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Watson SK, Mine JG, O’Neill LG, Mueller JL, Russell AF, Townsend SW. Cognitive constraints on vocal combinatoriality in a social bird. iScience 2023; 26:106977. [PMID: 37332672 PMCID: PMC10275715 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106977] [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: 04/20/2022] [Revised: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023] Open
Abstract
A critical component of language is the ability to recombine sounds into larger structures. Although animals also reuse sound elements across call combinations to generate meaning, examples are generally limited to pairs of distinct elements, even when repertoires contain sufficient sounds to generate hundreds of combinations. This combinatoriality might be constrained by the perceptual-cognitive demands of disambiguating between complex sound sequences that share elements. We test this hypothesis by probing the capacity of chestnut-crowned babblers to process combinations of two versus three distinct acoustic elements. We found babblers responded quicker and for longer toward playbacks of recombined versus familiar bi-element sequences, but no evidence of differential responses toward playbacks of recombined versus familiar tri-element sequences, suggesting a cognitively prohibitive jump in processing demands. We propose that overcoming constraints in the ability to process increasingly complex combinatorial signals was necessary for the productive combinatoriality that is characteristic of language to emerge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart K. Watson
- Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Joseph G. Mine
- Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution, Zurich, Switzerland
- Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Louis G. O’Neill
- Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW 2109 Australia
- Fowlers Gap Arid Zone Research Station, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | | | - Andrew F. Russell
- Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
- Institute of Linguistics, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Fowlers Gap Arid Zone Research Station, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Simon W. Townsend
- Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
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2
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Watson SK, Lambeth SP, Schapiro SJ. Innovative multi-material tool use in the pant-hoot display of a chimpanzee. Sci Rep 2022; 12:20605. [PMID: 36446876 PMCID: PMC9708694 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-24770-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
'Pant-hoot displays' are a species-typical, multi-modal communicative behaviour in chimpanzees in which pant-hoot vocalisations are combined with varied behavioural displays. In both captivity and the wild, individuals commonly incorporate striking or throwing elements of their environment into these displays. In this case study, we present five videos of an unenculturated, captive, adult male chimpanzee combining a large rubber feeding tub with excelsior (wood wool) in a multi-step process, which was then integrated into the subject's pant-hoot displays as a percussive tool or 'instrument'. During the construction process, the subject demonstrated an understanding of the relevant properties of these materials, 'repairing' the tub to be a more functional drum when necessary. We supplement these videos with a survey of care staff from the study site for additional detail and context. Although care must be taken in generalising data from a single individual, the behaviour reported here hints at three intriguing features of chimpanzee communicative cognition: (1) it suggests a degree of voluntary control over vocal production, (2) it is a so-far unique example of compound tool innovation and use in communicative behaviour and (3) it may represent an example of forward planning in communicative behaviour. Each of these would represent hitherto undocumented dimensions of flexibility in chimpanzee communication, mapping fertile ground for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart K Watson
- Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zurich, Affolternstrasse 56, 8050, Zürich, Switzerland.
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution, University of Zurich, Affolternstrasse 56, 8050, Zürich, Switzerland.
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Susan P Lambeth
- Department of Comparative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 650 Cool Water Drive, Bastrop, TX, 78602, USA
| | - Steven J Schapiro
- Department of Comparative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 650 Cool Water Drive, Bastrop, TX, 78602, USA
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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3
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Desai NP, Fedurek P, Slocombe KE, Wilson ML. Chimpanzee pant-hoots encode individual information more reliably than group differences. Am J Primatol 2022; 84:e23430. [PMID: 36093564 PMCID: PMC9786991 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Revised: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Vocal learning, the ability to modify the acoustic structure of vocalizations based on social experience, is a fundamental feature of speech in humans (Homo sapiens). While vocal learning is common in taxa such as songbirds and whales, the vocal learning capacities of nonhuman primates appear more limited. Intriguingly, evidence for vocal learning has been reported in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), for example, in the form of regional variation ("dialects") in the "pant-hoot" calls. This suggests that some capacity for vocal learning may be an ancient feature of the Pan-Homo clade. Nonetheless, reported differences have been subtle, with intercommunity variation representing only a small portion of the total acoustic variation. To gain further insights into the extent of regional variation in chimpanzee vocalizations, we performed an analysis of pant-hoots from chimpanzees in the neighboring Kasekela and Mitumba communities at Gombe National Park, Tanzania, and the geographically distant Kanyawara community at Kibale National Park, Uganda. We did not find any statistically significant differences between the neighboring communities at Gombe or among geographically distant communities. Furthermore, we found differences among individuals in all communities. Hence, the variation in chimpanzee pant-hoots reflected individual differences, rather than group differences. Thus, we did not find evidence of dialects in this population, suggesting that extensive vocal learning emerged only after the lineages of Homo and Pan diverged.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nisarg P. Desai
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of MinnesotaMinneapolisMinnesotaUSA
| | - Pawel Fedurek
- Division of Psychology, Faculty of Natural SciencesUniversity of StirlingStirlingUK
| | | | - Michael L. Wilson
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of MinnesotaMinneapolisMinnesotaUSA,Department of Ecology, Evolution, and BehaviorUniversity of MinnesotaSt. PaulMinnesotaUSA,Institute on the EnvironmentUniversity of MinnesotaSt. PaulMinnesotaUSA
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4
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Girard-Buttoz C, Bortolato T, Laporte M, Grampp M, Zuberbühler K, Wittig RM, Crockford C. Population-specific call order in chimpanzee greeting vocal sequences. iScience 2022; 25:104851. [PMID: 36034222 PMCID: PMC9399282 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Revised: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Primates rarely learn new vocalizations, but they can learn to use their vocalizations in different contexts. Such "vocal usage learning," particularly in vocal sequences, is a hallmark of human language, but remains understudied in non-human primates. We assess usage learning in four wild chimpanzee communities of Taï and Budongo Forests by investigating population differences in call ordering of a greeting vocal sequence. Whilst in all groups, these sequences consisted of pant-hoots (long-distance contact call) and pant-grunts (short-distance submissive call), the order of the two calls differed across populations. Taï chimpanzees consistently commenced greetings with pant-hoots, whereas Budongo chimpanzees started with pant-grunts. We discuss different hypotheses to explain this pattern and conclude that higher intra-group aggression in Budongo may have led to a local pattern of individuals signaling submission first. This highlights how within-species variation in social dynamics may lead to flexibility in call order production, possibly acquired via usage learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cédric Girard-Buttoz
- The Ape Social Mind Lab, Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, UMR 5229, CNRS, 67 Boulevard Pinel, Bron, Lyon 69675 France
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
| | - Tatiana Bortolato
- The Ape Social Mind Lab, Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, UMR 5229, CNRS, 67 Boulevard Pinel, Bron, Lyon 69675 France
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
| | - Marion Laporte
- Histoire naturelle de l'Homme préhistorique, UMR 7194, PaleoFED, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 17 place du Trocadéro et du 11 Novembre, 75116 Paris, France
- Institut des Sciences du Calcul et des Données, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
| | - Mathilde Grampp
- The Ape Social Mind Lab, Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, UMR 5229, CNRS, 67 Boulevard Pinel, Bron, Lyon 69675 France
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
| | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- Universite de Neuchatel, Institut de Biologie, Cognition Compare, Neuchatel, Switzerland
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland
- Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda
| | - Roman M. Wittig
- The Ape Social Mind Lab, Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, UMR 5229, CNRS, 67 Boulevard Pinel, Bron, Lyon 69675 France
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
| | - Catherine Crockford
