scholarly journals Scratching beneath the surface: intentionality in great ape signal production

2019 ◽  
Vol 375 (1789) ◽  
pp. 20180403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsty E. Graham ◽  
Claudia Wilke ◽  
Nicole J. Lahiff ◽  
Katie E. Slocombe
Keyword(s):  
Communication Systems ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Great Ape ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Intentional Communication ◽  
Evolutionary Origins ◽  
Signal Production ◽  
Communicative Signals

Despite important similarities having been found between human and animal communication systems, surprisingly little research effort has focussed on whether the cognitive mechanisms underpinning these behaviours are also similar. In particular, it is highly debated whether signal production is the result of reflexive processes, or can be characterized as intentional. Here, we critically evaluate the criteria that are used to identify signals produced with different degrees of intentionality, and discuss recent attempts to apply these criteria to the vocal, gestural and multimodal communicative signals of great apes and more distantly related species. Finally, we outline the necessary research tools, such as physiologically validated measures of arousal, and empirical evidence that we believe would propel this debate forward and help unravel the evolutionary origins of human intentional communication. This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’

scholarly journals Animal cognition and the evolution of human language: why we cannot focus solely on communication

2019 ◽  
Vol 375 (1789) ◽  
pp. 20190046 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Tecumseh Fitch
Keyword(s):  
Communication Systems ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Language Evolution ◽  
Animal Cognition ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Human Communication ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Royal Road ◽  
Communicative Signals

Studies of animal communication are often assumed to provide the ‘royal road’ to understanding the evolution of human language. After all, language is the pre-eminent system of human communication: doesn't it make sense to search for its precursors in animal communication systems? From this viewpoint, if some characteristic feature of human language is lacking in systems of animal communication, it represents a crucial gap in evolution, and evidence for an evolutionary discontinuity. Here I argue that we should reverse this logic: because a defining feature of human language is its ability to flexibly represent and recombine concepts, precursors for many important components of language should be sought in animal cognition rather than animal communication. Animal communication systems typically only permit expression of a small subset of the concepts that can be represented and manipulated by that species. Thus, if a particular concept is not expressed in a species' communication system this is not evidence that it lacks that concept. I conclude that if we focus exclusively on communicative signals, we sell the comparative analysis of language evolution short. Therefore, animal cognition provides a crucial (and often neglected) source of evidence regarding the biology and evolution of human language. This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’

scholarly journals Development of Communication Behaviour: Receiver Ontogeny in Túngara Frogs and a Prospectus for a Behavioural Evolutionary Development

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander T. Baugh ◽  
Kim L. Hoke ◽  
Michael J. Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Communication Systems ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Mate Recognition ◽  
Evolutionary Development ◽  
Communication Signals ◽  
Tungara Frogs ◽  
Signal Production ◽  
Evolution Of Signals ◽  
Evolution Of Communication ◽  
Behaviour Recognition

Most studies addressing the development of animal communication have focused on signal production rather than receiver decoding, and similar emphasis has been given to learning over nonlearning. But receivers are an integral part of a communication network, and nonlearned mechanisms appear to be more ubiquitous than learned ones in the communication systems of most animals. Here we review the results of recent experiments and outline future directions for integrative studies on the development of a primarily nonlearned behaviour—recognition of communication signals during ontogeny in a tropical frog. The results suggest that antecedents to adult behaviours might be a common feature of developing organisms. Given the essential role that acoustic communication serves in reproduction for many organisms and that receivers can exert strong influence on the evolution of signals, understanding the evolutionary developmental basis of mate recognition will provide new insights into the evolution of communication systems.

scholarly journals You talkin’ to me? Interactive playback is a powerful yet underused tool in animal communication research

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 20150403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie L. King
Keyword(s):  
Communication Systems ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Animal Behaviour ◽  
Communication Research ◽  
Playback Experiments ◽  
Concise Review ◽  
Sensory Modalities ◽  
Interactive Playback ◽  
Communicative Signals ◽  
Vocal Interactions

Over the years, playback experiments have helped further our understanding of the wonderful world of animal communication. They have provided fundamental insights into animal behaviour and the function of communicative signals in numerous taxa. As important as these experiments are, however, there is strong evidence to suggest that the information conveyed in a signal may only have value when presented interactively. By their very nature, signalling exchanges are interactive and therefore, an interactive playback design is a powerful tool for examining the function of such exchanges. While researchers working on frog and songbird vocal interactions have long championed interactive playback, it remains surprisingly underused across other taxa. The interactive playback approach is not limited to studies of acoustic signalling, but can be applied to other sensory modalities, including visual, chemical and electrical communication. Here, I discuss interactive playback as a potent yet underused technique in the field of animal behaviour. I present a concise review of studies that have used interactive playback thus far, describe how it can be applied, and discuss its limitations and challenges. My hope is that this review will result in more scientists applying this innovative technique to their own study subjects, as a means of furthering our understanding of the function of signalling interactions in animal communication systems.

