scholarly journals Effect of pitch range on dogs’ response to conspecific vs. heterospecific distress cries

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly Root-Gutteridge ◽  
Victoria F. Ratcliffe ◽  
Justine Neumann ◽  
Lucia Timarchi ◽  
Chloe Yeung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Dogs ◽  
Human Infant ◽  
Frequency Range ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Pitch Range ◽  
Emotional Cues ◽  
Natural Range ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Responses To Distress

AbstractDistress cries are emitted by many mammal species to elicit caregiving attention. Across taxa, these calls tend to share similar acoustic structures, but not necessarily frequency range, raising the question of their interspecific communicative potential. As domestic dogs are highly responsive to human emotional cues and experience stress when hearing human cries, we explore whether their responses to distress cries from human infants and puppies depend upon sharing conspecific frequency range or species-specific call characteristics. We recorded adult dogs’ responses to distress cries from puppies and human babies, emitted from a loudspeaker in a basket. The frequency of the cries was presented in both their natural range and also shifted to match the other species. Crucially, regardless of species origin, calls falling into the dog call-frequency range elicited more attention. Thus, domestic dogs’ responses depended strongly on the frequency range. Females responded both faster and more strongly than males, potentially reflecting asymmetries in parental care investment. Our results suggest that, despite domestication leading to an increased overall responsiveness to human cues, dogs still respond considerably less to calls in the natural human infant range than puppy range. Dogs appear to use a fast but inaccurate decision-making process to determine their response to distress-like vocalisations.

Alerting and Message Components in Songs of Rufous-Sided Towhees

Behaviour ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 76 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 223-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas G. Richards
Keyword(s):  
Signal Detection Theory ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Species Recognition ◽  
Defense Responses ◽  
Time Of Arrival ◽  
Sufficient Information ◽  
Passerine Birds ◽  
Frequency Range ◽  
Narrow Frequency Range ◽  
Species Specific

AbstractIn numerous species of passerine birds the initial few notes of the song have a narrow frequency range and wide temporal spacing when compared with the rest of the song. This structure is well adapted for high detectability when the song is acoustically degraded during passage through the environment. The song of the rufous-sided towhee (Pipilo eythrophtalmus) consists of relatively tonal introductory syllables followed by a complex rapid trill. The trill is capable of carrying more information than the introduction, but is inherently less detectable at a distance owing to degradation by reverberation, amplitude fluctuation, and frequency-dependent attenuation. Signal detection theory predicts that the detectability of the trill will be increased when it is preceded by the introductory syllables, owing to the removal of uncertainty concerning the time of arrival of the signal. This is alerted detection. I performed field experiments using playback of recorded song to towhees to test the hypothesis that these introductory syllables facilitate detection of conspecific song at a distance. Tape recordings of normal and artificially degraded full songs, introduction, and trills were played to territorial male towhees. Normal songs, degraded songs, and normal trills elicited strong territorial defense responses, indicating recognition as adequate species-specific song, and confirming that sufficient information is contained in the trill for species recognition. Degraded trills alone elicited little response. Both normal and degraded introductions also elicited little response, demonstrating that the increased response to a degraded full song over that to a degraded trill is not due to any species-specific characteristics of the introduction, but rather to its function as an alerting stimulus.

Response of wildlife to forest herbicide applications in northern coniferous ecosystems

1993 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. 2286-2299 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.A. Lautenschlager
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammal ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Sampling Techniques ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Disturbed Areas ◽  
Herbicide Treatments ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Small Mammal Species ◽  
Coniferous Ecosystems

Reviewed studies of the effects of forest herbicide applications on wildlife often lacked replication, pretreatment information, and (or) were conducted for only one or two growing seasons after treatment. Because of these problems, as well as the use of dissimilar sampling techniques, study conclusions have sometimes been contradictory. A review of eight studies of the effects of herbicide treatments on northern songbird populations in regenerating clearcuts indicates that total songbird populations are seldom reduced during the growing season after treatment. Densities of species that use early successional brushy, deciduous cover are sometimes reduced, while densities of species which commonly use more open areas, sometimes increase. A review of 14 studies of the effects of herbicide treatments on small mammals indicates that like songbirds, small mammal responses are species specific. Some species are unaffected, while some select and others avoid herbicide-treated areas. Only studies that use kill or removal trapping to study small mammal responses show density reductions associated with herbicide treatment. It seems that some small mammal species may be reluctant to venture into disturbed areas, although residents in those areas are apparently not affected by the disturbance. Fourteen relevant studies examined the effects of conifer release treatments on moose and deer foods and habitat use. Conifer release treatments reduce the availability of moose browse for as long as four growing seasons after treatment. The degree of reduction during the growing season after treatment varies with the herbicide and rate used. Deer use of treated areas remains unchanged or increases during the first growing season after treatment. Eight years after treating a naturally regenerated spruce–fir stand browse was three to seven times more abundant on treated than on control plots (depending on the chemical and rate used). Forage quality (nitrogen, ash, and moisture) of crop trees increased one growing season after the soil-active herbicide simazine was applied to control competition around outplanted 3-year-old balsam fir seedlings.