- The Ape Social Mind Lab, Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, UMR 5229, CNRS, 67 Boulevard Pinel, Bron, Lyon 69675 France
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
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5
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Bohn M, Liebal K, Oña L, Tessler MH. Great ape communication as contextual social inference: a computational modelling perspective. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210096. [PMID: 35876204 PMCID: PMC9310183 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Human communication has been described as a contextual social inference process. Research into great ape communication has been inspired by this view to look for the evolutionary roots of the social, cognitive and interactional processes involved in human communication. This approach has been highly productive, yet it is partly compromised by the widespread focus on how great apes use and understand individual signals. This paper introduces a computational model that formalizes great ape communication as a multi-faceted social inference process that integrates (a) information contained in the signals that make up an utterance, (b) the relationship between communicative partners and (c) the social context. This model makes accurate qualitative and quantitative predictions about real-world communicative interactions between semi-wild-living chimpanzees. When enriched with a pragmatic reasoning process, the model explains repeatedly reported differences between humans and great apes in the interpretation of ambiguous signals (e.g. pointing or iconic gestures). This approach has direct implications for observational and experimental studies of great ape communication and provides a new tool for theorizing about the evolution of uniquely human communication. This article is part of the theme issue 'Revisiting the human 'interaction engine': comparative approaches to social action coordination'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Bohn
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Katja Liebal
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Linda Oña
- Naturalistic Social Cognition Group, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Michael Henry Tessler
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307, USA
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6
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The Ontogeny of Vocal Sequences: Insights from a Newborn Wild Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii). INT J PRIMATOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-022-00321-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
Abstract
AbstractObservations of early vocal behaviours in non-human primates (hereafter primates) are important for direct comparisons between human and primate vocal development. However, direct observations of births and perinatal behaviour in wild primates are rare, and the initial stages of behavioural ontogeny usually remain undocumented. Here, we report direct observations of the birth of a wild chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in Budongo Forest, Uganda, including the behaviour of the mother and other group members. We monitored the newborn’s vocal behaviour for approximately 2 hours and recorded 70 calls. We categorised the vocalisations both qualitatively, using conventional call descriptions, and quantitatively, using cluster and discriminant acoustic analyses. We found evidence for acoustically distinct vocal units, produced both in isolation and in combination, including sequences akin to adult pant hoots, a vocal utterance regarded as the most complex vocal signal produced by this species. We concluded that chimpanzees possess the capacity to produce vocal sequences composed of different call types from birth, albeit in rudimentary forms. Our observations are in line with the idea that primate vocal repertoires are largely present from birth, with fine acoustic structures undergoing ontogenetic processes. Our study provides rare and valuable empirical data on perinatal behaviours in wild primates.
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7
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Slocombe KE, Lahiff NJ, Wilke C, Townsend SW. Chimpanzee vocal communication: what we know from the wild. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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8
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Kalan AK. Social orangutans have varied vocal personalities. Nat Ecol Evol 2022; 6:504-505. [PMID: 35314783 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01718-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ammie K Kalan
- Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
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9
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Liebal K, Slocombe KE, Waller BM. The language void 10 years on: multimodal primate communication research is still uncommon. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2021.2015453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Katja Liebal
- Life Sciences, Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Talstrasse 33, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | | | - Bridget M. Waller
- School of Social Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Shakespeare Street, Nottingham NG1 4FQ, UK
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10
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Clink DJ, Lau AR, Kanthaswamy S, Johnson LM, Bales KL. Moderate evidence for heritability in the duet contributions of a South American primate. J Evol Biol 2022; 35:51-63. [PMID: 34822207 PMCID: PMC9514391 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Revised: 10/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Acoustic signals are ubiquitous across mammalian taxa. They serve a myriad of functions related to the formation and maintenance of social bonds and can provide conspecifics information about caller condition, motivation and identity. Disentangling the relative importance of evolutionary mechanisms that shape vocal variation is difficult, and little is known about heritability of mammalian vocalizations. Duetting--coordinated vocalizations within male and female pairs--arose independently at least four times across the Primate Order. Primate duets contain individual- or pair-level signatures, but the mechanisms that shape this variation remain unclear. Here, we test for evidence of heritability in two call types (pulses and chirps) from the duets of captive coppery titi monkeys (Plecturocebus cupreus). We extracted four features--note rate, duration, minimum and maximum fundamental frequency--from spectrograms of pulses and chirps, and estimated heritability of the features. We also tested whether features varied with sex or body weight. We found evidence for moderate heritability in one of the features examined (chirp note rate), whereas inter-individual variance was the most important source of variance for the rest of the features. We did not find evidence for sex differences in any of the features, but we did find that body weight and fundamental frequency of chirp elements covaried. Kin recognition has been invoked as a possible explanation for heritability or kin signatures in mammalian vocalizations. Although the function of primate duets remains a topic of debate, the presence of moderate heritability in titi monkey chirp elements indicates duets may serve a kin recognition function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dena J. Clink
- K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14850
| | - Allison R. Lau
- Animal Behavior Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 95616,California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 95616
| | - Sreetharan Kanthaswamy
- School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Arizona State University (ASU) at the West Campus, Glendale, AZ, USA,California National Primate Research Center, University of California, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Lynn M. Johnson
- Cornell Statistical Consulting Unit, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Karen L. Bales
- Animal Behavior Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 95616,California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 95616,Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA,Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
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Playbacks of food-associated calls attract chimpanzees towards known food patches in a captive setting. Primates 2021; 62:905-918. [PMID: 34351528 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-021-00936-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Food-associated calls have received much research attention due to their potential to refer to discovered food in a word-like manner. Studies have found that in many species, food-associated calls attract receivers to the food patch, suggesting these calls play roles in food sharing, cooperation and competition. Additionally, in various species, these calls play a role that has received much less attention: mediating social interactions among foragers that are already nearby or within the food patch, independently of whether they attract outside foragers. In order to increase understanding of the function of the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) food-associated rough grunt, we conducted captive playback studies testing whether rough grunt playbacks attract, repel or have no effect on the proximity of foragers already familiarized with the presence of food. We tested how acoustic playbacks of rough grunts (or control calls) from one of two known, identical feeding sites affected receivers' approach and feeding behaviors. More often than expected, participants first approached the feeding site from which rough grunts, but not control calls, were broadcast. However, neither condition increased the likelihood that participants fed first from a given site. Our results support the hypothesis that rough grunts elicit an approach response in receivers, while providing no evidence that they repel. In addition, our study provides evidence that receivers may approach rough grunts even if they do not intend to feed. We discuss the information rough grunts may convey to receivers beyond information about discovered food and the potential benefits signalers may gain from this calling behavior.
