scholarly journals Booming far: the long-range vocal strategy of a lekking bird

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (8) ◽  
pp. 170594 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Cornec ◽  
Y. Hingrat ◽  
T. Aubin ◽  
F. Rybak

The pressures of selection acting on transmission of information by acoustic signals are particularly high in long-distance communication networks. Males of the North African houbara bustard ( Chlamydotis undulata undulata ) produce extremely low-frequency vocalizations called ‘booms’ as a component of their courtship displays. These displays are performed on sites separated by a distance of on average 550 m, constituting exploded leks. Here, we investigate the acoustic features of booms involved in species-specific identity. We first assessed the modifications of acoustic parameters during boom transmission at long range within the natural habitat of the species, finding that the frequency content of booms was reliably transmitted up to 600 m. Additionally, by testing males' behavioural responses to playbacks of modified signals, we found that the presence of the second harmonic and the frequency modulation are the key parameters for species identification, and also that a sequence of booms elicited stronger responses than a single boom. Thus, the coding–decoding process relies on redundant and propagation-resistant features, making the booms particularly well adapted for the long-range transmission of information between males. Moreover, by experimentally disentangling the presentation of visual and acoustic signals, we showed that during the booming phase of courtship, the two sensory modalities act in synergy. The acoustic component is dominant in the context of intra-sexual competition. While the visual component is not necessary to induce agonistic response, it acts as an amplifier and reduces the time of detection of the signaller. The utilization of these adaptive strategies allows houbara males to maximize the active space of vocalizations emitted in exploded leks.

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Pablo Amaya ◽  
Juan I. Areta ◽  
Veronica S. Valentinuzzi ◽  
Emmanuel Zufiaurre

The underground environment poses particular communication challenges for subterranean rodents. Some loud and low-pitched acoustic signals that can travel long distances are appropriate for long-range underground communication and have been suggested to be territorial signals. Long-range vocalizations (LRVs) are important in long-distance communication inCtenomystuco-tucos. We characterized the LRV of the Anillaco Tuco-Tuco (Ctenomyssp.) using recordings from free-living individuals and described the behavioral context in which this vocalization was produced during laboratory staged encounters between individuals of both sexes. Long-range calls of Anillaco tuco-tucos are low-frequency, broad-band, loud, and long sounds composed by the repetition of two syllable types: series (formed by notes and soft-notes) and individual notes. All vocalizations were initiated with series, but not all had individual notes. Males were heavier than females and gave significantly lower-pitched vocalizations, but acoustic features were independent of body mass in males. The pronounced variation among individuals in the arrangement and number of syllables and the existence of three types of series (dyads, triads, and tetrads), created a diverse collection of syntactic patterns in vocalizations that would provide the opportunity to encode multiple types of information. The existence of complex syntactic patterns and the description of soft-notes represent new aspects of the vocal communication ofCtenomys. Long-distance vocalizations by Anillaco Tuco-Tucos appear to be territorial signals used mostly in male-male interactions. First, emission of LRVs resulted in de-escalation or space-keeping in male-male and male-female encounters in laboratory experiments. Second, these vocalizations were produced most frequently (in the field and in the lab) by males in our study population. Third, males produced LRVs with greater frequency during male-male encounters compared to male-female encounters. Finally, males appear to have larger home ranges that were more spatially segregated than those of females, suggesting that males may have greater need for long-distance signals that advertise their presence. Due to their apparent rarity, the function and acoustic features of LRV in female tuco-tucos remain inadequately known.


PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4334
Author(s):  
Juan Pablo Amaya ◽  
Juan Ignacio Areta

