Developmental changes of nasal and oral calls in the goitred gazelle Gazella subgutturosa, a nonhuman mammal with a sexually dimorphic and descended larynx

Efremova, Kseniya O.; Volodin, Ilya A.; Volodina, Elena V.; Frey, Roland; Lapshina, Ekaterina N.; Soldatova, Natalia V.

doi:10.1007/s00114-011-0843-7

Cited by 30 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…The sexual dimorphism of larynx size and larynx position in adult goitred gazelles ( Gazella subgutturosa ) is impressive and more pronounced than in humans, whereas the vocal anatomy of neonate goitred gazelles does not differ between sexes (humans: Negus, ; Lieberman, ; Fitch and Giedd, ; Fitch, ; Davidson, ; goitred gazelles: Efremova et al, ; Frey et al, ; Fig. ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The selective advantage of the moderate descent in both sexes is not yet clear but we hypothesize that it is related to the length changes of the pharynx and a concomitant higher mobility of the larynx assisting in food transport during regurgitation and swallowing of the cud (Supporting Information, Video 1). In contrast to humans, in which the position of the larynx is more or less static, the larynx in goitred gazelles is mobile in both sexes at any age (Efremova et al, ; Volodin et al, ; Supporting information, Video 2), but particularly so in adult males during production of their rutting calls (Blank, ; Frey et al, ; Blank et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The postnatal ontogeny of the sexually dimorphic vocal apparatus in goitred gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa)

Efremova

Frey

Volodin

et al. 2016

Journal of Morphology

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This study quantitatively documents the progressive development of sexual dimorphism of the vocal organs along the ontogeny of the goitred gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa). The major, male-specific secondary sexual features, of vocal anatomy in goitred gazelle are an enlarged larynx and a marked laryngeal descent. These features appear to have evolved by sexual selection and may serve as a model for similar events in male humans. Sexual dimorphism of larynx size and larynx position in adult goitred gazelles is more pronounced than in humans, whereas the vocal anatomy of neonate goitred gazelles does not differ between sexes. This study examines the vocal anatomy of 19 (11 male, 8 female) goitred gazelle specimens across three age-classes, that is, neonates, subadults and mature adults. The postnatal ontogenetic development of the vocal organs up to their respective end states takes considerably longer in males than in females. Both sexes share the same features of vocal morphology but differences emerge in the course of ontogeny, ultimately resulting in the pronounced sexual dimorphism of the vocal apparatus in adults. The main differences comprise larynx size, vocal fold length, vocal tract length, and mobility of the larynx. The resilience of the thyrohyoid ligament and the pharynx, including the soft palate, and the length changes during contraction and relaxation of the extrinsic laryngeal muscles play a decisive role in the mobility of the larynx in both sexes but to substantially different degrees in adult females and males. Goitred gazelles are born with an undescended larynx and, therefore, larynx descent has to develop in the course of ontogeny. This might result from a trade-off between natural selection and sexual selection requiring a temporal separation of different laryngeal functions at birth and shortly after from those later in life. J. Morphol. 277:826-844, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The postnatal ontogeny of the sexually dimorphic vocal apparatus in goitred gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa)

Efremova

Frey

Volodin

et al. 2016

Journal of Morphology

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“…Nasal vocalizations are common in mammal species in various social and environmental circumstances (Efremova et al 2011;Fitch 2006;Frey et al 2007;Volodin et al 2011). Primates use nasal calls, and they are particularly common in forest environments (Gautier and Gautier-Hion 1982).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vocal Tract Morphology Determines Species-Specific Features in Vocal Signals of Lemurs (Eulemur)