scholarly journals Risk Factors for Development of Canine and Human Osteosarcoma: A Comparative Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly M. Makielski ◽  
Lauren J. Mills ◽  
Aaron L. Sarver ◽  
Michael S. Henson ◽  
Logan G. Spector ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Bone Cancer ◽  
Domestic Dogs ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Important Species ◽  
Human Osteosarcoma ◽  
Comparative Review ◽  
Cellular Replication ◽  
Species Specific

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary tumor of bone. Osteosarcomas are rare in humans, but occur more commonly in dogs. A comparative approach to studying osteosarcoma has highlighted many clinical and biologic aspects of the disease that are similar between dogs and humans; however, important species-specific differences are becoming increasingly recognized. In this review, we describe risk factors for the development of osteosarcoma in dogs and humans, including height and body size, genetics, and conditions that increase turnover of bone-forming cells, underscoring the concept that stochastic mutational events associated with cellular replication are likely to be the major molecular drivers of this disease. We also discuss adaptive, cancer-protective traits that have evolved in large, long-lived mammals, and how increasing size and longevity in the absence of natural selection can account for the elevated bone cancer risk in modern domestic dogs.

scholarly journals Identifing priority ecoregions for rodent conservation at the genus level

Oryx ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Amori ◽  
Spartaco Gippoliti
Keyword(s):  
The Philippines ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Horn Of Africa ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Genus Level ◽  
Eastern Brazil ◽  
Western Sahel ◽  
High Species Richness ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
First Time

AbstractRodents account for 40 per cent of living mammal species. Nevertheless, despite an increased interest in biodiversity conservation and their high species richness, Rodentia are often neglected by conservationists. We attempt for the first time a world-wide evaluation of rodent conservation priorities at the genus level. Given the low popularity of the order, we considered it desirable to discuss identified priorities within the framework of established biodiversity priority areas of the world. Two families and 62 genera are recognized as threatened. Our analyses highlight the Philippines, New Guinea, Sulawesi, the Caribbean, China temperate forests and the Atlantic Forest of south-eastern Brazil as the most important (for their high number of genera) ‘threat-spots’ for rodent conservation. A few regions, mainly drylands, are singled out as important areas for rodent conservation but are not generally recognized in global biodiversity assessments. These are the remaining forests of Togo, extreme ‘western Sahel’, the Turanian and Mongolian-Manchurian steppes and the desert of the Horn of Africa. Resources for conservation must be allocated first to recognized threat spots and to those restricted-range genera which may depend on species-specific strategies for their survival.

Methodologic Issues in the Measurement of Oxytocin in Human Neonates

1998 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemary White-Traut ◽  
Jean Powlesland ◽  
Deborah Gelhar ◽  
Robert Chatterton ◽  
Mariana Morris
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Behavior ◽  
Reliable Method ◽  
Human Infant ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Human Newborn ◽  
Tactile Contact ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Baseline Levels ◽  
Human Neonates

Oxytocin’s (OT) role in the onset and maintenance of labor and in the letdown reflex is well known. OT also has been recognized as a neurotransmitter having functions in the central nervous system, including an influence on behavior (e.g., initiation of maternal behavior). This research was conducted to (1) evaluate whether human tactile contact in the human newborn would increase urine OT levels and alter infant behavioral state, and (2) determine the reliability of measuring OT in human infant urine. Although the data did not support the hypotheses, it was noted that OT levels, significantly decreased in infants who cried during the study period and that there was no correlation between infant’s chronologic age and OT levels. The findings illustrate several methodologic and measurement problems in the study of OT in human infants and that urine sampling in the neonate is not the most reliable method to evaluate change in OT levels. Some general issues concerning research with human infants also are discussed. Further research is recommended to document baseline levels of OT in neonates and to explore the use of salivary OT to measure short-term responses to interventions.

scholarly journals Millennial-scale faunal record reveals differential resilience of European large mammals to human impacts across the Holocene