Tuco-tucos (Ctenomys spp.) are subterranean rodents that produce territorial, high intensity long-range vocalizations (LRVs) of broadband and low frequency that are essential for long-distance communication between individuals in different tunnel systems. Despite their importance, the development of LRVs remains poorly understood. In adult Anillaco Tuco-Tucos (Ctenomys sp.) the LRV is composed by two types of syllables (series and individual notes) that are repeated a variable number of times. We studied the development of the LRVs in eight juveniles of the Anillaco Tuco-Tuco ranging from 14–28 to 104–118 days after birth. We (1) tested whether the syllables followed any of three alternative developmental modes (retention of juvenile vocalizations, modification of juvenile precursors or de novo appearance in adults), (2) evaluated the development of structural and acoustic features of syllables, and (3) tested the prediction that juveniles should produce a greater proportion of atypical series in precursors of the LRV than adults, due to lack maturation and/or precise coupling of neuromuscular and anatomical structures. The LRV of the Anillaco Tuco-Tuco exhibited a mixed developmental mode: while series developed from juvenile precursors whose acoustic features gradually approached those of adults, individual notes appeared later in the ontogeny and de novo with acoustic features indistinguishable from those of adults. The number of series per vocalization increased through development and varied from one to 25 in juvenile males and from one to six in juvenile females. The structure of the most common series type (triad) did not exhibit ontogenetic changes and was present as such at the onset of the emission of vocalizations. On the contrary, acoustic features of juvenile triad notes changed with age in both sexes (duration 90% increased through development, while bandwidth 90% and peak frequency decreased). Furthermore, juveniles emitted a higher proportion of atypical series than adults (7.4% vs. 0.3%), as expected in the development of any complex behavior that requires practice to be mastered. The maturation of the LRV occurred well before the sexual maturation, presumably due to the protracted time needed to acquire or build a burrow system long before mating is possible. We propose that protracted vocal development is another component in the slow developmental strategy of Ctenomys and subterranean rodents in general.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Pablo Amaya ◽  
Juan Ignacio Areta

Adult vocalizations can develop following three alternative modes; by retention of juvenile vocalizations, through the modification of juvenile precursors or by a de novo appearance in adults. Vocalizations that develop from juvenile precursors may develop following two pathways; vocal learning (implying the ability of juveniles to modify their vocalizations based on an external auditory input) and/or vocal tract maturation (involving the improvement of the capacity of juveniles to generate progressively more adult-like vocalizations by the tuning of an innate motor program). The emission of adult vocalizations requires the synchronization of neuromuscular and anatomical structures, and the lack of maturation and/or precise coupling between them would lead to the production of abnormal vocalizations. Tuco-tucos (Ctenomys spp.) are subterranean rodents that produce territorial, high intensity long-range vocalizations (LRVs) of, broadband and low frequency that are essential for long-distance communication between individuals in different tunnel systems. Despite their importance, the developmental modes, pathways and developmental sequences of LRVs remain poorly understood. In adult Anillaco Tuco-Tucos (Ctenomys sp.) the LRV is composed by two types of syllables (series and individual notes) that are repeated a variable number of times. We studied the development of the LRV in 8 juveniles of the Anillaco Tuco-Tuco ranging from 14 to 108 days after birth. The LRV exhibited a mixed developmental mode: while series developed from juvenile precursors whose acoustic features gradually approached those of adults, individual notes appeared later in the ontogeny and de novo, with acoustic features undistinguishable from those of adults. Vocalizations became progressively longer, but the series types shown by adults were evident in juveniles at an early age. All three acoustic features of series (triad) notes studied correlated with age in both sexes (duration 90% increased through development, while bandwidth 90% and peak frequency decreased). LRV developed normally in juveniles acoustically isolated from adults, supporting the vocal tract maturation hypothesis and possibly rejecting the vocal learning hypothesis. Juveniles emmitted a higher proportion (7.4%) of abnormal vocalizations than adults (0.3%), as expected in the development of any complex behavior that requires practice to be mastered. The maturation of the LRV occurred well before the sexual maturation, presumably due to the protracted time needed to acquire or build a burrow system long before mating is possible. We propose that protracted vocal development is another component in the slow developmental strategy of Ctenomys and subterranean rodents in general.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Pablo Amaya ◽  
Juan Ignacio Areta

