scholarly journals Vocal imitations and production learning by Australian musk ducks ( Biziura lobata )

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1836) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carel ten Cate ◽  
Peter J. Fullagar
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Flexible Control ◽  
Human Voice ◽  
Black Duck ◽  
Basal Clade ◽  
Rearing Conditions ◽  
Repetitive Structure ◽  
Different Origins

Acquiring vocalizations by learning them from other individuals is only known from a limited number of animal groups. For birds, oscine and some suboscine songbirds, parrots and hummingbirds demonstrate this ability. Here, we provide evidence for vocal learning in a member of a basal clade of the avian phylogeny: the Australian musk duck ( Biziura lobata ). A hand-reared individual imitated a slamming door and a human voice, and a female-reared individual imitated Pacific black duck quacks. These sounds have been described before, but were never analysed in any detail and went so far unnoticed by researchers of vocal learning. The imitations were produced during the males' advertising display. The hand-reared male used at least three different vocalizations in the display context, with each one produced in the same stereotyped and repetitive structure as the normal display sounds. Sounds of different origins could be combined in one vocalization and at least some of the imitations were memorized at an early age, well before they were produced later in life. Together with earlier observations of vocal differences between populations and deviant vocalizations in captive-reared individuals, these observations demonstrate the presence of advanced vocal learning at a level comparable to that of songbirds and parrots. We discuss the rearing conditions that may have given rise to the imitations and suggest that the structure of the duck vocalizations indicates a quite sophisticated and flexible control over the vocal production mechanism. The observations support the hypothesis that vocal learning in birds evolved in several groups independently rather than evolving once with several losses. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.

scholarly journals Re-evaluating vocal production learning in non-oscine birds

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1836) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carel ten Cate
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Limited Evidence ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Broad Definition ◽  
Interspecific Variations ◽  
Phylogenetic Framework ◽  
Definition Of

The study of vocal production learning in birds is heavily biased towards oscine songbirds, making the songbird model the reference for comparative studies. However, as vocal learning was probably ancestral in songbirds, interspecific variations might all be variations on a single theme and need not be representative of the nature and characteristics of vocal learning in other bird groups. To assess the possible mechanisms of vocal learning and its evolution therefore requires knowledge about independently evolved incidences of vocal learning. This review examines the presence and nature of vocal production learning in non-songbirds. Using a broad definition of vocal learning and a comparative phylogenetic framework, I evaluate the evidence for vocal learning and its characteristics in non-oscine birds, including well-known vocal learners such as parrots and hummingbirds but also (putative) cases from other taxa. Despite the sometimes limited evidence, it is clear that vocal learning occurs in a range of different, non-related, taxa and can be caused by a variety of mechanisms. It is more widespread than often realized, calling for more systematic studies. Examining this variation may provide a window onto the evolution of vocal learning and increase the value of comparative research for understanding vocal learning in humans. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.

scholarly journals Vocal production learning in mammals revisited

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1836) ◽  
pp. 20200244
Author(s):  
Vincent M. Janik ◽  
Mirjam Knörnschild
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Type Result ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Learning Skills ◽  
Acoustic Models ◽  
Vocal Convergence ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

Vocal production learning, the ability to modify the structure of vocalizations as a result of hearing those of others, has been studied extensively in birds but less attention has been given to its occurrence in mammals. We summarize the available evidence for vocal learning in mammals from the last 25 years, updating earlier reviews on the subject. The clearest evidence comes from cetaceans, pinnipeds, elephants and bats where species have been found to copy artificial or human language sounds, or match acoustic models of different sound types. Vocal convergence, in which parameter adjustments within one sound type result in similarities between individuals, occurs in a wider range of mammalian orders with additional evidence from primates, mole-rats, goats and mice. Currently, the underlying mechanisms for convergence are unclear with vocal production learning but also usage learning or matching physiological states being possible explanations. For experimental studies, we highlight the importance of quantitative comparisons of seemingly learned sounds with vocal repertoires before learning started or with species repertoires to confirm novelty. Further studies on the mammalian orders presented here as well as others are needed to explore learning skills and limitations in greater detail. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.

