Vocal Communication in a Neotropical Treefrog, Hyla ebraccata: Responses of Males to Graded Aggressive Calls

Copeia ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 1989 (2) ◽  
pp. 461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kentwood D. Wells
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Aggressive Calls

The Vocal Repertoire of the Bearded Capuchin (Cebidae: Sapajus libidinosus): Implications for Understanding the Complexity of Neotropical Primate Communication

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Carolina Almeida Lisboa ◽  
Francisco Dyonísio Cardoso Mendes ◽  
Maurício Silveira ◽  
Ludmilla Moura de Souza Aguiar
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Alarm Call ◽  
Vocal Repertoire ◽  
Primate Communication ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Central Brazil ◽  
Neotropical Primate ◽  
Sexual Display ◽  
Contact Calls ◽  
Aggressive Calls

Vocal communication is an essential aspect of primate social behaviour. The bearded capuchin <i>Sapajus libidinosus</i> is endemic to Brazil, and some studies have described specific vocalisation types for this species; however, there is still no complete description of its vocal repertoire. Thus, this study aimed to describe the vocal repertoire of a group of <i>S. libidinosus</i> living in the<i></i>Parque Nacional de Brasília, a protected area in the Cerrado area of Central Brazil. We carried out focal samplings and recording of vocalisations of members of an <i>S. libidinosus</i> troop in different behavioural contexts. The call analyses revealed 25 different types of vocalisations, and each call presented significant structural variation. We grouped these vocalisations according to the context of the emission or acoustic structure into the following categories: contact calls (contact note, infant babbling, trill, teeth- and lip-smacking, and sirena); foraging calls (chihui, grgr, and patinado); whistle series (food-associated, long-distance, and intergroup encounter); aggressive calls (aggressive contact note, ascending rapid staccato, cough cough, and pip); calls in response to aggression (scream, squeal, and pulsed scream), sexual display calls (chuck and raspy oestrous call), and stress-related calls (alarm call/bark, hiccup, hip, double hip, and wah wah). <i>S. libidinosus</i> presented a very rich vocal repertoire, revealing a pattern consistent with the repertoire of other capuchin monkey species. This is the first comprehensive description of the<i> S. libidinosus</i> vocal repertoire and highlights the complexity of neotropical primate communication.

Vocal Communication in a Neotropical Treefrog, Hyla Ebraccata: Aggressive Calls

Behaviour ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 91 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 128-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kentwood D. Wells ◽  
Joshua J. Schwartz
Keyword(s):  
Rise Time ◽  
Repetition Rate ◽  
Pulse Repetition Rate ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Pulse Repetition ◽  
High Pulse Repetition Rate ◽  
Introductory Note ◽  
High Pulse ◽  
Natural Interactions ◽  
Aggressive Calls

AbstractWe studied the aggressive calls of Hyla ebraccata in Panama by recording natural interactions in the field and by playing recordings of natural and synthetic calls to males. Aggressive calls of this species had higher pulse repetition rates than advertisement calls and often were much longer. Aggressive calls also were much more variable in introductory note duration, pulse rate, rise time, and the number and structure of click notes. Pulse repetition rate was negatively correlated with the duration of the introductory note, as were the number of click notes in the call and the number of pulses in each click. In natural encounters, the duration of introductory notes increased as the distance between interacting males decreased. Males gave aggressive calls in response to playbacks of both advertisement and aggressive calls, but aggressive calls were much more effective in eliciting such responses. The proportion of aggressive calls and the duration of introductory notes generally increased with increasing playback intensity. Playbacks of synthetic calls which varied in pulse repetition rate and rise time showed that a high pulse repetition rate was the most important feature in eliciting aggressive responses from males, but rise time also was important when calls had fast pulse rates. The aggressive calls of this species appear to be a graded signaling system, the first to be documented in amphibians.

