scholarly journals Complex vocal imitation during ontogeny in a bat

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirjam Knörnschild ◽  
Martina Nagy ◽  
Markus Metz ◽  
Frieder Mayer ◽  
Otto von Helversen
Keyword(s):  
Adult Males ◽  
Vocal Development ◽  
Animal Kingdom ◽  
Vocal Imitation ◽  
Key Innovation ◽  
Physical Maturation ◽  
Saccopteryx Bilineata ◽  
Evolution Of Speech ◽  
Auditory Experience ◽  
Territorial Song

Vocal imitation—the ability to learn a previously unknown acoustic signal from a tutor—is considered to be a key innovation in the evolution of speech. This faculty is very rare and patchily distributed within the animal kingdom, suggesting multiple instances of convergent evolution. It has long been predicted that bats should be capable of vocal imitation and our results provide evidence for this phenomenon. We report that pups of the bat Saccopteryx bilineata learn a complex vocalization through vocal imitation. During ontogeny, pups of both sexes imitate territorial song from adult males, starting with simple precursor songs that develop into genuine renditions. The resemblance of pup renditions to their acoustic model is not caused by physical maturation effects, is independent of pups' gender and relatedness towards adult males and becomes more pronounced during ontogeny, showing that auditory experience is essential for vocal development. Our findings indicate that the faculty of vocal imitation is more widespread than previously thought and emphasize the importance of research on audiovocal communication in bats for a better understanding of the evolutionary origin of vocal imitation.

scholarly journals Blocking neuroestrogen synthesis modifies neural representations of learned song without altering vocal imitation accuracy in developing songbirds

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel M. Vahaba ◽  
Amelia Hecsh ◽  
Luke Remage-Healey
Keyword(s):  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Song Learning ◽  
Auditory Memory ◽  
Vocal Imitation ◽  
Neural Representations ◽  
Estrogen Synthesis ◽  
Auditory Experience ◽  
Caudomedial Nidopallium

ABSTRACTBirdsong, like human speech, is learned early in life by first memorizing an auditory model. Once memorized, birds compare their own burgeoning vocalizations to their auditory memory, and adjust their song to match the model. While much is known about this latter part of vocal learning, less is known about how initial auditory experiences are formed and consolidated. In both adults and developing songbirds, there is strong evidence suggesting the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM), a higher order auditory forebrain area, is the site of auditory memory consolidation. However, the mechanisms that facilitate this consolidation are poorly understood. One likely mechanism is 17β-estradiol (E2), which is associated with speech-language development and disorders in humans, and is abundant in both mammalian temporal cortex and songbird NCM. Circulating E2 is also elevated during the auditory memory phase, and in NCM immediately after song learning sessions, suggesting it functions to encode recent auditory experience. Therefore, we tested a role for E2 production in auditory memory consolidation during development using a comprehensive set of investigations to ask this question at the level of neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and behavior. Our results demonstrate that while systemic estrogen synthesis blockade regulates juvenile song production, inhibiting E2 synthesis locally within NCM does not adversely affect song learning outcomes. Surprisingly, early life E2 manipulations in NCM modify the neural representations of birds’ own song and the model tutor song in both NCM and a downstream sensorimotor nucleus (HVC). Further, we show that the capacity to synthesize neuroestrogens remains high throughout development alongside substantial changes in NCM cell density across age. Taken together, these findings suggest that E2 plays a multifaceted role during development, and demonstrate that contrary to prediction, unilateral post-training estrogen synthesis blockade in the auditory cortex does not negatively impact vocal learning. Acute downregulation of neuroestrogens are therefore likely permissive for juvenile auditory memorization, while neuroestrogen synthesis influences communication production and representation in adulthood.

scholarly journals Fellatio among male sanctuary-living chimpanzees during a period of social tension

Behaviour ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 158 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-87
Author(s):  
Jake S. Brooker ◽  
Christine E. Webb ◽  
Zanna Clay
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Behaviour ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Great Apes ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Behavioural Flexibility ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Animal Kingdom ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Close Relatives ◽  
Conflict Period

Abstract Same-sex sexual behaviour has been documented across the animal kingdom, and is thought to reflect and enhance dyadic cooperation and tolerance. For instance, same-sex fellatio — the reception of a partner’s penis into another’s mouth — has been reported in several mammalian species other than humans. Although same-sex sexual behaviour is observed in our close relatives, the chimpanzees, fellatio appears to be very rare — as yet there are no published reports clearly documenting its occurrence. At Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage in Zambia, we observed an instance of fellatio occurring during a post-conflict period between two adult male chimpanzees (born and mother-reared at the sanctuary) where one of the males was the victim. We discuss this event with respect to the putative functions of homosexual behaviour in great apes. Given its rarity in chimpanzees, this fellatio between adult males also highlights the apparent behavioural flexibility present in our close relatives.

