of shared motifs. We found that transition probabilities between phrase types tend to maximize regularity in the repetition of shared motifs, but only in birds of high repertoire complexity. Conversely, in birds of low repertoire complexity, shared motifs were produced with less regularity. The strong correlation between repertoire complexity and motif regularity suggests that birds possess a mechanism that regulates the temporal placement of shared motifs in a manner that takes repertoire complexity into account. We discuss alternative musical, mechanistic and ecological explanations to this effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eathan Janney
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College, CUNY, New York, NY, USA
- Author for correspondence: Eathan Janney e-mail:
| | | | | | - David Rothenberg
- Department of Humanities, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Lucas C. Parra
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City College of New York, CUNY, New York, NY, USA
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34
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Odom KJ, Omland KE, McCaffrey DR, Monroe MK, Christhilf JL, Roberts NS, Logue DM. Typical Males and Unconventional Females: Songs and Singing Behaviors of a Tropical, Duetting Oriole in the Breeding and Non-Breeding Season. Front Ecol Evol 2016. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2016.00014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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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.
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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
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Arriaga JG, Sanchez H, Vallejo EE, Hedley R, Taylor CE. Identification of Cassin׳s Vireo (Vireo cassinii) individuals from their acoustic sequences using an ensemble of learners. Neurocomputing 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neucom.2015.05.129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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Cody ML, Stabler E, Sánchez Castellanos HM, Taylor CE. Structure, syntax and “small-world” organization in the complex songs of California Thrashers (Toxostoma redivivum). BIOACOUSTICS 2015. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2015.1089418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Arriaga JG, Cody ML, Vallejo EE, Taylor CE. Bird-DB: A database for annotated bird song sequences. ECOL INFORM 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2015.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Rohrmeier M, Zuidema W, Wiggins GA, Scharff C. Principles of structure building in music, language and animal song. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2015; 370:20140097. [PMID: 25646520 PMCID: PMC4321138 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2014.0097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Human language, music and a variety of animal vocalizations constitute ways of sonic communication that exhibit remarkable structural complexity. While the complexities of language and possible parallels in animal communication have been discussed intensively, reflections on the complexity of music and animal song, and their comparisons, are underrepresented. In some ways, music and animal songs are more comparable to each other than to language as propositional semantics cannot be used as indicator of communicative success or wellformedness, and notions of grammaticality are less easily defined. This review brings together accounts of the principles of structure building in music and animal song. It relates them to corresponding models in formal language theory, the extended Chomsky hierarchy (CH), and their probabilistic counterparts. We further discuss common misunderstandings and shortcomings concerning the CH and suggest ways to move beyond. We discuss language, music and animal song in the context of their function and motivation and further integrate problems and issues that are less commonly addressed in the context of language, including continuous event spaces, features of sound and timbre, representation of temporality and interactions of multiple parallel feature streams. We discuss these aspects in the light of recent theoretical, cognitive, neuroscientific and modelling research in the domains of music, language and animal song.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Rohrmeier
- Institut für Kunst- und Musikwissenschaft, Technische Universität Dresden, August-Bebel-Straße 20, 01219 Dresden, Germany
| | - Willem Zuidema
- ILLC, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 94242, 1090 CE Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Geraint A Wiggins
- School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4FZ, UK
| | - Constance Scharff
- Animal Behavior, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustraße 6, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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Tan LN, Alwan A, Kossan G, Cody ML, Taylor CE. Dynamic time warping and sparse representation classification for birdsong phrase classification using limited training data. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2015; 137:1069-1080. [PMID: 25786922 DOI: 10.1121/1.4906168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Annotation of phrases in birdsongs can be helpful to behavioral and population studies. To reduce the need for manual annotation, an automated birdsong phrase classification algorithm for limited data is developed. Limited data occur because of limited recordings or the existence of rare phrases. In this paper, classification of up to 81 phrase classes of Cassin's Vireo is performed using one to five training samples per class. The algorithm involves dynamic time warping (DTW) and two passes of sparse representation (SR) classification. DTW improves the similarity between training and test phrases from the same class in the presence of individual bird differences and phrase segmentation inconsistencies. The SR classifier works by finding a sparse linear combination of training feature vectors from all classes that best approximates the test feature vector. When the class decisions from DTW and the first pass SR classification are different, SR classification is repeated using training samples from these two conflicting classes. Compared to DTW, support vector machines, and an SR classifier without DTW, the proposed classifier achieves the highest classification accuracies of 94% and 89% on manually segmented and automatically segmented phrases, respectively, from unseen Cassin's Vireo individuals, using five training samples per class.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee N Tan
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles 56-125B Engineering IV Building, Box 951594, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - Abeer Alwan
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles 56-125B Engineering IV Building, Box 951594, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - George Kossan
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles 621 Charles Young Drive South, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - Martin L Cody
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles 621 Charles Young Drive South, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - Charles E Taylor
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles 621 Charles Young Drive South, Los Angeles, California 90095
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Weiss M, Hultsch H, Adam I, Scharff C, Kipper S. The use of network analysis to study complex animal communication systems: a study on nightingale song. Proc Biol Sci 2014; 281:20140460. [PMID: 24807258 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.0460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The singing of song birds can form complex signal systems comprised of numerous subunits sung with distinct combinatorial properties that have been described as syntax-like. This complexity has inspired inquiries into similarities of bird song to human language; but the quantitative analysis and description of song sequences is a challenging task. In this study, we analysed song sequences of common nightingales (Luscinia megarhynchos) by means of a network analysis. We translated long nocturnal song sequences into networks of song types with song transitions as connectors. As network measures, we calculated shortest path length and transitivity and identified the 'small-world' character of nightingale song networks. Besides comparing network measures with conventional measures of song complexity, we also found a correlation between network measures and age of birds. Furthermore, we determined the numbers of in-coming and out-going edges of each song type, characterizing transition patterns. These transition patterns were shared across males for certain song types. Playbacks with different transition patterns provided first evidence that these patterns are responded to differently and thus play a role in singing interactions. We discuss potential functions of the network properties of song sequences in the framework of vocal leadership. Network approaches provide biologically meaningful parameters to describe the song structure of species with extremely large repertoires and complex rules of song retrieval.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Weiss
- Institute of Biology, Animal Behaviour Group, Free University Berlin, , Berlin, Germany, Department of Exposition, Unit Epidemiology, Statistics and Mathematical Modelling, Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), , Berlin, Germany
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The structure of an avian syllable syntax network. Behav Processes 2014; 106:53-9. [PMID: 24792818 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2014.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2013] [Revised: 03/20/2014] [Accepted: 04/22/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
A common result in recent linguistic studies on word association networks is that their topology can often be described by Zipf's law, in which most words have few associations, whereas a few words are highly connected. However, little is known about syntactic networks in more rudimentary communication systems, which could represent a window into the early stages of language evolution. In this study, we investigate the syntactic network formed by syllable associations in the song of the oscine bird Troglodytes musculus. We use methods recently developed in the context of the study of complex networks to assess topological characteristics in the syntactic networks of T. musculus. We found statistically significant evidence for nestedness in the syllable association network of T. musculus, indicating network organization around a core of commonly used notes, small-world features, and a non-random degree distribution. Our analyses suggest the possibility of a balance between the maintenance of core notes and the acquisition/loss of rare notes through both cultural drift and improvisation. These results underscore the usefulness of investigating communication networks of other animal species in uncovering the initial steps in the evolution of complex syntax networks.
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