Acoustic variation of pant hoot calls by male chimpanzees: a playback experiment

2000 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Kajikawa ◽  
T. Hasegawa
Keyword(s):  
Playback Experiment ◽  
Pant Hoot ◽  
Acoustic Variation

scholarly journals Chimpanzee pant-hoots encode information about individual but not group differences

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nisarg P. Desai ◽  
Pawel Fedurek ◽  
Katie E. Slocombe ◽  
Michael L. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Regional Variation ◽  
National Park ◽  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Gombe National Park ◽  
Pant Hoot ◽  
Community Variation ◽  
Acoustic Variation

AbstractVocal learning, the ability to voluntarily modify the acoustic structure of vocalizations based on social cues, 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 inter-community 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 observed group differences only among the geographically isolated communities and did not find any differences between the neighboring communities at Gombe. Furthermore, we found differences among individuals in all communities. Hence, the variation in chimpanzee pant-hoots reflected individual differences, rather than group differences. The limited evidences for vocal learning in Pan suggest that extensive vocal learning emerged in the human lineage after the divergence from Pan.

Chorusing and Call Convergence in Chimpanzees: Tests of Three Hypotheses

Behaviour ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 135 (8) ◽  
pp. 1041-1064 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Mitani ◽  
Julie Gros-Louis
Keyword(s):  
Social Bonds ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Not Given ◽  
Similar Form ◽  
Alpha Male ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Vocal Convergence ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Pant Hoot ◽  
Acoustic Variation

AbstractMale chimpanzees produce a species-typical long distance call known as the pant hoot. Males give acoustically similar pant hoots when calling together during choruses, but the process by which this vocal convergence takes place is unclear. Three potential mechanisms might account for call matching. First, vocal convergence could represent the passive effect of male chimpanzees sharing a common affective state during choruses. Second, matching could result through the active modification of calls. Such modification might occur if males modeled their calls after those produced by their current chorusing partner. Alternatively, actively mediated convergence would result if males mimicked the calls given by high-ranking males. We examined acoustic variation in calls given during choruses and while alone to test these three hypotheses. Results showed that a similar call type is not given repeatedly during successive choruses. In addition, low-ranking individuals did not produce calls that matched those of the alpha male. Chorused calls produced by two dyadic pairs were more similar to each other than they were to calls delivered during other choruses. The higher ranking, yet dependent, member of one of these dyads appeared to give calls that converged on those produced by the other individual. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that male chimpanzees accomodate each other vocally through the active alteration of their calls during choruses. We suggest that a similar form of accomodation takes place in animals from a wide range of other taxa and that the process serves to maintain and strengthen social bonds between individuals.

Wordform-specific frequency effects cause acoustic variation in zero-inflected homophones

2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 711-739
Author(s):  
Eva Maria Luef ◽  
Jong-Seung Sun
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Access ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Relative Frequency ◽  
Frequency Effects ◽  
Reduction Processes ◽  
Specific Frequency ◽  
Phonetic Reduction ◽  
Acoustic Variation

Abstract The frequency with which a word appears in the lexicon has implications for its pronunciation. Numerous studies have shown that high-frequency lemma are characterized by more phonetic reduction than lower-frequency lemma. These findings have proven to be particularly useful in the study of homophones where frequency-related reduction processes can give insights into lexical access theories. The majority of research on homophones and frequency effects has focused on heterographic and semantically unrelated homophones (e.g., English time – thyme) or investigated zero-derived homophones (e.g., English the cut, noun – to cut, verb). Here, zero inflection in German pluralization (e.g., ein Würfel ‘one die’– zwei Würfel ‘two dice’) was investigated to determine if and how frequency effects impact on the acoustic realization of the homophonous singular-plural word pairs. The findings indicate that the number-specified wordforms show acoustic variation related to wordform frequency and the relative frequency of the singular to plural inflected forms. Results differ for durations of wordforms, stem vowels, and final phonemes. Our findings have implications for lexical access theories and can inform about ‘frequency inheritance’ across the singular and plural homophones of the zero-inflected plurals.

A desert songbird with no confamilials in the Western Hemisphere (Verdin, Auriparus flaviceps) investigates divergent conspecific songs

The Auk ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma I Greig ◽  
Eva Kinnebrew ◽  
Max L Witynski ◽  
Eric C Larsen
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Geographic Variation ◽  
Playback Experiment ◽  
Western Hemisphere ◽  
Monotypic Genus ◽  
Vocal Responses ◽  
Song Variation ◽  
Desert Regions ◽  
Close Relatives

Abstract Most birds that show geographic variation in their songs discriminate between local and foreign songs, which may help them avoid unnecessary conflicts with vagrant individuals or similar-sounding congeners. However, some species respond equally to foreign and local songs, which may be useful if foreign individuals present territorial threats or if there are no sympatric congeners to avoid. Species without sympatric congeners are not commonly tested in playback studies, but they offer an opportunity to see how song variation and recognition unfolds when the pressure to avoid similar congeners is absent. Here, we use Verdins (Auriparus flaviceps), a monotypic genus of songbird with no confamilials in North America, to explore song variation and recognition in a species living without close relatives. We assessed geographic variation in song across the Verdin range and conducted a playback experiment using exemplars from 2 acoustically divergent and geographically distant regions as treatments. We found significant geographic variation in song that mapped well onto ecologically distinct desert regions. We found that Verdins had stronger vocal responses to local-sounding songs, but had equal movement responses to local-sounding and foreign songs. These results are similar to results found in other species without sympatric congeners and provide an example of a species that investigates acoustically divergent conspecific songs, despite recognizing salient differences in those songs.