scholarly journals The syntax–semantics interface in animal vocal communication

2019 ◽  
Vol 375 (1789) ◽  
pp. 20180405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshitaka N. Suzuki ◽  
David Wheatcroft ◽  
Michael Griesser
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Communication Systems ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Evolution Of Language ◽  
Language Research ◽  
Phenomenological Studies

Syntax (rules for combining words or elements) and semantics (meaning of expressions) are two pivotal features of human language, and interaction between them allows us to generate a limitless number of meaningful expressions. While both features were traditionally thought to be unique to human language, research over the past four decades has revealed intriguing parallels in animal communication systems. Many birds and mammals produce specific calls with distinct meanings, and some species combine multiple meaningful calls into syntactically ordered sequences. However, it remains largely unclear whether, like phrases or sentences in human language, the meaning of these call sequences depends on both the meanings of the component calls and their syntactic order. Here, leveraging recently demonstrated examples of meaningful call combinations, we introduce a framework for exploring the interaction between syntax and semantics (i.e. the syntax-semantic interface) in animal vocal sequences. We outline methods to test the cognitive mechanisms underlying the production and perception of animal vocal sequences and suggest potential evolutionary scenarios for syntactic communication. We hope that this review will stimulate phenomenological studies on animal vocal sequences as well as experimental studies on the cognitive processes, which promise to provide further insights into the evolution of language. This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’

scholarly journals Inferential Communication: Bridging the Gap Between Intentional and Ostensive Communication in Non-human Primates

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Warren ◽  
Josep Call
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Complexity ◽  
Communication Systems ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Psychological State ◽  
Communication Model ◽  
Human Communication ◽  
Primate Communication ◽  
Intentional Communication ◽  
Human Primate

Communication, when defined as an act intended to affect the psychological state of another individual, demands the use of inference. Either the signaler, the recipient, or both must make leaps of understanding which surpass the semantic information available and draw from pragmatic clues to fully imbue and interpret meaning. While research into human communication and the evolution of language has long been comfortable with mentalistic interpretations of communicative exchanges, including rich attributions of mental state, research into animal communication has balked at theoretical models which describe mentalized cognitive mechanisms. We submit a new theoretical perspective on animal communication: the model of inferential communication. For use when existing proximate models of animal communication are not sufficient to fully explain the complex, flexible, and intentional communication documented in certain species, specifically non-human primates, we present our model as a bridge between shallower, less cognitive descriptions of communicative behavior and the perhaps otherwise inaccessible mentalistic interpretations of communication found in theoretical considerations of human language. Inferential communication is a framework that builds on existing evidence of referentiality, intentionality, and social inference in primates. It allows that they might be capable of applying social inferences to a communicative setting, which could explain some of the cognitive processes that enable the complexity and flexibility of primate communication systems. While historical models of animal communication focus on the means-ends process of behavior and apparent cognitive outcomes, inferential communication invites consideration of the mentalistic processes that must underlie those outcomes. We propose a mentalized approach to questions, investigations, and interpretations of non-human primate communication. We include an overview of both ultimate and proximate models of animal communication, which contextualize the role and utility of our inferential communication model, and provide a detailed breakdown of the possible levels of cognitive complexity which could be investigated using this framework. Finally, we present some possible applications of inferential communication in the field of non-human primate communication and highlight the role it could play in advancing progress toward an increasingly precise understanding of the cognitive capabilities of our closest living relatives.

scholarly journals Vocal plasticity in a reptile

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1855) ◽  
pp. 20170451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik Brumm ◽  
Sue Anne Zollinger
Keyword(s):  
Signal Detection ◽  
Communication Systems ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
High Amplitude ◽  
Vocal Plasticity ◽  
Lombard Effect ◽  
Gekko Gecko ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Signalling Systems

Sophisticated vocal communication systems of birds and mammals, including human speech, are characterized by a high degree of plasticity in which signals are individually adjusted in response to changes in the environment. Here, we present, to our knowledge, the first evidence for vocal plasticity in a reptile. Like birds and mammals, tokay geckos ( Gekko gecko ) increased the duration of brief call notes in the presence of broadcast noise compared to quiet conditions, a behaviour that facilitates signal detection by receivers. By contrast, they did not adjust the amplitudes of their call syllables in noise (the Lombard effect), which is in line with the hypothesis that the Lombard effect has evolved independently in birds and mammals. However, the geckos used a different strategy to increase signal-to-noise ratios: instead of increasing the amplitude of a given call type when exposed to noise, the subjects produced more high-amplitude syllable types from their repertoire. Our findings demonstrate that reptile vocalizations are much more flexible than previously thought, including elaborate vocal plasticity that is also important for the complex signalling systems of birds and mammals. We suggest that signal detection constraints are one of the major forces driving the evolution of animal communication systems across different taxa.