Vocal Communication in a Neotropical Treefrog, Hyla Ebraccata: Responses of Females To Advertisement and Aggressive Calls

Behaviour ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 101 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 200-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen M. Bard ◽  
Kentwood D. Wells
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Total Duration ◽  
Vocal Repertoire ◽  
Spatial Relationships ◽  
Absolute Rate ◽  
Playback Experiments ◽  
Advertisement Calls ◽  
Close Range ◽  
Aggressive Calls ◽  
Do So

AbstractWe investigated the functions of different elements of the complex vocal repertoire of the Panamanian treefrog Hyla ebraccata by testing the responses of females to synthetic advertisement and aggressive calls in two-choice playback experiments. In tests of single-note advertisement calls presented at different rates, females preferred faster calling rates, regardless of the absolute rate of the stimuli. In tests of single-note advertisement and aggressive calls, females preferred advertisement calls. Addition of secondary click notes to aggressive calls made the calls more attractive to females, but multi-note advertisement calls were preferred over multi-note aggressive calls. When females were given a choice of multi-note advertisement calls and single-note calls of the same total duration, they showed no preference. This suggests that multi-note calls are preferred over normal single-note calls because of their longer total duration. When the same experiment was performed with aggressive calls, females showed a strong preference for multi-note calls. This indicates that long aggressive calls, such as those given by males in close-range encounters, may entail some cost to the male in reduced attractiveness to females. Males apparently reduce the costs of aggressive calling by adding click notes to aggressive calls, by giving aggressive calls only when nearby males do so, and by establishing spatial relationships in the chorus before females begin to choose mates.

Vocal Communication in Primates

1969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wdliam A. Mason ◽  
John Lotz
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Communication

Pinniped vocal communication: an introduction

2003 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald J. Schusterman ◽  
Sofie M. Van Parijs
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Communication

Primate Vocal Communication and the Evolution of Speech

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-60
Author(s):  
Julia Fischer
Keyword(s):  
Nonhuman Primate ◽  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Internal State ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Primate Communication ◽  
Evolution Of Speech ◽  
Primate Vocal Communication ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Shed Light

Studies of nonhuman primate communication are often motivated by the desire to shed light on the evolution of speech. In contrast to human speech, the vocal repertoires of nonhuman primates are evolutionarily highly conserved. Within species-specific constraints, calls may vary in relation to the internal state of the caller or social experience. Receivers can use signalers’ calls to predict upcoming events or behavioral dispositions. Yet nonhuman primates do not appear to express or comprehend communicative or informative intent. Signalers are sensitive to the relation between their own actions and receivers’ responses, and thus, signaling behavior can be conceived as goal directed. Receivers’ ability to integrate information from multiple sources renders the system flexible and powerful. Researchers who take a linguistic or biological perspective on nonhuman primate communication should be aware of the strengths and limitations of their approaches. Both benefit from a focus on the mechanisms that underpin signaling and responses to signals.

scholarly journals Born to sing! Song development in a singing primate

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara De Gregorio ◽  
Filippo Carugati ◽  
Vittoria Estienne ◽  
Daria Valente ◽  
Teresa Raimondi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Ontogenetic Changes ◽  
Call Structure ◽  
Historical View ◽  
Singing Behavior ◽  
Vocal Behaviour ◽  
Temporal Features ◽  
Vocal Activity ◽  
Song Development

Abstract In animal vocal communication, the development of adult-like vocalization is fundamental to interact appropriately with conspecifics. However, the factors that guide ontogenetic changes in the acoustic features remains poorly understood. In contrast with a historical view of nonhuman primate vocal production as substantially innate, recent research suggests that inheritance and physiological modification can only explain some of the developmental changes in call structure during growth. A particular case of acoustic communication is the indris' singing behavior, a peculiar case among Strepsirrhine primates. Thanks to a decade of intense data collection, this work provides the first long-term quantitative analysis on song development in a singing primate. To understand the ontogeny of such a complex vocal output, we investigated juvenile and sub-adult indris' vocal behaviour, and we found that young individuals started participating in the chorus years earlier than previously reported. Our results indicated that spectro-temporal song parameters underwent essential changes during growth. In particular, the age and sex of the emitter influenced the indris' vocal activity. We found that frequency parameters showed consistent changes across the sexes, but the temporal features showed different developmental trajectories for males and females. Given the low level of morphological sexual dimorphism and the marked differences in vocal behavior, we hypothesize that factors like social influences and auditory feedback may affect songs' features, resulting in high vocal flexibility in juvenile indris. This trait may be pivotal in a species that engages in choruses with rapid vocal turn-taking.