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12
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Rendall D. Aping Language: Historical Perspectives on the Quest for Semantics, Syntax, and Other Rarefied Properties of Human Language in the Communication of Primates and Other Animals. Front Psychol 2021; 12:675172. [PMID: 34366994 PMCID: PMC8345011 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.675172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In 1980, Robert Seyfarth, Dorothy Cheney and Peter Marler published a landmark paper in Science claiming language-like semantic communication in the alarm calls of vervet monkeys. This article and the career research program it spawned for its authors catalyzed countless other studies searching for semantics, and then also syntax and other rarefied properties of language, in the communication systems of non-human primates and other animals. It also helped bolster a parallel tradition of teaching symbolism and syntax in artificial language systems to great apes. Although the search for language rudiments in the communications of primates long predates the vervet alarm call story, it is difficult to overstate the impact of the vervet research, for it fueled field and laboratory research programs for several generations of primatologists and kept busy an equal number of philosophers, linguists, and cognitive scientists debating possible implications for the origins and evolution of language and other vaunted elements of the human condition. Now 40-years on, the original vervet alarm call findings have been revised and claims of semanticity recanted; while other evidence for semantics and syntax in the natural communications of non-humans is sparse and weak. Ultimately, we are forced to conclude that there are simply few substantive precedents in the natural communications of animals for the high-level informational and representational properties of language, nor its complex syntax. This conclusion does not mean primates cannot be taught some version of these elements of language in artificial language systems - in fact, they can. Nor does it mean there is no continuity between the natural communications of animals and humans that could inform the evolution of language - in fact, there is such continuity. It just does not lie in the specialized semantic and syntactic properties of language. In reviewing these matters, I consider why it is that primates do not evince high-level properties of language in their natural communications but why we so readily accepted that they did or should; and what lessons we might draw from that experience. In the process, I also consider why accounts of human-like characteristics in animals can be so irresistibly appealing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Drew Rendall
- Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada
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13
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Mondémé C. Why study turn‐taking sequences in interspecies interactions? JOURNAL FOR THE THEORY OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/jtsb.12295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Chloé Mondémé
- CNRS (French National Center for Scientific Research) École Normale Supérieure de Lyon Lyon France
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14
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Motes-Rodrigo A, Tennie C. The Method of Local Restriction: in search of potential great ape culture-dependent forms. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 96:1441-1461. [PMID: 33779036 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2020] [Revised: 03/11/2021] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Humans possess a perhaps unique type of culture among primates called cumulative culture. In this type of culture, behavioural forms cumulate changes over time, which increases their complexity and/or efficiency, eventually making these forms culture-dependent. As changes cumulate, culture-dependent forms become causally opaque, preventing the overall behavioural form from being acquired by individuals on their own; in other words, culture-dependent forms must be copied between individuals and across generations. Despite the importance of cumulative culture for understanding the evolutionary history of our species, how and when cumulative culture evolved is still debated. One of the challenges faced when addressing these questions is how to identify culture-dependent forms that result from cumulative cultural evolution. Here we propose a novel method to identify the most likely cases of culture-dependent forms. The 'Method of Local Restriction' is based on the premise that as culture-dependent forms are repeatedly transmitted via copying, these forms will unavoidably cumulate population-specific changes (due to copying error) and therefore must be expected to become locally restricted over time. When we applied this method to our closest living relatives, the great apes, we found that most known ape behavioural forms are not locally restricted (across domains and species) and thus are unlikely to be acquired via copying. Nevertheless, we found 25 locally restricted forms across species and domains, three of which appear to be locally unique (having been observed in a single population of a single species). Locally unique forms represent the best current candidates for culture-dependent forms in non-human great apes. Besides these rare exceptions, our results show that overall, ape cultures do not rely heavily on copying, as most ape behaviours appear across sites and/or species, rendering them unlikely to be culture-dependent forms resulting from cumulative cultural evolution. Yet, the locally restricted forms (and especially the three locally unique forms) identified by our method should be tested further for their potential reliance on copying social learning mechanisms (and in turn, for their potential culture-dependence). Future studies could use the Method of Local Restriction to investigate the existence of culture-dependent forms in other animal species and in the hominin archaeological record to estimate how widespread copying is in the animal kingdom and to postulate a timeline for the emergence of copying in our lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alba Motes-Rodrigo
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Claudio Tennie
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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15
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Linguistic laws of brevity: conformity in Indri indri. Anim Cogn 2021; 24:897-906. [PMID: 33683508 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01495-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Revised: 01/23/2021] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Vocal and gestural sequences of several primates have been found to conform to two general principles of information compression: the compensation between the duration of a construct and that of its components (Menzerath-Altmann law) and an inverse relationship between signal duration and its occurrence (Zipf's law of abbreviation). Even though Zipf's law of brevity has been proposed as a universal in animal communication, evidence on non-human primate vocal behavior conformity to linguistic laws is still debated, and information on strepsirrhine primates is lacking. We analyzed the vocal behavior of the unique singing lemur species (Indri indri) to assess whether the song of the species shows evidence for compression. As roars have a chaotic structure that impedes the recognition of each individual utterance, and long notes are usually given by males, we focused on the core part of the song (i.e., the descending phrases, composed of two-six units). Our results indicate that indris' songs conform to Zipf's and Menzerath-Altmann linguistic laws. Indeed, shorter phrases are more likely to be included in the song, and units' duration decrease at the increase of the size of the phrases. We also found that, despite a sexual dimorphism in the duration of both units and phrases, these laws characterize sequences of both males and females. Overall, we provide the first evidence for a trade-off between signal duration and occurrence in the vocal behavior of a strepsirrhine species, suggesting that selective pressures for vocal compression are more ancestral than previously assumed within primates.
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Wilson ML. Insights into human evolution from 60 years of research on chimpanzees at Gombe. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2021; 3:e8. [PMID: 33604500 PMCID: PMC7886264 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2021.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Sixty years of research on chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) at Gombe National Park, Tanzania have revealed many similarities with human behaviour, including hunting, tool use, and coalitionary killing. The close phylogenetic relationship between chimpanzees and humans suggests that these traits were present in the last common ancestor of Pan and Homo (LCAPH). However, findings emerging from studies of our other closest living relative, the bonobo (Pan paniscus), indicate that either bonobos are derived in these respects, or the many similarities between chimpanzees and humans evolved convergently. In either case, field studies provide opportunities to test hypotheses for how and why our lineage has followed its peculiar path through the adaptive landscape. Evidence from primate field studies suggests that the hominin path depends on our heritage as apes: inefficient quadrupeds with grasping hands, orthograde posture, and digestive systems that require high quality foods. Key steps along this path include: (1) changes in diet; (2) increased use of tools; (3) bipedal gait; (4) multilevel societies; (5) collective foraging, including a sexual division of labor and extensive food transfers; and (6) language. Here I consider some possible explanations for these transitions, with an emphasis on contributions from Gombe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Lawrence Wilson
- Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, 395 Humphrey Center, 301 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN55455, USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 140 Gortner Laboratory, 1479 Gortner Avenue, Saint Paul, MN55108, USA
- Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota, 1954 Buford Avenue, Saint Paul, MN55108, USA
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Huo X, Zhou L, Feng J, Wu H. Variation in alarm calls during different breeding stages of the common kestrel ( Falco tinnunculus). Biol Open 2021; 10:bio.056648. [PMID: 33419776 PMCID: PMC7823166 DOI: 10.1242/bio.056648] [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] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Acoustic signals play a key role in animal communication. Animals usually use alarm signals to warn mates or offspring of the presence of threats or to intimidate or distract predators. Birds commonly use acoustic signals as a means of communication. Alarm calls in passerines at different breeding stages can reflect their nest defense intensity. However, little is known about the characteristics, plasticity, and impact factors of alarm calls during the reproductive period in raptors. Here, from March to July in 2019, the alarm calls of eight pairs of common kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) during the breeding period were recorded using a portable recorder with a strongly directed microphone in the Zuojia Nature Reserve, Jilin province, China. The differences in acoustic parameters of parental alarm calls in different breeding stages were analyzed. The results showed that the alarm calls of common kestrels were composed of multi-harmonic arched frequency modulation with the maximum energy distribution in the second harmonic. The duration and rate of the alarm calls increased significantly as the breeding season progressed, showing that parents spent increasing amounts of time on nest defense. Additionally, the acoustic parameters of alarm calls in common kestrels were significantly different depending on offspring numbers, suggesting that offspring numbers influenced parental nest defense. These results showed that differences in alarm calls during different breeding stages may reflect a trade-off between defense costs and reproductive benefits. Summary: Our results clearly showed parental alarm calls varied as the breeding cycle progressed in the common kestrel, and further suggested offspring numbers influenced parental nest defense.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaona Huo
- College of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China
| | - Lei Zhou
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China
| | - Jiang Feng
- College of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China
| | - Hui Wu
- College of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China
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Nof A, Amir O, Goldstein P, Zilcha-Mano S. What do these sounds tell us about the therapeutic alliance: Acoustic markers as predictors of alliance. Clin Psychol Psychother 2020; 28:807-817. [PMID: 33270316 DOI: 10.1002/cpp.2534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2020] [Revised: 10/01/2020] [Accepted: 11/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Predicting the trajectories of alliance formation that the patient is likely to establish with the therapist during treatment, even before their first meeting, can help prevent the potentially harmful consequences of deterioration in alliance, such as poor outcome and premature dropout. The present study aimed to examine the ability of four pretreatment acoustic markers to predict the alliance that is likely to be formed in the course of treatment: F0 span, speech rate, pause proportion and jitter. Data from 560 observations of 38 patients were collected as part of an ongoing randomized clinical trial of short-term psychotherapy for major depressive disorder. The acoustic markers were measured using high-quality recordings at baseline, before the patient and therapist ever met or had any type of communication. A multilevel model was used to examine the ability of the four acoustic markers to predict the slopes of alliance formation in the course of treatment, all markers being introduced in the same model. The clinical utility of the acoustic markers was explored in two case studies. The model explained 22% of the variance in alliance formation. Higher levels of both jitter and pause proportion at baseline predicted less strengthening of the alliance in the course of treatment. The findings, which should be replicated in larger samples, suggest that much of the therapeutic alliance can be predicted based on the acoustic characteristics of the patient's voice in the first 3 min of their intake, before they even meet their therapist.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aviv Nof
- Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Ofer Amir
- Department of Communication Disorders, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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Darras KF, Pérez N, - M, Dilong L, Hanf-Dressler T, Markolf M, Wanger TC. ecoSound-web: an open-source, online platform for ecoacoustics. F1000Res 2020; 9:1224. [PMID: 33274051 PMCID: PMC7682500 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.26369.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 03/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Passive acoustic monitoring of soundscapes and biodiversity produces vast amounts of audio recordings, but the management and analyses of these raw data present technical challenges. A multitude of software solutions exist, but none can fulfil all purposes required for the management, processing, navigation, analysis, and dissemination of acoustic data. The field of ecoacoustics needs a software tool that is free, evolving, and accessible. We take a step in that direction and present ecoSound-web: an open-source, online platform for ecoacoustics designed and built by ecologists and software engineers. ecoSound-web can be used for storing, organising, and sharing soundscape projects, manually creating and peer-reviewing annotations of soniferous animals and phonies, analysing audio in time and frequency, computing alpha acoustic indices, and providing reference sound libraries for different taxa. We present ecoSound-web's features, structure, and compare it with similar software. We describe its operation mode and the workflow for typical use cases such as the sampling of bird and bat communities, the use of a primate call library, and the analysis of phonies and acoustic indices. ecoSound-web is available from: https://github.com/ecomontec/ecoSound-web.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin F.A. Darras
- Computational Landscape Ecology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Sachsen, 01737, Germany
- Agroecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Niedersachsen, 37077, Germany
- Sustainable Agricultural Systems & Engineering Laboratory, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, 310030, China
| | - Noemí Pérez
- Agroecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Niedersachsen, 37077, Germany
| | - Mauladi -
- Department of Information Systems, Universitas Jambi, Jambi, Jambi, 36122, Indonesia
| | - Liu Dilong
- Quality Technology Centre, Nanjing Julong Steel Pipe Co., Ltd., Nanjing, 211800,, China
| | - Tara Hanf-Dressler
- Agroecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Niedersachsen, 37077, Germany
| | - Matthias Markolf
- Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Centre,, Göttingen, Niedersachsen, 37077, Germany
| | - Thomas C Wanger
- Sustainable Agricultural Systems & Engineering Laboratory, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, 310030, China
- Key Laboratory of Coastal Environment and Resources of Zhejiang Province, Westlake University, Hangzhou, China
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20
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Ischer G, Zuberbühler K, Fedurek P. The relationship between food calling and agonistic behaviour in wild chimpanzees. Behav Processes 2020; 178:104182. [PMID: 32561234 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2019] [Revised: 05/27/2020] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
A number of social animals produce food-associated calls, which have been interpreted as informative and referential about the quality or quantity of food accessed by the caller. In chimpanzees, however, some behavioural patterns have remained unexplained by this model, suggesting that food-associated calls have a more generalized social function beyond attracting others to food, such as promoting tolerance between co-feeding individuals. In this study, we investigated how wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) of Budongo Forest, Uganda, use food associated-calls in situations when social tolerance is low, i.e., during agonistic interactions. We found a positive relationship between food calling and agonistic behaviours during a feeding event, independent of the number of males on the feeding patch. Moreover, food calling followed rather than preceded agonistic interactions, suggesting that aggression can trigger food call production. These results support the view that chimpanzee food-associated calls can act as social tools mediating competitive or aggressive interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Géraldine Ischer
- University of Neuchâtel, Department of Comparative Cognition, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- University of Neuchâtel, Department of Comparative Cognition, Neuchâtel, Switzerland; School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Pawel Fedurek
- Division of Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK.