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 Songbirds can learn flexible contextual control over syllable sequencing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena Veit ◽  
Lucas Y Tian ◽  
Christian J Monroy Hernandez ◽  
Michael S Brainard
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cues ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Fundamental Aspect ◽  
Contextual Control ◽  
Contextual Cues ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Flexible Control ◽  
External Reinforcement ◽  
Moment Control ◽  
Specific Sequences

AbstractThe flexible control of sequential behavior is a fundamental aspect of speech, enabling endless reordering of a limited set of learned vocal elements (i.e. syllables or words). Songbirds are phylogenetically distant from humans, but share the capacity for vocal learning as well as neural circuitry for vocal control that includes direct cortical-brainstem projections. Based on these similarities, we hypothesized that songbirds might likewise be able to learn flexible, moment-by-moment control over vocal production. Here, we demonstrate that Bengalese finches, which sing variable syllable sequences, can learn to rapidly modify the probability of specific sequences (e.g. ‘ab-c’ versus ‘ab-d’) in response to arbitrary visual cues. Moreover, once learned, this modulation of sequencing occurs immediately following changes in contextual cues and persists in the absence of external reinforcement. Our findings reveal a capacity in songbirds for learned contextual control over syllable sequencing that parallels aspects of human cognitive control over speech.

scholarly journals A researcher's guide to the comparative assessment of vocal production learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1836) ◽  
pp. 20200237
Author(s):  
Ella Z. Lattenkamp ◽  
Stephen G. Hörpel ◽  
Janine Mengede ◽  
Uwe Firzlaff
Keyword(s):  
Sound Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Comparative Assessment ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Acoustic Parameters ◽  
Animal Kingdom ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Five Factors

Vocal production learning (VPL) is the capacity to learn to produce new vocalizations, which is a rare ability in the animal kingdom and thus far has only been identified in a handful of mammalian taxa and three groups of birds. Over the last few decades, approaches to the demonstration of VPL have varied among taxa, sound production systems and functions. These discrepancies strongly impede direct comparisons between studies. In the light of the growing number of experimental studies reporting VPL, the need for comparability is becoming more and more pressing. The comparative evaluation of VPL across studies would be facilitated by unified and generalized reporting standards, which would allow a better positioning of species on any proposed VPL continuum. In this paper, we specifically highlight five factors influencing the comparability of VPL assessments: (i) comparison to an acoustic baseline, (ii) comprehensive reporting of acoustic parameters, (iii) extended reporting of training conditions and durations, (iv) investigating VPL function via behavioural, perception-based experiments and (v) validation of findings on a neuronal level. These guidelines emphasize the importance of comparability between studies in order to unify the field of vocal learning. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.

scholarly journals Variation in vocal production learning across songbirds

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1836) ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Searcy ◽  
Jill Soha ◽  
Susan Peters ◽  
Stephen Nowicki
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Normal Range ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Song Development

Songbirds as a whole are considered to be vocal production learners, meaning that they modify the structure of their vocalizations as a result of experience with the vocalizations of others. The more than 4000 species of songbirds, however, vary greatly in crucial features of song development. Variable features include: (i) the normality of the songs of early-deafened birds, reflecting the importance of innate motor programmes in song development; (ii) the normality of the songs of isolation-reared birds, reflecting the combined importance of innate auditory templates and motor programmes; (iii) the degree of selectivity in choice of external models; (iv) the accuracy of copying from external models; and (v) whether or not learning from external models continues into adulthood. We suggest that because of this variability, some songbird species, specifically those that are able to develop songs in the normal range without exposure to external models, can be classified as limited vocal learners. Those species that require exposure to external models to develop songs in the normal range can be considered complex vocal learners. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.

Extraordinary voices: Helen Keller, music and the limits of oralism

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-156
Author(s):  
Michael Accinno
Keyword(s):  
World View ◽  
Musical Culture ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Cultural Logic ◽  
Human Voice ◽  
Shared Identity ◽  
Helen Keller ◽  
Voice Teacher ◽  
Musical Practices ◽  
Opera Singers

Abstract This article examines iconic American deafblind writer Helen Keller's entræ#169;e into musical culture, culminating in her studies with voice teacher Charles A. White. In 1909, Keller began weekly lessons with White, who deepened her understanding of breathing and vocal production. Keller routinely made the acquaintance of opera singers in the 1910s and the 1920s, including sopranos Georgette Leblanc and Minnie Saltzman-Stevens, and tenor Enrico Caruso. Guided by the cultural logic of oralism, Keller nurtured a lively interest in music throughout her life. Although a voice-centred world-view enhanced Keller's cultural standing among hearing Americans, it did little to promote the growth of a shared identity rooted in deaf or deafblind experience. The subsequent growth of Deaf culture challenges us to reconsider the limits of Keller's musical practices and to question anew her belief in the extraordinary power of the human voice.