American Scientists on the structure of social life amongst Baboons

1964 ◽  
Vol 2 (01) ◽  
pp. 13-18
Author(s):  
David Agee Horr ◽  
Peter Warshall
Keyword(s):  
Adult Male ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Animal Kingdom

If one watches a troop of baboons closely, the major categories of individuals present can soon be distinguished. The largest animais are invariably the adult males and, in some areas (such as Nairobi Park), their size is exaggerated by a very heavy mantle of fur around the heads and shoulders. An adult male baboon has the distinction of possessing perhaps the largest canine teeth of his size in the animal kingdom. These have developed as a means of defence and are sufficiently impressive to keep most other animais at a distance.

Role of Infant Vocal Development in Candidacy for and Efficacy of Cochlear Implantation

2002 ◽  
Vol 111 (5_suppl) ◽  
pp. 52-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Allison Moore ◽  
Sandie Bass-Ringdahl
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Motor Development ◽  
Cochlear Implantation ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Sufficient Evidence ◽  
Vocal Development ◽  
Profound Hearing Loss ◽  
Auditory Experience ◽  
Canonical Babbling

Previous research has documented the importance of audition in the development of typical infant vocalization. Of particular interest is the development of canonical babbling, which is related to mastery of the timing elements of speech. Children with severe to profound hearing loss who use hearing aids have demonstrated both delayed and deviant canonical babbling. The vocal development of 12 children has been followed as they have been considered for cochlear implantation. Nine of these children have undergone implantation, and 5 of these children have been followed for more than 1 year after implantation. On average, canonical babbling emerged at 6.5 months after implantation. The time frame in which some children developed words was accelerated in terms of length of auditory experience as compared with normal-hearing peers. Mature oral-motor development is likely the primary contributing factor in this time course. One child who received a cochlear implant began to babble with hearing aids. It is not known whether normal canonical babbling is sufficient evidence on which to base candidacy decisions; however, our data suggest that children who produce canonical babbling maintain and build upon those skills after implantation.

Pre-speech diagnosis in hearing-impaired infants: How auditory experience affects early vocal development

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wafaa Shehata-Dieler ◽  
Desiree Ehrmann-Mueller ◽  
Peter Wermke ◽  
Verena Voit ◽  
Mario Cebulla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Vocal Development ◽  
Auditory Experience

scholarly journals Towards a new taxonomy of primate vocal production learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 375 (1789) ◽  
pp. 20190045 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Fischer ◽  
Kurt Hammerschmidt
Keyword(s):  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Auditory Comprehension ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Evolution Of Speech ◽  
Ontogenetic Trajectory ◽  
Auditory Experience ◽  
Species Specific

The extent to which vocal learning can be found in nonhuman primates is key to reconstructing the evolution of speech. Regarding the adjustment of vocal output in relation to auditory experience (vocal production learning in the narrow sense), effects on the ontogenetic trajectory of vocal development as well as adjustment to group-specific call features have been found. Yet, a comparison of the vocalizations of different primate genera revealed striking similarities in the structure of calls and repertoires in different species of the same genus, indicating that the structure of nonhuman primate vocalizations is highly conserved. Thus, modifications in relation to experience only appear to be possible within relatively tight species-specific constraints. By contrast, comprehension learning may be extremely rapid and open-ended. In conjunction, these findings corroborate the idea of an ancestral independence of vocal production and auditory comprehension learning. To overcome the futile debate about whether or not vocal production learning can be found in nonhuman primates, we suggest putting the focus on the different mechanisms that may mediate the adjustment of vocal output in response to experience; these mechanisms may include auditory facilitation and learning from success. This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’

scholarly journals Vocal learning in a social mammal: Demonstrated by isolation and playback experiments in bats

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. e1500019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yosef Prat ◽  
Mor Taub ◽  
Yossi Yovel
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Vocal Development ◽  
Playback Experiments ◽  
Animal Kingdom ◽  
Fruit Bat ◽  
Nonhuman Animals

The evolution of human language is shrouded in mystery as it is unparalleled in the animal kingdom. Whereas vocal learning is crucial for the development of speech in humans, it seems rare among nonhuman animals. Songbirds often serve as a model for vocal learning, but the lack of a mammalian model hinders our quest for the origin of this capability. We report the influence of both isolation and playback experiments on the vocal development of a mammal, the Egyptian fruit bat. We continuously recorded pups from birth to adulthood and found that, when raised in a colony, pups acquired the adult repertoire, whereas when acoustically isolated, they exhibited underdeveloped vocalizations. Isolated pups that heard bat recordings exhibited a repertoire that replicated the playbacks they were exposed to. These findings demonstrate vocal learning in a social mammal, and suggest bats as a model for language acquisition.

scholarly journals Vocal Development is Correlated with an Indicator of Hatching Date in Brown-Headed Cowbirds

The Condor ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 104 (4) ◽  
pp. 761-771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian L. O'Loghlen ◽  
Stephen I. Rothstein
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Molothrus Ater ◽  
New York State ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Hatching Date ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Vocal Development ◽  
Song Acquisition ◽  
Song Types ◽  
Song Repertoires