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21
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Zhang K, Liu T, Liu M, Li A, Xiao Y, Metzner W, Liu Y. Comparing context-dependent call sequences employing machine learning methods: an indication of syntactic structure of greater horseshoe bats. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 222:jeb.214072. [PMID: 31753908 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.214072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2019] [Accepted: 11/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
For analysis of vocal syntax, accurate classification of call sequence structures in different behavioural contexts is essential. However, an effective, intelligent program for classifying call sequences from numerous recorded sound files is still lacking. Here, we employed three machine learning algorithms (logistic regression, support vector machine and decision trees) to classify call sequences of social vocalizations of greater horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) in aggressive and distress contexts. The three machine learning algorithms obtained highly accurate classification rates (logistic regression 98%, support vector machine 97% and decision trees 96%). The algorithms also extracted three of the most important features for the classification: the transition between two adjacent syllables, the probability of occurrences of syllables in each position of a sequence, and the characteristics of a sequence. The results of statistical analysis also supported the classification of the algorithms. The study provides the first efficient method for data mining of call sequences and the possibility of linguistic parameters in animal communication. It suggests the presence of song-like syntax in the social vocalizations emitted within a non-breeding context in a bat species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kangkang Zhang
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, No. 2555, Street Jingyue, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, China
| | - Tong Liu
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, No. 2555, Street Jingyue, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, China
| | - Muxun Liu
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, No. 2555, Street Jingyue, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, China
| | - Aoqiang Li
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, No. 2555, Street Jingyue, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, China
| | - Yanhong Xiao
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, No. 2555, Street Jingyue, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, China
| | - Walter Metzner
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Ying Liu
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, No. 2555, Street Jingyue, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, China
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22
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Zürcher Y, Willems EP, Burkart JM. Are dialects socially learned in marmoset monkeys? Evidence from translocation experiments. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0222486. [PMID: 31644527 PMCID: PMC6808547 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0222486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2018] [Accepted: 09/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The acoustic properties of vocalizations in common marmosets differ between populations. These differences may be the result of social vocal learning, but they can also result from environmental or genetic differences between populations. We performed translocation experiments to separately quantify the influence of a change in the physical environment (experiment 1), and a change in the social environment (experiment 2) on the acoustic properties of calls from individual captive common marmosets. If population differences were due to genetic differences, we expected no change in the vocalizations of the translocated marmosets. If differences were due to environmental factors, we expected vocalizations to permanently change contingent with environmental changes. If social learning was involved, we expected that the vocalizations of animals translocated to a new population with a different dialect would become more similar to the new population. In experiment 1, we translocated marmosets to a different physical environment without changing the social composition of the groups or their neighbours. Immediately after the translocation to the new facility, one out of three call types showed a significant change in call structure, but 5-6 weeks later, the calls were no longer different from before the translocation. Thus, the novel physical environment did not induce long lasting changes in the vocalizations of the marmosets. In experiment 2, we translocated marmosets to a new population with a different dialect. Importantly, our previous work had shown that these two populations differed significantly in vocalization structure. The translocated marmosets were still housed in their original social group, but after translocation they were surrounded by the vocalizations from neighbouring groups of the new population. The vocal distance between the translocated individuals and the new population decreased for two out of three call types over 16 weeks. Thus, even without direct social contact or interaction, the vocalizations of the translocated animals converged towards the new population, indicating that common marmosets can modify their calls due to acoustic input from conspecifics alone, via crowd vocal learning. To our knowledge, this is the first study able to distinguish between different explanations for vocal dialects as well as to show crowd vocal learning in a primate species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yvonne Zürcher
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Erik P. Willems
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Judith M. Burkart
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse, Zürich, Switzerland
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23
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Kersken V, Gómez JC, Liszkowski U, Soldati A, Hobaiter C. A gestural repertoire of 1- to 2-year-old human children: in search of the ape gestures. Anim Cogn 2019; 22:577-595. [PMID: 30196330 PMCID: PMC6647402 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-018-1213-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2017] [Revised: 08/02/2018] [Accepted: 08/29/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
When we compare human gestures to those of other apes, it looks at first like there is nothing much to compare at all. In adult humans, gestures are thought to be a window into the thought processes accompanying language, and sign languages are equal to spoken language with all of its features. Some research firmly emphasises the differences between human gestures and those of other apes; however, the question about whether there are any commonalities is rarely investigated, and has mostly been confined to pointing gestures. The gestural repertoires of nonhuman ape species have been carefully studied and described with regard to their form and function-but similar approaches are much rarer in the study of human gestures. This paper applies the methodology commonly used in the study of nonhuman ape gestures to the gestural communication of human children in their second year of life. We recorded (n = 13) children's gestures in a natural setting with peers and caregivers in Germany and Uganda. Children employed 52 distinct gestures, 46 (89%) of which are present in the chimpanzee repertoire. Like chimpanzees, they used them both singly, and in sequences, and employed individual gestures flexibly towards different goals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verena Kersken
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9JP, Scotland, UK
- Budongo Conservation Field Station, P.O. Box 32, Masindi, Uganda
- Department of Cognitive Developmental Psychology, University of Göttingen, Waldweg 26, 37073, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Juan-Carlos Gómez
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9JP, Scotland, UK
| | - Ulf Liszkowski
- Department of Developmental Psychology, Hamburg University, Von-Melle-Park 5, 20146, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Adrian Soldati
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9JP, Scotland, UK
- Department of Comparative Cognition, University of Neuchatel, Neuchatel, Switzerland
| | - Catherine Hobaiter
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9JP, Scotland, UK.
- Budongo Conservation Field Station, P.O. Box 32, Masindi, Uganda.
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24
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Peckre L, Kappeler PM, Fichtel C. Clarifying and expanding the social complexity hypothesis for communicative complexity. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2605-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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26
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Internal states and extrinsic factors both determine monkey vocal production. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:3978-3983. [PMID: 29581269 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1722426115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A key question for understanding speech evolution is whether or not the vocalizations of our closest living relatives-nonhuman primates-represent the precursors to speech. Some believe that primate vocalizations are not volitional but are instead inextricably linked to internal states like arousal and thus bear little resemblance to human speech. Others disagree and believe that since many primates can use their vocalizations strategically, this demonstrates a degree of voluntary vocal control. In the current study, we present a behavioral paradigm that reliably elicits different types of affiliative vocalizations from marmoset monkeys while measuring their heart rate fluctuations using noninvasive electromyography. By modulating both the physical distance between marmosets and the sensory information available to them, we find that arousal levels are linked, but not inextricably, to vocal production. Different arousal levels are, generally, associated with changes in vocal acoustics and the drive to produce different call types. However, in contexts where marmosets are interacting, the production of these different call types is also affected by extrinsic factors such as the timing of a conspecific's vocalization. These findings suggest that variability in vocal output as a function of context might reflect trade-offs between the drive to perpetuate vocal contact and conserving energy.
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Harris D, Wodarz D, Komarova NL. Spatial evolution of regularization in learned behavior of animals. Math Biosci 2018; 299:103-116. [PMID: 29550299 DOI: 10.1016/j.mbs.2018.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2017] [Revised: 02/27/2018] [Accepted: 03/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Stochastic population dynamics of learned traits are studied, where individual learners behave according to a reinforcement learner model, which is a nonlinear version of the Bush-Mosteller model. Depending on a regularization parameter (parameter a), the learners may possess different degrees of overmatching (regularization behavior, 0 ≤ a < 1), frequency matching (corresponding to a=1), or undermatching behavior (a > 1). Both non-spatial and spatial models are considered, to study the interplay of individual heterogeneity of behavior, spatial and temporal effects of learning, and the possibility of emergence of regional culture. In non-spatial models, we observe that populations of individuals learning from each other converge to a universally shared, deterministic rule (either rule "1" or rule "0"), only if they to some extent possess the ability to generalize (a < 1). Otherwise, a low-coherence solution where both rules are used intermittently by everyone, is achieved. If the evolution of the regularization ability is included, then we find that a initially evolves toward lower values, and a shared solution is established when everyone reliably uses the same rule. The spatial (2D) model has two well known limiting cases: if a=0 (the strongest degree of regularization), the model converges to a threshold voter model, and if a=1 (frequency matching), it is equivalent to the discrete diffusion equation. If 0 < a < 1 (the case where individuals regularize), spatial patterns emerge, where patches of different usage of the rule are formed. Smaller values of a lead to sharper and longer lived patches. Values of a < 1 close to unity result in probabilistic outcomes where patches only survive if they are attached to the boundary. Analytical treatment of the 1D case reveals the existence of approximate equilibria that have front structure, where spatially intermittent deterministic usage of one and the other rule are separated by interfaces whose analytical form is derived.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dakari Harris
- Department of Mathematics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Dominik Wodarz
- Department of Mathematics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Natalia L Komarova
- Department of Mathematics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
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28
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Jaggers RW, Bon SAF. Communication between hydrogel beads via chemical signalling. J Mater Chem B 2017; 5:8681-8685. [PMID: 32264261 DOI: 10.1039/c7tb02278f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
In this work, we demonstrate chemical communication between millimetre-sized soft hydrogel beads in an aqueous environment. Silver cations (Ag+) and the Ag+ chelator dithiothreitol (DTT) are used as signalling molecules. By exploiting their interplay, we conduct a series of 'conversations' between millimetre-sized beads. The communication process is monitored by tracking the response and behaviour of a central bead. This bead is loaded with the enzyme urease and has the ability to undergo a change in colour associated with a change in pH. Competitive communication between three beads, whereby the central bead receives two competing signals from two senders, is shown. We believe that our hydrogel-based system demonstrates an advance in the communication capabilities of small soft matter objects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ross W Jaggers
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry, C47 7AL, UK.