scholarly journals Vocal production learning in the pale spear-nosed bat, Phyllostomus discolor

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 20190928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ella Z. Lattenkamp ◽  
Sonja C. Vernes ◽  
Lutz Wiegrebe
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Acoustic Signals ◽  
Auditory Target ◽  
Animal Kingdom ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Learning Capacity ◽  
Directional Change ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Phyllostomus Discolor

Vocal production learning (VPL), or the ability to modify vocalizations through the imitation of sounds, is a rare trait in the animal kingdom. While humans are exceptional vocal learners, few other mammalian species share this trait. Owing to their singular ecology and lifestyle, bats are highly specialized for the precise emission and reception of acoustic signals. This specialization makes them ideal candidates for the study of vocal learning, and several bat species have previously shown evidence supportive of vocal learning. Here we use a sophisticated automated set-up and a contingency training paradigm to explore the vocal learning capacity of pale spear-nosed bats. We show that these bats are capable of directional change of the fundamental frequency of their calls according to an auditory target. With this study, we further highlight the importance of bats for the study of vocal learning and provide evidence for the VPL capacity of the pale spear-nosed bat.

scholarly journals Effects of Visual and Auditory Feedback in Violin and Singing Voice Pitch Matching Tasks

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angel David Blanco ◽  
Simone Tassani ◽  
Rafael Ramirez
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Transfer Phase ◽  
Feedback Group ◽  
Knowledge Of Results ◽  
Pitch Matching ◽  
Human Voice

Auditory-guided vocal learning is a mechanism that operates both in humans and other animal species making us capable to imitate arbitrary sounds. Both auditory memories and auditory feedback interact to guide vocal learning. This may explain why it is easier for humans to imitate the pitch of a human voice than the pitch of a synthesized sound. In this study, we compared the effects of two different feedback modalities in learning pitch-matching abilities using a synthesized pure tone in 47 participants with no prior music experience. Participants were divided into three groups: a feedback group (N = 15) receiving real-time visual feedback of their pitch as well as knowledge of results; an equal-timbre group (N = 17) receiving additional auditory feedback of the target note with a similar timbre to the instrument being used (i.e., violin or human voice); and a control group (N = 15) practicing without any feedback or knowledge of results. An additional fourth group of violin experts performed the same task for comparative purposes (N = 15). All groups were posteriorly evaluated in a transfer phase. Both experimental groups (i.e., the feedback and equal-timbre groups) improved their intonation abilities with the synthesized sound after receiving feedback. Participants from the equal-timber group seemed as capable as the feedback group of producing the required pitch with the voice after listening to the human voice, but not with the violin (although they also showed improvement). In addition, only participants receiving real-time visual feedback learned and retained in the transfer phase the mapping between the synthesized pitch and its correspondence with the produced vocal or violin pitch. It is suggested that both the effect of an objective external reward, together with the experience of exploring the pitch space with their instrument in an explicit manner, helped participants to understand how to control their pitch production, strengthening their schemas, and favoring retention.

scholarly journals Morphological facilitators for vocal learning explored through the syrinx anatomy of a basal hummingbird

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Monte ◽  
Alexander F. Cerwenka ◽  
Bernhard Ruthensteiner ◽  
Manfred Gahr ◽  
Daniel N. Düring
Keyword(s):  
Sound Production ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Dimensional Structure ◽  
Micro Computed Tomography ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Precise Control ◽  
Acoustic Space ◽  
Biomechanical Factors ◽  
Intrinsic Musculature

AbstractVocal learning is a rare evolutionary trait that evolved independently in three avian clades: songbirds, parrots, and hummingbirds. Although the anatomy and mechanisms of sound production in songbirds are well understood, little is known about the hummingbird’s vocal anatomy. We use high-resolution micro-computed tomography (μCT) and microdissection to reveal the three-dimensional structure of the syrinx, the vocal organ of the black jacobin (Florisuga fusca), a phylogenetically basal hummingbird species. We identify three unique features of the black jacobin’s syrinx: (i) a shift in the position of the syrinx to the outside of the thoracic cavity and the related loss of the sterno-tracheal muscle, (ii) complex intrinsic musculature, oriented dorso-ventrally, and (iii) ossicles embedded in the medial vibratory membranes. Their syrinx morphology allows vibratory decoupling, precise control of complex acoustic parameters, and a large redundant acoustic space that may be key biomechanical factors facilitating the occurrence of vocal production learning.

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