Adult vocalizations can develop following three alternative modes; by retention of juvenile vocalizations, through the modification of juvenile precursors or by a de novo appearance in adults. Vocalizations that develop from juvenile precursors may develop following two pathways; vocal learning (implying the ability of juveniles to modify their vocalizations based on an external auditory input) and/or vocal tract maturation (involving the improvement of the capacity of juveniles to generate progressively more adult-like vocalizations by the tuning of an innate motor program). The emission of adult vocalizations requires the synchronization of neuromuscular and anatomical structures, and the lack of maturation and/or precise coupling between them would lead to the production of abnormal vocalizations. Tuco-tucos (Ctenomys spp.) are subterranean rodents that produce territorial, high intensity long-range vocalizations (LRVs) of, broadband and low frequency that are essential for long-distance communication between individuals in different tunnel systems. Despite their importance, the developmental modes, pathways and developmental sequences of LRVs remain poorly understood. In adult Anillaco Tuco-Tucos (Ctenomys sp.) the LRV is composed by two types of syllables (series and individual notes) that are repeated a variable number of times. We studied the development of the LRV in 8 juveniles of the Anillaco Tuco-Tuco ranging from 14 to 108 days after birth. The LRV exhibited a mixed developmental mode: while series developed from juvenile precursors whose acoustic features gradually approached those of adults, individual notes appeared later in the ontogeny and de novo, with acoustic features undistinguishable from those of adults. Vocalizations became progressively longer, but the series types shown by adults were evident in juveniles at an early age. All three acoustic features of series (triad) notes studied correlated with age in both sexes (duration 90% increased through development, while bandwidth 90% and peak frequency decreased). LRV developed normally in juveniles acoustically isolated from adults, supporting the vocal tract maturation hypothesis and possibly rejecting the vocal learning hypothesis. Juveniles emmitted a higher proportion (7.4%) of abnormal vocalizations than adults (0.3%), as expected in the development of any complex behavior that requires practice to be mastered. The maturation of the LRV occurred well before the sexual maturation, presumably due to the protracted time needed to acquire or build a burrow system long before mating is possible. We propose that protracted vocal development is another component in the slow developmental strategy of Ctenomys and subterranean rodents in general.


Author(s):  
Daniel R. Headrick

Paul revere, the american revolutionary, remembered his midnight ride of April 18, 1775, in these words: “I agreed with a Colonel Conant and some other gentlemen, that if the British went out by water, we should shew two lanthornes in the North Church steeple, and if by land, one, as a signal, for we were apprehensive it would be difficult to cross the Charles River, or git over Boston neck.” Eighteen years later, on July 12, 1793, Claude Chappe presented his semaphore telegraph to the Committee of Public Instruction of the French National Convention. At Saint-Fargeau, near Paris, Deputy Pierre Daunou sent a message to Deputy Joseph Lakanal at Saint-Martin-du-Tertre, thirty-five kilometers away: “Daunou has arrived here. He announces that the National Convention has just authorized its committee of general security to affix the seals to the papers of the representatives of the people.” Nine minutes later, Lakanal replied: “The inhabitants of this beautiful country are worthy of liberty because of their love for it and their respect for the National Convention and its laws.” Between these two dates there occurred a revolution in communication. Revere used a simple, prearranged, onetime signal containing only three potential messages: “by land,” “by sea,” or “no news.” Chappe could communicate any message, in either direction, faster than a galloping horse. This was only one of several great changes in communication that occurred in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries under the pressure of revolution and war. Humans are gifted, both naturally and culturally, at communicating face-to-face. Long-distance communications, however, require elaborate systems to convey information to its destination in a timely manner. Over­coming distances is but one of the functions of communication systems. We must also draw a distinction between the transmission of information from one person to another, for example, by speech, letter, telephone, telegram, or e-mail, and the dissemination of information from one point to many, by such means as newspapers, books, pamphlets, flyers, and posters, or by radio and television broadcasts and the World Wide Web.


Author(s):  
Dries Tys

The origin, rise, and dynamics of coastal trade and landing places in the North Sea area between the sixth and eighth centuries must be understood in relation to how coastal regions and seascapes acted as arenas of contact, dialogue, and transition. Although the free coastal societies of the early medieval period were involved in regional to interregional or long-distance trade networks, their economic agency must be understood from a bottom-up perspective. That is, their reproduction strategies must be studied in their own right, independent from any teleological construction about the development of trade, markets, or towns for that matter. This means that the early medieval coastal networks of exchange were much more complex and diverse than advocated by the simple emporium network model, which connected the major archaeological sites along the North Sea coast. Instead, coastal and riverine dwellers often possessed some form of free status and large degrees of autonomy, in part due to the specific environmental conditions of the landscapes in which they dwelled. The wide estuarine region of the Low Countries, between coastal Flanders in the south and Friesland in the north, a region with vast hinterlands and a central position in northwestern Europe, makes these developments particularly clear. This chapter thus pushes back against longstanding assumptions in scholarly research, which include overemphasis of the influence of large landowners over peasant economies, and on the prioritization of easily retrievable luxuries over less visible indicators of bulk trade (such as wood, wool, and more), gift exchange, and market trade. The approach used here demonstrates that well-known emporia or larger ports of trade were embedded in the economic activities and networks of their respective hinterlands. Early medieval coastal societies and their dynamics are thus better understood from the perspective of integrated governance and economy (“new institutional economics”) in a regional setting.