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29
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Fischer J, Price T. Meaning, intention, and inference in primate vocal communication. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 82:22-31. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.10.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2016] [Revised: 09/20/2016] [Accepted: 10/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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30
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McCarthy-Jones S, Smailes D, Corvin A, Gill M, Morris DW, Dinan TG, Murphy KC, Anthony O Neill F, Waddington JL, Australian Schizophrenia Research Bank, Donohoe G, Dudley R. Occurrence and co-occurrence of hallucinations by modality in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. Psychiatry Res 2017; 252:154-160. [PMID: 28273630 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.01.102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2016] [Revised: 12/09/2016] [Accepted: 01/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
It is not only unclear why hallucinations in schizophrenia occur with different prevalence by modality, but also to what extent they do. Reliable prevalence estimates of hallucinations by modality in schizophrenia are currently lacking, particularly for non-auditory hallucinations. Studies have also tended to report lifetime, not point prevalence by modality. This study assessed the prevalence and co-occurrence of hallucinations, for both lifetime and point prevalence, across the auditory, visual, olfactory, and tactile modalities, in people diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia-spectrum disorders in Ireland (N=693) and Australia (N=218). Lifetime prevalence was 64-80% auditory, 23-31% visual, 9-19% tactile, and 6-10% olfactory. Past month prevalence was 23-27% auditory, 5-8% visual, 4-7% tactile, and 2% olfactory. The majority of participants had only hallucinated in one modality, with this nearly always being the auditory. Approximately one-third had hallucinated in two modalities, most commonly the auditory and visual. Most currently hallucinating patients also hallucinated in a single modality, again, nearly always the auditory. Whereas 30-37% of patients with lifetime auditory hallucinations had experienced visual hallucinations, 83-97% of patients with experience of visual hallucinations had experienced auditory hallucinations. These findings help delineate the modality distribution of hallucinations in schizophrenia, and provide an explanatory target for theoretical models.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - David Smailes
- Department of Psychology, Leeds Trinity University, Leeds, UK
| | - Aiden Corvin
- Department of Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
| | - Michael Gill
- Department of Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
| | - Derek W Morris
- School of Psychology and Discipline of Biochemistry, National University of Ireland Galway, Ireland
| | | | - Kieran C Murphy
- Department of Psychiatry, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
| | - F Anthony O Neill
- Department of Psychiatry, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - John L Waddington
- Molecular and Cellular Therapeutics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
| | | | - Gary Donohoe
- School of Psychology and Discipline of Biochemistry, National University of Ireland Galway, Ireland
| | - Robert Dudley
- School of Psychology, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK; Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
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Listeners can extract meaning from non-linguistic infant vocalisations cross-culturally. Sci Rep 2017; 7:41016. [PMID: 28120878 PMCID: PMC5264397 DOI: 10.1038/srep41016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2015] [Accepted: 12/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
We present empirical evidence showing that the acoustic properties of non-linguistic vocalisations produced by human infants in different cultures can be used cross-culturally by listeners to make inferences about the infant’s current behaviour. We recorded natural infant vocalisations in Scotland and Uganda in five social contexts; declarative pointing, giving an object, requesting an action, protesting, and requesting food. Using a playback paradigm, we tested parents and non-parents, who either had regular or no experience with young children, from Scotland and Uganda in their ability to match infant vocalisations of both cultures to their respective production contexts. All participants performed above chance, regardless of prior experience with infants or cultural background, with only minor differences between participant groups. Results suggest that acoustic variations in non-linguistic infant vocalisations transmit broad classes of information to listeners, even in the absence of additional cues from gesture or context, and that these cues may reflect universal properties similar to the ‘referential’ information discovered in non-human primate vocalisations.
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Déaux EC, Allen AP, Clarke JA, Charrier I. Concatenation of 'alert' and 'identity' segments in dingoes' alarm calls. Sci Rep 2016; 6:30556. [PMID: 27460289 PMCID: PMC4962046 DOI: 10.1038/srep30556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2016] [Accepted: 07/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Multicomponent signals can be formed by the uninterrupted concatenation of multiple call types. One such signal is found in dingoes, Canis familiaris dingo. This stereotyped, multicomponent ‘bark-howl’ vocalisation is formed by the concatenation of a noisy bark segment and a tonal howl segment. Both segments are structurally similar to bark and howl vocalisations produced independently in other contexts (e.g. intra- and inter-pack communication). Bark-howls are mainly uttered in response to human presence and were hypothesized to serve as alarm calls. We investigated the function of bark-howls and the respective roles of the bark and howl segments. We found that dingoes could discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar howl segments, after having only heard familiar howl vocalisations (i.e. different calls). We propose that howl segments could function as ‘identity signals’ and allow receivers to modulate their responses according to the caller’s characteristics. The bark segment increased receivers’ attention levels, providing support for earlier observational claims that barks have an ‘alerting’ function. Lastly, dingoes were more likely to display vigilance behaviours upon hearing bark-howl vocalisations, lending support to the alarm function hypothesis. Canid vocalisations, such as the dingo bark-howl, may provide a model system to investigate the selective pressures shaping complex communication systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eloïse C Déaux
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, 2109, Australia
| | - Andrew P Allen
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, 2109, Australia
| | - Jennifer A Clarke
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, 2109, Australia
| | - Isabelle Charrier
- Université Paris Saclay, Université Paris-Sud, CNRS, UMR 9197, Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay, Orsay, 91405, France
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Spike M, Stadler K, Kirby S, Smith K. Minimal Requirements for the Emergence of Learned Signaling. Cogn Sci 2016; 41:623-658. [PMID: 26988073 PMCID: PMC5412673 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.12351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2015] [Revised: 09/02/2015] [Accepted: 11/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The emergence of signaling systems has been observed in numerous experimental and real‐world contexts, but there is no consensus on which (if any) shared mechanisms underlie such phenomena. A number of explanatory mechanisms have been proposed within several disciplines, all of which have been instantiated as credible working models. However, they are usually framed as being mutually incompatible. Using an exemplar‐based framework, we replicate these models in a minimal configuration which allows us to directly compare them. This reveals that the development of optimal signaling is driven by similar mechanisms in each model, which leads us to propose three requirements for the emergence of conventional signaling. These are the creation and transmission of referential information, a systemic bias against ambiguity, and finally some form of information loss. Considering this, we then discuss some implications for theoretical and experimental approaches to the emergence of learned communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Spike
- Language Evolution and Computation Research Unit, School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh
| | - Kevin Stadler
- Language Evolution and Computation Research Unit, School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh
| | - Simon Kirby
- Language Evolution and Computation Research Unit, School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh
| | - Kenny Smith
