The Variety of Information Transfer in Animal Sonic Communication: Review from a Physics Perspective

Fletcher, Neville H.

doi:10.3390/e11040888

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…In contrast, Holt et al (2015) reported that the metabolic cost increases substantially with increasing acoustic output levels for bottlenose dolphins, in line with some studies of birds and amphibians (McLister, 2001;Oberweger and Goller, 2001). While this is to be expected if sound production costs are a significant part of the total metabolic rate during the vocal phase, the rate of increase implies a sound production efficiency several orders of magnitude less than what has been reported for humans, amphibians and fowl, and modeled for elk/red deer (Brackenbury, 1977;Fletcher, 2009;McLister, 2001;Prestwich et al, 1989;Ryan, 1985;Titze and Riede, 2010) (Fig. 6).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Dolphins in our study used acoustic output levels before accounting for effects of directivity that were (Brackenbury, 1977) C. elaphus nelsoni G. domesticus H. versicolor (McLister, 2001) H. versicolor (McLister, 2001) H. gratiosa (Prestwich, 1989) H. cinerea (Prestwich, 1989) H. squirella (Prestwich, 1989) H. pustulosus (Ryan, 1985) H. sapiens sapiens (Fletcher, 2009) 0.001…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In recent years, efforts have been made to address these questions by estimating the energetic cost of sound production in bottlenose dolphins [Tursiops truncatus (Montagu 1821)]. Theoretical calculations of metabolic cost of whistling suggest a maximum increase in resting metabolic rate (RMR) of 0.5-1% (Jensen et al, 2012), but rely critically on an assumed sound production efficiency of 1%, similar to many terrestrial animals (Brackenbury, 1977;Fletcher, 2009;McLister, 2001;Prestwich et al, 1989;Ryan, 1985). By contrast, recent empirical studies have reported that whistling is surprisingly costly, with RMRs increasing by 20% (Holt et al, 2015;Noren et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Whistling is metabolically cheap for communicating bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

Pedersen

Fahlman²,

Borque‐Espinosa

et al. 2019

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Toothed whales depend on sound for communication and foraging, making them potentially vulnerable to acoustic masking from increasing anthropogenic noise. Masking effects may be ameliorated by higher amplitudes or rates of calling, but such acoustic compensation mechanisms may incur energetic costs if sound production is expensive. The costs of whistling in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) have been reported to be much higher (20% of resting metabolic rate, RMR) than theoretical predictions (0.5-1% of RMR). Here, we address this dichotomy by measuring the change in the resting O 2 consumption rate (V O2), a proxy for RMR, in three post-absorptive bottlenose dolphins during whistling and silent trials, concurrent with simultaneous measurement of acoustic output using a calibrated hydrophone array. The experimental protocol consisted of a 2-min baseline period to establish RMR, followed by a 2-min voluntary resting surface apnea, with or without whistling as cued by the trainers, and then a 5-min resting period to measure recovery costs. Daily fluctuations in V O2 were accounted for by subtracting the baseline RMR from the recovery costs to estimate the cost of apnea with and without whistles relative to RMR. Analysis of 52 sessions containing 1162 whistles showed that whistling did not increase metabolic cost (P>0.1, +4.2±6.9%) as compared with control trials (−0.5±5.9%; means±s.e.m.). Thus, we reject the hypothesis that whistling is costly for bottlenose dolphins, and conclude that vocal adjustments such as the Lombard response to noise do not represent large direct energetic costs for communicating toothed whales.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Whistling is metabolically cheap for communicating bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

Pedersen

Fahlman²,

Borque‐Espinosa

et al. 2019

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…Thus, sex recognition relying on vocal signals is potentially useful and may be indeed encoded both in the rhythmic structure and the frequency of the DP units. The use of song phrases to broadcast sex may be essential during pair formation (Torti et al, 2013 ) at distances where other communicative signals may be ineffective (Fletcher, 2009 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Indris Have Got Rhythm! Timing and Pitch Variation of a Primate Song Examined between Sexes and Age Classes

et al. 2016

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A crucial, common feature of speech and music is that they show non-random structures over time. It is an open question which of the other species share rhythmic abilities with humans, but in most cases the lack of knowledge about their behavioral displays prevents further studies. Indris are the only lemurs who sing. They produce loud howling cries that can be heard at several kilometers, in which all members of a group usually sing. We tested whether overlapping and turn-taking during the songs followed a precise pattern by analysing the temporal structure of the individuals' contribution to the song. We found that both dominants (males and females) and non-dominants influenced the onset timing one another. We have found that the dominant male and the dominant female in a group overlapped each other more frequently than they did with the non-dominants. We then focused on the temporal and frequency structure of particular phrases occurring during the song. Our results show that males and females have dimorphic inter-onset intervals during the phrases. Moreover, median frequencies of the unit emitted in the phrases also differ between the sexes, with males showing higher frequencies when compared to females. We have not found an effect of age on the temporal and spectral structure of the phrases. These results indicate that singing in indris has a high behavioral flexibility and varies according to social and individual factors. The flexible spectral structure of the phrases given during the song may underlie perceptual abilities that are relatively unknown in other non-human primates, such as the ability to recognize particular pitch patterns.

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“…In long range vocalization, maximum propagation distance is achieved, mostly by maximizing sound power radiated to the listener (Fletcher, 2007). In short range vocalization, sound complexity is increased for maximum information transfer to the listener (Shannon, 1948;Reed and Durlach, 1998;Fletcher, 2009). The two adaptations drive the fundamental frequency of vocalization in opposite directions, low f o for maximum information transfer and high f o for maximum radiated power (Gridi-Papp, 2008;Wilkins et al, 2013;Pasch et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiation efficiency for long-range vocal communication in mammals and birds

Titze

Palaparthi

2018

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

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Long-distance vocal communication by birds and mammals, including humans, is facilitated largely by radiation efficiency from the mouth or beak. Here, this efficiency is defined and quantified. It depends on frequency content of vocalization, mouth opening, head and upper body geometry, and directionality. Each of these factors is described mathematically with a piston-in-a-sphere model. While this model is considered a classic, never before has the high frequency solution been applied in detail to vocalization. Results indicate that frequency content in the 1-50 kHz range can be radiated with nearly 100% efficiency if a reactance peak in the radiation impedance is utilized with adjustments of head size, mouth opening, and beam direction. Without these adjustments, radiation efficiency is generally below 1%, especially in human speech where a high fundamental frequency is a disadvantage for intelligibility. Thus, two distinct modes of vocal communication are identified, (1) short range with optimized information transfer and (2) long range with maximum efficiency for release of acoustic power.

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The Variety of Information Transfer in Animal Sonic Communication: Review from a Physics Perspective

Cited by 5 publications

References 30 publications

Whistling is metabolically cheap for communicating bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

Whistling is metabolically cheap for communicating bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

The Indris Have Got Rhythm! Timing and Pitch Variation of a Primate Song Examined between Sexes and Age Classes

Radiation efficiency for long-range vocal communication in mammals and birds

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