2002 ◽  
Vol 199 ◽  
pp. 25-31
Author(s):  
N. Udaya Shankar

The Mauritius Radio Telescope (MRT) is a Fourier synthesis instrument which has been built to fill the gap in the availability of deep sky surveys at low radio frequencies in the southern hemisphere. It is situated in the north-east of Mauritius at a southern latitude of 20°.14 and an eastern longitude of 57°.73. The aim of the survey with the MRT is to contribute to the database of southern sky sources in the declination range −70° ≤ δ ≤ −10°, covering the entire 24 hours of right ascension, with a resolution of 4' × 4'.6sec(δ + 20.14°) and a point source sensitivity of 200 mJy (3σ level) at 151.5 MHz.MRT is a T-shaped non-coplanar array consisting of a 2048 m long East-West arm and a 880 m long South arm. In the East-West arm 1024 fixed helices are arranged in 32 groups and in the South arm 16 trolleys, with four helices on each, which move on a rail are used. A 512 channel, 2-bit 3-level complex correlation receiver is used to measure the visibility function. At least 60 days of observing are required for obtaining the visibilities up to the 880 m spacing. The calibrated visibilities are transformed taking care of the non-coplanarity of the array to produce an image of the area of the sky under observation.This paper will describe the telescope, the observations carried out so far, a few interesting aspects of imaging with this non-coplanar array and present results of a low resolution survey (13' × 18') covering roughly 12 hours of right ascension, and also present an image with a resolution of 4' × 4'.6sec(δ + 20.14°) made using the telescope.


Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 940
Author(s):  
Nicoleta Cristina Gaitan

Recent market studies show that the market for remote monitoring devices of different medical parameters will grow exponentially. Globally, more than 4 million individuals will be monitored remotely from the perspective of different health parameters by 2023. Of particular importance is the way of remote transmission of the information acquired from the medical sensors. At this time, there are several methods such as Bluetooth, WI-FI, or other wireless communication interfaces. Recently, the communication based on LoRa (Long Range) technology has had an explosive development that allows the transmission of information over long distances with low energy consumption. The implementation of the IoT (Internet of Things) applications using LoRa devices based on open Long Range Wide-Area Network (LoRaWAN) protocol for long distances with low energy consumption can also be used in the medical field. Therefore, in this paper, we proposed and developed a long-distance communication architecture for medical devices based on the LoRaWAN protocol that allows data communications over a distance of more than 10 km.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1216
Author(s):  
Xin Wang ◽  
Bo Li ◽  
Fan Zhao ◽  
Xinyu Luo ◽  
Luxi Huang ◽  
...  

Due to the occlusion of the moon, an annular solar eclipse will have an effect on the ionosphere above the earth. The change of the ionosphere, for the low-frequency time-code signal that relies on it as a reflection medium for long-distance propagation, the signal field strength, and other parameters will also produce corresponding changes, which will affect the normal operation of the low-frequency time-code time service system. This paper selects the solar eclipse that occurred in China on 21 June 2020, and uses the existing measurement equipment to carry out experimental research on the low-frequency time-code signal. We measured and analyzed the signal field strength from 20 June 2020 to 23 June 2020, and combined solar activity data, ionospheric data, and geomagnetic data, and attempted to explore the reasons and rules of the change of signal parameters. The results showed that the field strength of the low-frequency time-code signal changed dramatically within a short time period, the max growth value can reach up to 17 dBμV/m and the variation trend yielded ‘three mutations’. This change in signal field strength is probably due to the occurrence of a solar eclipse that has an effect on the ionosphere. When the signal propagation conditions change, the signal strength will also change accordingly.


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