2012

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The source-filter theory describes vocal production as a two-stage process involving the generation of a sound source, with its own spectral structure, which is then filtered by the resonant properties of the vocal tract. This theory has been successfully applied to the study of animal vocal signals since the 1990s. As an extension, models reproducing vocal tract resonance can be used to reproduce formant patterns and to understand the role of vocal tract filtering in nonhuman vocalizations. We studied three congeneric lemur species -Eulemur fulvus, E. macaco, E. rubriventer-using morphological measurements to build computational models of the vocal tract to estimate formants, and acoustic analysis to measure formants from natural calls. We focused on call types emitted through the nose, without apparent articulation. On the basis of anatomical measurements, we modeled the vocal tract of each species as a series of concatenated tubes, with a cross-sectional area that changed along the tract to approximate the morphology of the larynx, the nasopharyngeal cavity, the nasal chambers, and the nostrils. For each species, we calculated the resonance frequencies in 2500 randomly generated vocal tracts, in which we simulated intraspecific length and size variation. Formant location and spacing showed significant species-specific differences determined by the length of the vocal tract. We then measured formants of a set of nasal vocalizations ("grunts") recorded from captive lemurs of the same species. We found species-specific differences in the natural calls. This is the first evidence that morphology of the vocal tract is relevant in generating filter-related acoustic cues that potentially provide receivers with information about the species of the emitter.

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“…This pathway of f0 ontogeny contrasts with the steady decrease of f0 with age which is more typical of mammals, an effect of the growth of sound-producing components of the vocal apparatus (Morton, 1977;Fitch and Hauser, 2002;Matrosova et al, 2007). A descending f0 during postnatal development was found in primates (Inoue, 1988;Hammerschmidt et al, 2000Hammerschmidt et al, , 2001Pistorio et al, 2006;Ey et al, 2007), elephants (Stoeger-Horwath et al, 2007), rodents (Owings and Loughry,1985;Nesterova, 1996;Blumstein and Munos, 2005), bovids (Briefer and McElligott, 2011;Efremova et al, 2011;Volodin et al, 2014) and cervids (Torriani et al, 2006;Volodin et al, 2015a).…”

Section: Vocal Ontogeny With Body Growthmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…In humans and many other mammals, the f0 is inversely related to mass and length of the oscillating portions of the vocal folds (Titze, 1994), and both mass and length increase together with the growth of the larynx (Kahane, 1978(Kahane, , 1982. In most mammalian species, the growth of these sound-producing structures is related to the growth of the body, which results in a steady descent of f0 with age (for instance, Briefer and McElligott, 2011;Efremova et al, 2011;Campbell et al, 2014). In humans, this pattern is complicated in males by an abrupt fall of f0 due to accelerated growth of the larynx at puberty (Fitch and Giedd, 1999;Lee et al, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vocal development during postnatal growth and ear morphology in a shrew that generates seismic vibrations, Diplomesodon pulchellum

Zaytseva

Volodin

Mason

et al. 2015

Behavioural Processes

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The ability of adult and subadult piebald shrews (Diplomesodon pulchellum) to produce 160Hz seismic waves is potentially reflected in their vocal ontogeny and ear morphology. In this study, the ontogeny of call variables and body traits was examined in 11 litters of piebald shrews, in two-day intervals from birth to 22 days (subadult), and ear structure was investigated in two specimens using micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). Across ages, the call fundamental frequency (f0) was stable in squeaks and clicks and increased steadily in screeches, representing an unusual, non-descending ontogenetic pathway of f0. The rate of the deep sinusoidal modulation (pulse rate) of screeches increased from 75Hz at 3-4 days to 138Hz at 21-22 days, probably relating to ontogenetic changes in contraction rates of the same muscles which are responsible for generating seismic vibrations. The ear reconstructions revealed that the morphologies of the middle and inner ears of the piebald shrew are very similar to those of the common shrew (Sorex araneus) and the lesser white-toothed shrew (Crocidura suaveolens), which are not known to produce seismic signals. These results suggest that piebald shrews use a mechanism other than hearing for perceiving seismic vibrations.

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Developmental changes of nasal and oral calls in the goitred gazelle Gazella subgutturosa, a nonhuman mammal with a sexually dimorphic and descended larynx

Cited by 30 publications

References 48 publications

The postnatal ontogeny of the sexually dimorphic vocal apparatus in goitred gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa)

The postnatal ontogeny of the sexually dimorphic vocal apparatus in goitred gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa)

Vocal Tract Morphology Determines Species-Specific Features in Vocal Signals of Lemurs (Eulemur)

Vocal development during postnatal growth and ear morphology in a shrew that generates seismic vibrations, Diplomesodon pulchellum

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