scholarly journals Previously unknown behavior in parasitic cuckoo females: male-like vocalization during migratory activity

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Swetlana G. Meshcheryagina ◽  
Alexey Opaev
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Harmonic Spectrum ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Neck Extension ◽  
Migratory Activity ◽  
Call Production ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Combined Features ◽  
Female Call

Abstract Background In the last decade, enigmatic male-like cuckoo calls have been reported several times in East Asia. These calls exhibited a combination of vocal traits of both Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus) and Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) advertising calls, and some authors therefore suggested that the enigmatic calls were produced by either Common × Oriental Cuckoo male hybrids or Common Cuckoo males having a gene mutation. However, the exact identity of calling birds are still unknown. Methods We recorded previously unknown male-like calls from three captive Oriental Cuckoo females, and compared these calls with enigmatic vocalizations recorded in the wild as well as with advertising vocalizations of Common and Oriental Cuckoo males. To achieve this, we measured calls automatically. Besides, we video-recorded captive female emitting male-like calls, and compared these recordings with the YouTube recordings of calling males of both Common and Oriental Cuckoos to get insight into the mechanism of call production. Results The analysis showed that female male-like calls recorded in captivity were similar to enigmatic calls recorded in the wild. Therefore, Oriental Cuckoo females might produce the latter calls. Two features of these female calls appeared to be unusual among birds. First, females produced male-like calls at the time of spring and autumn migratory activity and on migration in the wild. Because of this, functional significance of this call remained puzzling. Secondly, the male-like female call unexpectedly combined features of both closed-mouth (closed beak and simultaneous inflation of the ‘throat sac’) and open-mouth (prominent harmonic spectrum and the maximum neck extension observed at the beginning of a sound) vocal behaviors. Conclusions The Cuculus vocalizations outside the reproductive season remain poorly understood. Here, we found for the first time that Oriental Cuckoo females can produce male-like calls in that time. Because of its rarity, this call might be an atavism. Indeed, female male-like vocalizations are still known in non-parasitic tropical and apparently more basal cuckoos only. Therefore, our findings may shed light on the evolution of vocal communication in avian brood parasites.

scholarly journals Individual Differences in the Vocal Communication of Malayan Tapirs (Tapirus indicus) Considering Familiarity and Relatedness

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1026
Author(s):  
Robin Walb ◽  
Lorenzo von Fersen ◽  
Theo Meijer ◽  
Kurt Hammerschmidt
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Solitary Living ◽  
Low Visibility ◽  
Living Species ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Tapirus Indicus

Studies in animal communication have shown that many species have individual distinct calls. These individual distinct vocalizations can play an important role in animal communication because they can carry important information about the age, sex, personality, or social role of the signaler. Although we have good knowledge regarding the importance of individual vocalization in social living mammals, it is less clear to what extent solitary living mammals possess individual distinct vocalizations. We recorded and analyzed the vocalizations of 14 captive adult Malayan tapirs (Tapirus indicus) (six females and eight males) to answer this question. We investigated whether familiarity or relatedness had an influence on call similarity. In addition to sex-related differences, we found significant differences between all subjects, comparable to the individual differences found in highly social living species. Surprisingly, kinship appeared to have no influence on call similarity, whereas familiar subjects exhibited significantly higher similarity in their harmonic calls compared to unfamiliar or related subjects. The results support the view that solitary animals could have individual distinct calls, like highly social animals. Therefore, it is likely that non-social factors, like low visibility, could have an influence on call individuality. The increasing knowledge of their behavior will help to protect this endangered species.

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