- Language Evolution and Computation Research Unit, School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh
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Luef EM, Breuer T, Pika S. Food-Associated Calling in Gorillas (Gorilla g. gorilla) in the Wild. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0144197. [PMID: 26909518 PMCID: PMC4766192 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0144197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2015] [Accepted: 11/13/2015] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Many nonhuman primates produce food-associated vocalizations upon encountering or ingesting particular food. Concerning the great apes, only food-associated vocalizations of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus) have been studied in detail, providing evidence that these vocalizations can be produced flexibly in relation to a variety of factors, such as the quantity and quality of food and/or the type of audience. Only anecdotal evidence exists of eastern (Gorilla beringei) and western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) producing food-associated vocalizations, termed SINGING or HUMMING. To enable a better understanding of the context in which these calls are produced, we investigated and compared the vocal behavior of two free-ranging groups of western lowland gorillas (Gorilla g. gorilla) at Mondika, Republic of Congo. Our results show that (a) food-associated call production occurs only during feeding and not in other contexts; (b) calling is not uniformly distributed across age and sex classes; (c) calls are only produced during feeding on specific foods; and (d) normally just one individual gives calls during group feeding sessions, however, certain food types elicit simultaneous calling of two or more individuals. Our findings provide new insight into the vocal abilities of gorillas but also carry larger implications for questions concerning vocal variability among the great apes. Food-associated calls of nonhuman primates have been shown to be flexible in terms of when they are used and who they are directed at, making them interesting vocalizations from the viewpoint of language evolution. Food-associated vocalizations in great apes can offer new opportunities to investigate the phylogenetic development of vocal communication within the primate lineage and can possibly contribute novel insights into the origins of human language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Maria Luef
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Humboldt Research Group: Comparative Gestural Signalling, Eberhard-Gwinner-Strasse, 82319, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Thomas Breuer
- Global Conservation Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York, 10460, United States of America
| | - Simone Pika
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Humboldt Research Group: Comparative Gestural Signalling, Eberhard-Gwinner-Strasse, 82319, Seewiesen, Germany
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Gustison ML, Bergman TJ. Vocal complexity influences female responses to gelada male calls. Sci Rep 2016; 6:19680. [PMID: 26790770 PMCID: PMC4726186 DOI: 10.1038/srep19680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2015] [Accepted: 11/27/2015] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Extensive research indicates that inter-sexual selection drives the evolution of complex vocal communication in birds, but parallel lines of evidence are almost entirely absent in mammals. This dearth of evidence, particularly among primates, limits our understanding of the link between sociality and vocal complexity. Here, we use a playback experiment to quantify how wild female geladas (Theropithecus gelada) respond to three call types that are ‘derived’ (i.e., unique to geladas) and made by males during various affiliative contexts. These derived calls appeared to be highly salient and preferable to females: they looked longer towards and spent more time in proximity to playbacks of male vocal sequences containing one of the derived calls than to sequences containing only common and less elaborate ‘grunt’ calls. Our results provide the first experimental evidence for vocal elaboration as a male-specific strategy to maintain social bonds with females in non-human primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan L Gustison
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Thore J Bergman
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, 830 North University, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
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Katsu N, Yamada K, Nakamichi M. Function of grunts, girneys and coo calls of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) in relation to call usage, age and dominance relationships. BEHAVIOUR 2016. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
We investigated how the context of the production of vocalizations used in social interactions among Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) affects their outcome. We focused on a variety of soft vocalizations, including three acoustically distinct call types: grunts, girneys, and coo calls. We predicted that call outcomes would be influenced by call combinations and exchanges, and by the relationship between the caller and the recipient. We observed social interactions among female Japanese macaques, and found that individuals were less likely to initiate agonistic behaviour when they emitted calls. Call exchanges and call combinations increased the occurrence of affiliative interactions. The probability of affiliative interaction following a given type of call differed according to the relationship between the caller and the recipient. These findings suggest that recipients interpret these calls within a social context; they also demonstrate the existence of complex communicative abilities that integrate vocalizations and context in these monkeys.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noriko Katsu
- Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, 1-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
- Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science, 5-3-1 Kojimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0083, Japan
| | - Kazunori Yamada
- Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, 1-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Masayuki Nakamichi
- Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science, 5-3-1 Kojimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0083, Japan
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Comparative Analysis of the Vocal Repertoire of Eulemur: A Dynamic Time Warping Approach. INT J PRIMATOL 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-015-9861-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Perceptual elements in brain mechanisms of acoustic communication in humans and nonhuman primates. Behav Brain Sci 2015; 37:571-2; discussion 577-604. [PMID: 25514961 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x13004196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Ackermann et al. outline a model for elaboration of subcortical motor outputs as a driving force for the development of the apparently unique behaviour of language in humans. They emphasize circuits in the striatum and midbrain, and acknowledge, but do not explore, the importance of the auditory perceptual pathway for evolution of verbal communication. We suggest that understanding the evolution of language will also require understanding of vocalization perception, especially in the auditory cortex.
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Vervets revisited: A quantitative analysis of alarm call structure and context specificity. Sci Rep 2015; 5:13220. [PMID: 26286236 PMCID: PMC4541072 DOI: 10.1038/srep13220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2015] [Accepted: 07/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The alarm calls of vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) constitute the classic textbook example of semantic communication in nonhuman animals, as vervet monkeys give acoustically distinct calls to different predators and these calls elicit appropriate responses in conspecifics. They also give similar sounding calls in aggressive contexts, however. Despite the central role the vervet alarm calls have played for understanding the evolution of communication, a comprehensive, quantitative analysis of the acoustic structure of these calls was lacking. We used 2-step cluster analysis to identify objective call types and discriminant function analysis to assess context specificity. Alarm calls given in response to leopards, eagles, and snakes could be well distinguished, while the inclusion of calls given in aggressive contexts yielded some overlap, specifically between female calls given to snakes, eagles and during aggression, as well as between male vervet barks (additionally recorded in South Africa) in leopard and aggressive contexts. We suggest that both cognitive appraisal of the situation and internal state contribute to the variation in call usage and structure. While the semantic properties of vervet alarm calls bear little resemblance to human words, the existing acoustic variation, possibly together with additional contextual information, allows listeners to select appropriate responses.