Acoustic Variation and Lexical Acquisition

2001 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 563-590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Barcroft
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Acquisition ◽  
Acoustic Variation

Mechanisms and constraints underlying acoustic variation in rodents

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcela Fernández-Vargas ◽  
Tobias Riede ◽  
Bret Pasch
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Variation

scholarly journals Discrimination of natural acoustic variation in vocal signals

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam R. Fishbein ◽  
Nora H. Prior ◽  
Jane A. Brown ◽  
Gregory F. Ball ◽  
Robert J. Dooling
Keyword(s):  
Zebra Finch ◽  
Acoustic Communication ◽  
Communication Systems ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Speech Sounds ◽  
Vocal Signals ◽  
Acoustic Variation ◽  
Zebra Finch Song ◽  
Human Listener

AbstractStudies of acoustic communication often focus on the categories and units of vocalizations, but subtle variation also occurs in how these signals are uttered. In human speech, it is not only phonemes and words that carry information but also the timbre, intonation, and stress of how speech sounds are delivered (often referred to as “paralinguistic content”). In non-human animals, variation across utterances of vocal signals also carries behaviorally relevant information across taxa. However, the discriminability of these cues has been rarely tested in a psychophysical paradigm. Here, we focus on acoustic communication in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), a songbird species in which the male produces a single stereotyped motif repeatedly in song bouts. These motif renditions, like the song repetitions of many birds, sound very similar to the casual human listener. In this study, we show that zebra finches can easily discriminate between the renditions, even at the level of single song syllables, much as humans can discriminate renditions of speech sounds. These results support the notion that sensitivity to fine acoustic details may be a primary channel of information in zebra finch song, as well as a shared, foundational property of vocal communication systems across species.

scholarly journals The effects of unrelated offspring whistle calls on capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris)

2014 ◽  
Vol 74 (3 suppl 1) ◽  
pp. S171-S176
Author(s):  
E Dos Santos ◽  
RS Tokumaru ◽  
SLG Nogueira Filho ◽  
SSC Nogueira
Keyword(s):  
Sound Source ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Bird Song ◽  
Playback Experiment ◽  
Parental Responsiveness ◽  
Hydrochoerus Hydrochaeris ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Gender Influences

Parent-offspring vocal communication, such as the isolation call, is one of the essential adaptations in mammals that adjust parental responsiveness. Thus, our aim was to test the hypothesis that the function of the capybara infants' whistle is to attract conspecifics. We designed a playback experiment to investigate the reaction of 20 adult capybaras (seven males and 13 females) to pups' whistle calls – recorded from unrelated offspring – or to bird song, as control. The adult capybaras promptly responded to playback of unrelated pup whistles, while ignoring the bird vocalisation. The adult capybaras took, on average, 2.6 ± 2.5 seconds (s) to show a response to the whistles, with no differences between males and females. However, females look longer (17.0 ± 12.9 s) than males (3.0 ± 7.2 s) toward the sound source when playing the pups' whistle playback. The females also tended to approach the playback source, while males showed just a momentary interruption of ongoing behaviour (feeding). Our results suggest that capybara pups' whistles function as the isolation call in this species, but gender influences the intensity of the response.

scholarly journals Central Contributions to Acoustic Variation in Birdsong

2008 ◽  
Vol 28 (41) ◽  
pp. 10370-10379 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Sober ◽  
M. J. Wohlgemuth ◽  
M. S. Brainard
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Variation

scholarly journals Do chimpanzee pant hoots have semantic content?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petar Gabrić
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Animal Cognition ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Semantic Content ◽  
Field Station ◽  
Pant Hoot ◽  
Important Addition ◽  
Semantic Compositionality ◽  
Budongo Forest ◽  
Existing Data

I read with great interest the exciting study by Leroux et al. [(2021) Anim Behav 179, 49–50] who investigated the nature of pant-hoot–food-call combinations in a community of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) at the Budongo Conservation Field Station, Budongo Forest, Uganda. The authors propose, among others, that they reveal the first evidence that wild chimpanzees are able “to combine meaning-bearing units into larger structures” (i.e., that they are capable of semantic compositionality and, by extension, syntax). Their analysis represents an important addition to a growing body of research and discussions on communicational combinatoriality in wild primates and specifically apes, and, by extension, extinct hominins. Incidentally, I have recently published a paper in Animal Cognition in which I also suggested, based on a reanalysis of existing data, that wild chimpanzees can display semantic compositionality and syntax in their communication [Gabrić (2021) Anim Cogn, online ahead of print]. In the present commentary, I argue that Leroux et al.’s (2021) interpretation of the data may be ungrounded given that (1) unlike for food calls, there is currently very little if any indication in the scientific literature that pant-hoots have semantic content (i.e., are meaningful) and given that (2) Leroux et al. (2021) did not investigate their a priori assumption that the observed pant-hoots are in fact semantic. Since pant-hoots feature prominently in the chimpanzee vocal repertoire and the debate on their eventual semanticity is still wide open, this represents a fine opportunity to revisit this issue in the context of Leroux et al.’s (2021) study. Their paper further raises several other less significant questions.

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