scholarly journals Rutting vocal display in male impala (Aepyceros melampus) and overlap with alarm context

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilya A. Volodin ◽  
Elena V. Volodina ◽  
Roland Frey
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Average Duration ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Potential Danger ◽  
Acoustic Structure ◽  
Call Type ◽  
Tract Length ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Aepyceros Melampus

Abstract Background The rutting vocal display of male impala Aepyceros melampus is unique for its complexity among ruminants. This study investigates bouts of rutting calls produced towards potential mates and rival males by free-ranging male impala in Namibia. In particular, a comparison of male rutting and alarm snorts is conducted, inspired by earlier findings of mate guarding by using alarm snorts in male topi Damaliscus lunatus. Results Rutting male impala produced 4–38 (13.5 ± 6.5) rutting calls per bout. We analyzed 201 bouts, containing in total 2709 rutting calls of five types: continuous roars produced within a single exhalation-inhalation cycle; interrupted roars including few exhalation-inhalation cycles; pant-roars distinctive by a pant-phase with rapidly alternating inhalations and exhalations; usual snorts lacking any roar part; and roar-snorts starting with a short roar part. Bouts mostly started and ended with usual snorts. Continuous roars were the shortest roars. The average duration of the exhalatory phase was longest in the continuous roars and shortest in the pant-roars. The average fundamental frequency (49.7–51.4 Hz) did not differ between roar types. Vocal tract length, calculated by using measurements of the first four vocal tract resonances (formants), ranged within 381–382 mm in all roar types. In the studied male impala, rutting snorts within bouts of rutting calls were longer and had higher values of the upper quartile in the call spectra than alarm snorts produced towards potential danger. Conclusions Additional inhalations during the emission of the interrupted and pant-roars prolong their duration compared to the continuous roars but do not affect the fundamental frequency or the degree of larynx retraction while roaring. Alarm snorts are separated from one another by large intervals, whereas the intervals between rutting snorts within bouts are short. Sometimes, rutting snorts alternate with roars, whereas alarm snorts do not. Therefore, it is not the acoustic structure of individual snorts but the temporal sequence and the occasional association with another call type that defines snorts as either rutting or alarm snorts. The rutting snorts of male impala may function to attract the attention of receptive females and delay their departure from a male’s harem or territory.

Children With Normal Hearing Are Efficient Users of Fundamental Frequency and Vocal Tract Length Cues for Voice Discrimination

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 182-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yael Zaltz ◽  
Raymond L. Goldsworthy ◽  
Laurie S. Eisenberg ◽  
Liat Kishon-Rabin
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Tract Length ◽  
Voice Discrimination

scholarly journals Voice transformation for HTS using correlation between fundamental frequency and vocal tract length

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyogeun Yoo ◽  
Younggwan Kim ◽  
Youngjoo Suh ◽  
Hoirin Kim
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Tract Length

scholarly journals Independent and Combined Effects of Fundamental Frequency and Vocal Tract Length Differences for School-Age Children's Sentence Recognition in a Two-Talker Masker

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Mary M. Flaherty ◽  
Emily Buss ◽  
Lori J. Leibold
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
School Age ◽  
Combined Effects ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Tract Length ◽  
Sentence Recognition ◽  
Speech Reception ◽  
Speech Reception Thresholds ◽  
Children's Speech

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the independent and combined contributions of fundamental frequency (F0) and vocal tract length (VTL) differences on children's speech-in-speech recognition in the presence of a competing two-talker masker. Method Participants were 64 children (5–17 years old) and 25 adults (18–39 years old). Sentence recognition thresholds were measured in a two-talker masker. Target sentences had either the same mean F0 and VTL of the masker or were digitally altered so that the target and masker differed in F0 (Experiment 1), differed in VTL (Experiment 2), or differed in both F0 and VTL (Experiment 3). To determine the benefit, masking release was computed by subtracting thresholds in each shifted condition from the threshold in the unshifted condition. Results Results demonstrate that children's ability to benefit from either F0 or VTL differences (Experiments 1 and 2) depended on listener age, with younger children showing less improvement in speech reception thresholds compared to older children and adults. Age effects were also evident in the combined-cue conditions (Experiment 3), but children showed greater improvements compared to F0-only or VTL-only manipulations. Conclusions There was a prolonged pattern of development in children's ability to benefit from F0 or VTL differences between target and masker speech. Young children failed to capitalize on F0 and VTL differences to the same extent as older children and adults but did show a robust benefit when the cues were combined, supporting the hypothesis that younger children rely more heavily on redundant cues compared to older children and adults.