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40
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Plooij FX, van de Rijt-Plooij H, Fischer M, Wilson ML, Pusey A. An archive of longitudinal recordings of the vocalizations of adult Gombe chimpanzees. Sci Data 2015; 2:150027. [PMID: 26029380 PMCID: PMC4443877 DOI: 10.1038/sdata.2015.27] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2015] [Accepted: 04/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies of chimpanzee vocal communication provide valuable insights into the evolution of communication in complex societies, and also comparative data for understanding the evolution of human language. One particularly valuable dataset of recordings from free-living chimpanzees was collected by Frans X. Plooij and the late Hetty van de Rijt-Plooij at Gombe National Park, Tanzania (1971-73). These audio specimens, which have not yet been analysed, total over 10 h on 28 tapes, including 7 tapes focusing on adult individuals with a total of 605 recordings. In 2014 the first part of that collection of audio specimens covering the vocalizations of the immature Gombe chimpanzees was made available. The data package described here covers the vocalizations of the adult chimpanzees. We expect these recordings will prove useful for studies on topics including referential signalling and the emergence of dialects. The digitized sound recordings were stored in the Macaulay Library and the Dryad Repository. In addition, the original notes on the contexts of the calls were translated and transcribed from Dutch into English.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frans X. Plooij
- International Research-institute on Infant Studies, 6814 CE Arnhem, the Netherlands
| | | | - Martha Fischer
- Macaulay Library, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Michael L. Wilson
- Departments of Anthropology and Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis-St Paul, MN 55455, USA
| | - Anne Pusey
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
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42
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Watson S, Townsend S, Schel A, Wilke C, Wallace E, Cheng L, West V, Slocombe K. Vocal Learning in the Functionally Referential Food Grunts of Chimpanzees. Curr Biol 2015; 25:495-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.12.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 138] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2014] [Revised: 11/20/2014] [Accepted: 12/10/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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43
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Insights into the genetic foundations of human communication. Neuropsychol Rev 2015; 25:3-26. [PMID: 25597031 DOI: 10.1007/s11065-014-9277-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2014] [Accepted: 12/22/2014] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The human capacity to acquire sophisticated language is unmatched in the animal kingdom. Despite the discontinuity in communicative abilities between humans and other primates, language is built on ancient genetic foundations, which are being illuminated by comparative genomics. The genetic architecture of the language faculty is also being uncovered by research into neurodevelopmental disorders that disrupt the normally effortless process of language acquisition. In this article, we discuss the strategies that researchers are using to reveal genetic factors contributing to communicative abilities, and review progress in identifying the relevant genes and genetic variants. The first gene directly implicated in a speech and language disorder was FOXP2. Using this gene as a case study, we illustrate how evidence from genetics, molecular cell biology, animal models and human neuroimaging has converged to build a picture of the role of FOXP2 in neurodevelopment, providing a framework for future endeavors to bridge the gaps between genes, brains and behavior.
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Phillips KA, Bales KL, Capitanio JP, Conley A, Czoty PW, ‘t Hart BA, Hopkins WD, Hu SL, Miller LA, Nader MA, Nathanielsz PW, Rogers J, Shively CA, Voytko ML. Why primate models matter. Am J Primatol 2014; 76:801-27. [PMID: 24723482 PMCID: PMC4145602 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 399] [Impact Index Per Article: 39.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2014] [Revised: 03/01/2014] [Accepted: 03/02/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Research involving nonhuman primates (NHPs) has played a vital role in many of the medical and scientific advances of the past century. NHPs are used because of their similarity to humans in physiology, neuroanatomy, reproduction, development, cognition, and social complexity-yet it is these very similarities that make the use of NHPs in biomedical research a considered decision. As primate researchers, we feel an obligation and responsibility to present the facts concerning why primates are used in various areas of biomedical research. Recent decisions in the United States, including the phasing out of chimpanzees in research by the National Institutes of Health and the pending closure of the New England Primate Research Center, illustrate to us the critical importance of conveying why continued research with primates is needed. Here, we review key areas in biomedicine where primate models have been, and continue to be, essential for advancing fundamental knowledge in biomedical and biological research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberley A. Phillips
- Department of Psychology, Trinity University, San Antonio TX 78212
- Southwest National Primate Research Center, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio TX
| | - Karen L. Bales
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis CA 95616
- California National Primate Research Center, Davis CA 95616
| | - John P. Capitanio
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis CA 95616
- California National Primate Research Center, Davis CA 95616
| | - Alan Conley
- Department of Population Health & Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis CA 95616
| | - Paul W. Czoty
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem NC 27157
| | - Bert A. ‘t Hart
- Department of Immunobiology, Biomedical Primate Research Center, Rijswick, The Netherlands
| | - William D. Hopkins
- Neuroscience Institute and Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta GA 30302
- Division of Cognitive and Developmental Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta GA 30030
| | - Shiu-Lok Hu
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle WA
| | - Lisa A. Miller
- California National Primate Research Center, Davis CA 95616
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Cell Biology, University of California, Davis CA 95616
| | - Michael A. Nader
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem NC 27157
| | - Peter W. Nathanielsz
- Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Research, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio TX 78229
| | - Jeffrey Rogers
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston TX
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, Madison, WI
| | - Carol A. Shively
- Department of Pathology, Section on Comparative Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem NC 27157
| | - Mary Lou Voytko
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem NC 27157
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Collier K, Bickel B, van Schaik CP, Manser MB, Townsend SW. Language evolution: syntax before phonology? Proc Biol Sci 2014; 281:20140263. [PMID: 24943364 PMCID: PMC4083781 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.0263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2014] [Accepted: 05/29/2014] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Phonology and syntax represent two layers of sound combination central to language's expressive power. Comparative animal studies represent one approach to understand the origins of these combinatorial layers. Traditionally, phonology, where meaningless sounds form words, has been considered a simpler combination than syntax, and thus should be more common in animals. A linguistically informed review of animal call sequences demonstrates that phonology in animal vocal systems is rare, whereas syntax is more widespread. In the light of this and the absence of phonology in some languages, we hypothesize that syntax, present in all languages, evolved before phonology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie Collier
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Balthasar Bickel
- Department of Comparative Linguistics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Carel P van Schaik
- Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Marta B Manser
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Simon W Townsend
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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46
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Rossano F, Liebal K. “Requests” and “offers” in orangutans and human infants*. STUDIES IN LANGUAGE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION 2014. [DOI: 10.1075/slsi.26.13ros] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
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Russell JL, McIntyre J, Hopkins WD, Taglialatela JP. Vocal learning of a communicative signal in captive chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2013; 127:520-525. [PMID: 24144730 PMCID: PMC3982915 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2013.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2013] [Revised: 09/25/2013] [Accepted: 09/26/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
We hypothesized that chimpanzees could learn to produce attention-getting (AG) sounds via positive reinforcement. We conducted a vocal assessment in 76 captive chimpanzees for their use of AG sounds to acquire the attention of an otherwise inattentive human. Fourteen individuals that did not produce AG sounds during the vocal assessment were evaluated for their ability to acquire the use of an AG sound through operant conditioning and to employ these sounds in an attention-getting context. Nine of the 14 chimpanzees were successfully shaped using positive reinforcement to produce an AG sound. In a post-training vocal assessment, eight of the nine individuals that were successfully trained to produce AG sounds generalized the use of these newly acquired signals to communicatively relevant situations. Chimpanzees possess the ability to acquire the use of a communicative signal via operant conditioning and can generalize the use of this newly acquired signal to appropriate communicative contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie L. Russell
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, Georgia
- Neuroscience Institute and The Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | | | - William D. Hopkins
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, Georgia
- Neuroscience Institute and The Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Jared P. Taglialatela
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, Georgia
- Department of Biology and Physics, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, Georgia
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48
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Individual Variation of Whinnies Reflects Differences in Membership Between Spider Monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) Communities. INT J PRIMATOL 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-013-9736-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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49
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50
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Salmi R, Hammerschmidt K, Doran-Sheehy DM. Western Gorilla Vocal Repertoire and Contextual Use of Vocalizations. Ethology 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Salmi
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences; Stony Brook University; Stony Brook; NY; USA
| | - Kurt Hammerschmidt
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory; German Primate Center; Göttingen; Germany
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