scholarly journals Why are mayflies (Ephemeroptera) lost following small increases in salinity? Three conceptual osmophysiological hypotheses

2018 ◽  
Vol 374 (1764) ◽  
pp. 20180021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben J. Kefford
Keyword(s):  
Turnover Rate ◽  
Ph Regulation ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Ion Homeostasis ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Toxicity Tests ◽  
Future Prospects ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Vital Functions ◽  
Rate Of Increase

The salinity of many freshwaters is increasing globally as a result of human activities. Associated with this increase in salinity are losses of Ephemeroptera (mayfly) abundance and richness. The salinity concentrations at which Ephemeroptera decline in nature are lower than their internal salinity or haemolymph osmolality. Many species also suffer substantial mortality in single species laboratory toxicity tests at salinities lower than their internal salinity. These findings are problematic as conventional osmoregulation theory suggests that freshwater animals should not experience stress where external osmolality is greater than haemolymph osmolality. Here I explore three hypotheses to explain salt sensitivity in Ephemeroptera. These conceptual hypotheses are based on the observations that as the external sodium ion (Na + ) concentration increases so does the Na + turnover rate (both uptake and elimination rates increase). Sulphate ( ) uptake in mayflies also increases with increasing external although, unlike Na + , its rate of increase decreases with increasing external . The first hypothesis is premised on ion turnover being energetically costly. The first hypothesis proposes that individuals must devote a greater proportion of their energy to ion homeostasis at the expense of other uses including growth and development. Lethal levels of salinity presumably result from individuals not being able to devote enough energy to maintain ion homeostasis without critical loss of other vital functions. The second hypothesis is premised on the uptake of Na + exchanged for (an outgoing) H + , leading to (localized) loss of pH regulation. The third hypothesis is premised on localized Na + toxicity or poisoning with increased Na turnover as salinity increases. None of the proposed hypotheses is without potential problems, yet all are testable, and research effort should be focused at attempting to falsify them. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Salt in freshwaters: causes, ecological consequences and future prospects’.

scholarly journals Acoustic cues to individuality in wild male adult African savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana)

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e10736
Author(s):  
Kaja Wierucka ◽  
Michelle D. Henley ◽  
Hannah S. Mumby
Keyword(s):  
Communication Systems ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Individual Recognition ◽  
Social Bonds ◽  
Loxodonta Africana ◽  
Mature Male ◽  
Acoustic Cues ◽  
Acoustic Parameters ◽  
Male Adult

The ability to recognize conspecifics plays a pivotal role in animal communication systems. It is especially important for establishing and maintaining associations among individuals of social, long-lived species, such as elephants. While research on female elephant sociality and communication is prevalent, until recently male elephants have been considered far less social than females. This resulted in a dearth of information about their communication and recognition abilities. With new knowledge about the intricacies of the male elephant social structure come questions regarding the communication basis that allows for social bonds to be established and maintained. By analyzing the acoustic parameters of social rumbles recorded over 1.5 years from wild, mature, male African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) we expand current knowledge about the information encoded within these vocalizations and their potential to facilitate individual recognition. We showed that social rumbles are individually distinct and stable over time and therefore provide an acoustic basis for individual recognition. Furthermore, our results revealed that different frequency parameters contribute to individual differences of these vocalizations.

scholarly journals Multimodal signalling in the North American barn swallow: a phenotype network approach

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1816) ◽  
pp. 20151574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew R. Wilkins ◽  
Daizaburo Shizuka ◽  
Maxwell B. Joseph ◽  
Joanna K. Hubbard ◽  
Rebecca J. Safran
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
North American ◽  
Communication Systems ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Complex Signal ◽  
Network Approach ◽  
Barn Swallow ◽  
Complex Signals ◽  
The North ◽  
Phenotype Network

Complex signals, involving multiple components within and across modalities, are common in animal communication. However, decomposing complex signals into traits and their interactions remains a fundamental challenge for studies of phenotype evolution. We apply a novel phenotype network approach for studying complex signal evolution in the North American barn swallow ( Hirundo rustica erythrogaster ). We integrate model testing with correlation-based phenotype networks to infer the contributions of female mate choice and male–male competition to the evolution of barn swallow communication. Overall, the best predictors of mate choice were distinct from those for competition, while moderate functional overlap suggests males and females use some of the same traits to assess potential mates and rivals. We interpret model results in the context of a network of traits, and suggest this approach allows researchers a more nuanced view of trait clustering patterns that informs new hypotheses about the evolution of communication systems.

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