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1827) ◽  
pp. 20152152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer J. Crees ◽  
Chris Carbone ◽  
Robert S. Sommer ◽  
Norbert Benecke ◽  
Samuel T. Turvey
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Range Change ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Patterns And Processes ◽  
Species Specific

The use of short-term indicators for understanding patterns and processes of biodiversity loss can mask longer-term faunal responses to human pressures. We use an extensive database of approximately 18 700 mammalian zooarchaeological records for the last 11 700 years across Europe to reconstruct spatio-temporal dynamics of Holocene range change for 15 large-bodied mammal species. European mammals experienced protracted, non-congruent range losses, with significant declines starting in some species approximately 3000 years ago and continuing to the present, and with the timing, duration and magnitude of declines varying individually between species. Some European mammals became globally extinct during the Holocene, whereas others experienced limited or no significant range change. These findings demonstrate the relatively early onset of prehistoric human impacts on postglacial biodiversity, and mirror species-specific patterns of mammalian extinction during the Late Pleistocene. Herbivores experienced significantly greater declines than carnivores, revealing an important historical extinction filter that informs our understanding of relative resilience and vulnerability to human pressures for different taxa. We highlight the importance of large-scale, long-term datasets for understanding complex protracted extinction processes, although the dynamic pattern of progressive faunal depletion of European mammal assemblages across the Holocene challenges easy identification of ‘static’ past baselines to inform current-day environmental management and restoration.

Coordination of Auditory and Visual Space in Newborn Human Infants

Perception ◽  
1976 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Butterworth ◽  
Marcela Castillo
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Visual Space ◽  
Human Infant ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Visual Motor

Two experiments are reported which demonstrate that the newborn human infant can make eye movements which are spatially coordinated with the locus of a sound. The results suggest that there may be an innate coordination of auditory and visual—motor space.

Domestic Dogs and Human Infants Look More at Happy and Angry Faces Than Sad Faces

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 749-771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Hooi Yong ◽  
Ted Ruffman
Keyword(s):  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Domestic Dogs ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
Emotional Expressions ◽  
Emotional Stimuli ◽  
Emotional Facial Expressions ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Emotional Faces ◽  
Human Voice ◽  
Same Gender

Dogs respond to human emotional expressions. However, it is unknown whether dogs can match emotional faces to voices in an intermodal matching task or whether they show preferences for looking at certain emotional facial expressions over others, similar to human infants. We presented 52 domestic dogs and 24 seven-month-old human infants with two different human emotional facial expressions of the same gender simultaneously, while listening to a human voice expressing an emotion that matched one of them. Consistent with most matching studies, neither dogs nor infants looked longer at the matching emotional stimuli, yet dogs and humans demonstrated an identical pattern of looking less at sad faces when paired with happy or angry faces (irrespective of the vocal stimulus), with no preference for happyversusangry faces. Discussion focuses on why dogs and infants might have an aversion to sad faces, or alternatively, heightened interest in angry and happy faces.

scholarly journals Experience-dependent overrepresentation of ultrasonic vocalization frequencies in the rat primary auditory cortex

2013 ◽  
Vol 110 (5) ◽  
pp. 1087-1096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heesoo Kim ◽  
Shaowen Bao
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Wide Band ◽  
Ultrasonic Vocalization ◽  
Ultrasonic Vocalizations ◽  
Central Nucleus ◽  
Frequency Range ◽  
Species Specific

Cortical sensory representation is highly adaptive to the environment, and prevalent or behaviorally important stimuli are often overrepresented. One class of such stimuli is species-specific vocalizations. Rats vocalize in the ultrasonic range >30 kHz, but cortical representation of this frequency range has not been systematically examined. We recorded in vivo cortical electrophysiological responses to ultrasonic pure-tone pips, natural ultrasonic vocalizations, and pitch-shifted vocalizations to assess how rats represent this ethologically relevant frequency range. We find that nearly 40% of the primary auditory cortex (AI) represents an octave-wide band of ultrasonic vocalization frequencies (UVFs; 32–64 kHz) compared with <20% for other octave bands <32 kHz. These UVF neurons respond preferentially and reliably to ultrasonic vocalizations. The UVF overrepresentation matures in the cortex before it develops in the central nucleus of inferior colliculus, suggesting a cortical origin and corticofugal influences. Furthermore, the development of cortical UVF overrepresentation depends on early acoustic experience. These results indicate that natural sensory experience causes large-scale cortical map reorganization and improves representations of species-specific vocalizations.

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