Abstract The timing and ecological circumstances under which individual songbirds acquire memorized copies of their species-typical songs can vary significantly within a population. Males that hatch later in the breeding season are likely to hear less conspecific song as juveniles than earlier-hatched individuals. In addition, late-hatched males will experience shorter days and decreasing photoperiods during their song acquisition phase, factors known to affect vocal development. We tested the prediction that yearling Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) that hatched earlier the previous season are more advanced in their development of repertoires of local songs than those hatched later. We recorded perched songs from 17 yearling and 20 adult males trapped at two adjacent sites in New York state and found that yearling perched song repertoires were smaller and contained few of the perched song types common to the repertoires of local adults (adult-shared types). As found in previous field studies of cowbirds, yearlings did not alter the content or size of their repertoires during the season. We used underwing juvenal-feather retention as a measure of relative hatching date in a subset of 15 yearlings and found that perched song repertoires of earlier-hatched yearlings contained more local adult-shared types than repertoires of younger, later-hatched birds. We also investigated flight whistles of males from one site and found that only 4 of 10 yearlings produced the flight whistle type typically given by local adults. Evidence linking flight whistle development and the plumage character we used as an indicator of hatching date was inconclusive. Correlación Entre el Desarrollo Vocal y un Indicador de Tiempo de Eclosión en Molothrus ater Resumen. El tiempo y las circunstancias ecológicas bajo las cuales las aves canoras adquieren copias memorizadas de los cantos típicos de su especie pueden variar entre poblaciones. Los machos juveniles que eclosionan tarde en la temporada tienen (1) menor probabilidad de escuchar cantos coespecíficos que los individuos que eclosionan antes y (2) experimentarán días más cortos y una disminución del fotoperiodo durante la fase de adquisición del canto, factores que afectan el desarrollo vocal. Probamos que juveniles de Molothrus ater que eclosionaron tempranamente durante la temporada anterior presentan un mayor avance en el desarrollo de repertorio de cantos locales que aquellos que eclosionaron más tarde. Registramos los cantos de percheo de 17 machos juveniles y de 20 machos adultos capturados en dos sitios adyacentes en el estado de Nueva York. Los repertorios de canto de juveniles fueron menores y contenían sólo unos pocos tipos de canto de percheo típicos de adultos locales (tipos compartidos entre adultos). Los juveniles no cambiaron el contenido ni el tamaño del repertorio durante la temporada. Utilizamos la retención de plumas juveniles bajo el ala como una medida relativa del tiempo de eclosión en un subconjunto de 15 juveniles. Los repertorios de canto de percheo de los juveniles que eclosionaron tempranamente contenían más tipos adultos que los de aves más jóvenes. En machos de uno de los sitios encontramos que sólo 4 de 10 juveniles produjeron el silbido al vuelo típicamente emitido por los adultos locales. La evidencia que conecta el desarrollo del silbido al vuelo y el indicador del plumaje que utilizamos como indicador del tiempo de eclosión no fue conclusiva.

scholarly journals High plasticity in marmoset monkey vocal development from infancy to adulthood

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (27) ◽  
pp. eabf2938
Author(s):  
Yasemin B. Gultekin ◽  
David G. C. Hildebrand ◽  
Kurt Hammerschmidt ◽  
Steffen R. Hage
Keyword(s):  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Vocal Behavior ◽  
First Year ◽  
High Plasticity ◽  
Vocal Development ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Development Stages ◽  
Marmoset Monkey ◽  
Physical Maturation

The vocal behavior of human infants undergoes marked changes across their first year while becoming increasingly speech-like. Conversely, vocal development in nonhuman primates has been assumed to be largely predetermined and completed within the first postnatal months. Contradicting this assumption, we found a dichotomy between the development of call features and vocal sequences in marmoset monkeys, suggestive of a role for experience. While changes in call features were related to physical maturation, sequences of and transitions between calls remained flexible until adulthood. As in humans, marmoset vocal behavior developed in stages correlated with motor and social development stages. These findings are evidence for a prolonged phase of plasticity during marmoset vocal development, a crucial primate evolutionary preadaptation for the emergence of vocal learning and speech.

Characterization of Tamm-Horsfall Urinary Glycoprotein

1973 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 420-421
Author(s):  
John P. Robinson ◽  
J. David Puett
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Circular Dichroism ◽  
Secondary Structure ◽  
Quaternary Structure ◽  
Normal Adult ◽  
Morphological Properties ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Circular Dichroïsm ◽  
Urinary Glycoprotein

Much work has been reported on the chemical, physical and morphological properties of urinary Tamm-Horsfall glycoprotein (THG). Although it was once reported that cystic fibrotic (CF) individuals had a defective THG, more recent data indicate that THG and CF-THG are similar if not identical.No studies on the conformational aspects have been reported on this glycoprotein using circular dichroism (CD). We examined the secondary structure of THG and derivatives under various conditions and have correlated these results with quaternary structure using electron microscopy.THG was prepared from normal adult males and CF-THG from a 16-year old CF female by the method of Tamm and Horsfall. CF female by the method of Tamm and Horsfall.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document