scholarly journals Intelligibility benefit for familiar voices does not depend on better discrimination of fundamental frequency or vocal tract length

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Holmes ◽  
Ingrid Johnsrude
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Pulse Rate ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Tract Length ◽  
Familiar Voice ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Voice Discrimination

Speech is more intelligible when it is spoken by familiar than unfamiliar people. Two cues to voice identity are glottal pulse rate (GPR) and vocal tract length (VTL): perhaps these features are more accurately represented for familiar voices in a listener’s brain. If so, listeners should be able to discriminate smaller manipulations to perceptual correlates of these vocal parameters for familiar than unfamiliar voices. We recruited pairs of friends who had known each other for 0.5–22.5 years. We measured thresholds for discriminating pitch (correlate of GPR) and formant spacing (correlate of VTL; ‘VTL-timbre’) for voices that were familiar (friends) and unfamiliar (friends of other participants). When a competing talker was present, speech was substantially more intelligible when it was spoken in a familiar voice. Discrimination thresholds were not systematically smaller for familiar compared to unfamiliar talkers. Although, participants detected smaller deviations to VTL-timbre than pitch uniquely for familiar talkers, suggesting a different balance of characteristics contribute to discrimination of familiar and unfamiliar voices. Across participants, we found no relationship between the size of the intelligibility benefit for a familiar over an unfamiliar voice and the difference in discrimination thresholds for the same voices. Also, the intelligibility benefit was not affected by the acoustic manipulations we imposed on voices to assess discrimination thresholds. Overall, these results provide no evidence that two important cues to voice identity—pitch and VTL-timbre—are more accurately represented when voices are familiar, or are necessarily responsible for the large intelligibility benefit derived from familiar voices.

Contributions of Voice and Nonverbal Communication to Perceived Masculinity–Femininity for Cisgender and Transgender Communicators

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 931-947
Author(s):  
Teresa L. D. Hardy ◽  
Carol A. Boliek ◽  
Daniel Aalto ◽  
Justin Lewicke ◽  
Kristopher Wells ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Presentation Mode ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Presentation Modes ◽  
Audiovisual Stimuli ◽  
Vocal Tract Resonance ◽  
Point Light

Purpose The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to identify a set of communication-based predictors (including both acoustic and gestural variables) of masculinity–femininity ratings and (b) to explore differences in ratings between audio and audiovisual presentation modes for transgender and cisgender communicators. Method The voices and gestures of a group of cisgender men and women ( n = 10 of each) and transgender women ( n = 20) communicators were recorded while they recounted the story of a cartoon using acoustic and motion capture recording systems. A total of 17 acoustic and gestural variables were measured from these recordings. A group of observers ( n = 20) rated each communicator's masculinity–femininity based on 30- to 45-s samples of the cartoon description presented in three modes: audio, visual, and audio visual. Visual and audiovisual stimuli contained point light displays standardized for size. Ratings were made using a direct magnitude estimation scale without modulus. Communication-based predictors of masculinity–femininity ratings were identified using multiple regression, and analysis of variance was used to determine the effect of presentation mode on perceptual ratings. Results Fundamental frequency, average vowel formant, and sound pressure level were identified as significant predictors of masculinity–femininity ratings for these communicators. Communicators were rated significantly more feminine in the audio than the audiovisual mode and unreliably in the visual-only mode. Conclusions Both study purposes were met. Results support continued emphasis on fundamental frequency and vocal tract resonance in voice and communication modification training with transgender individuals and provide evidence for the potential benefit of modifying sound pressure level, especially when a masculine presentation is desired.

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