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Guérineau C, Broseghini A, Lõoke M, Dehesh G, Mongillo P, Marinelli L. Determining Hearing Thresholds in Dogs Using the Staircase Method. Vet Sci 2024; 11:67. [PMID: 38393085 PMCID: PMC10892234 DOI: 10.3390/vetsci11020067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Revised: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
There is a growing interest in performing playback experiments to understand which acoustical cues trigger specific behavioral/emotional responses in dogs. However, very limited studies have focused their attention on more basic aspects of hearing such as sensitivity, i.e., the identification of minimal intensity thresholds across different frequencies. Most previous studies relied on electrophysiological methods for audiograms for dogs, but these methods are considered less accurate than assessments based on behavioral responses. To our knowledge, only one study has established hearing thresholds using a behavioral assessment on four dogs but using a method that did not allow potential improvement throughout the sessions. In the present study, we devised an assessment procedure based on a staircase method. Implying the adaptation of the assessed intensity on the dogs' performance, this approach grants several assessments around the actual hearing threshold of the animal, thereby increasing the reliability of the result. We used such a method to determine hearing thresholds at three frequencies (0.5, 4.0, and 20.0 kHz). Five dogs were tested in each frequency. The hearing thresholds were found to be 19.5 ± 2.8 dB SPL at 0.5 kHz, 14.0 ± 4.5 dB SPL at 4.0 kHz, and 8.5 ± 12.8 dB SPL at 20.0 kHz. No improvement in performance was visible across the procedure. While the thresholds at 0.5 and 4.0 kHz were in line with the previous literature, the threshold at 20 kHz was remarkably lower than expected. Dogs' ability to produce vocalization beyond 20 kHz, potentially used in short-range communication, and the selective pressure linked to intraspecific communication in social canids are discussed as potential explanations for the sensitivity to higher frequencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cécile Guérineau
- Dipartimento di Biomedicina Comparata e Alimentazione, University of Padova, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy; (C.G.); (A.B.); (M.L.); (L.M.)
| | - Anna Broseghini
- Dipartimento di Biomedicina Comparata e Alimentazione, University of Padova, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy; (C.G.); (A.B.); (M.L.); (L.M.)
| | - Miina Lõoke
- Dipartimento di Biomedicina Comparata e Alimentazione, University of Padova, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy; (C.G.); (A.B.); (M.L.); (L.M.)
| | - Giulio Dehesh
- Independent Researcher, Via Chiesanuova 139, 35136 Padova, Italy;
| | - Paolo Mongillo
- Dipartimento di Biomedicina Comparata e Alimentazione, University of Padova, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy; (C.G.); (A.B.); (M.L.); (L.M.)
| | - Lieta Marinelli
- Dipartimento di Biomedicina Comparata e Alimentazione, University of Padova, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy; (C.G.); (A.B.); (M.L.); (L.M.)
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Piastolov SV, Volodin IA, Vasilieva NY, Khrushchova AM, Shekarova ON, Volodina EV. Comparison of ultrasonic isolation calls of pure-breeding and interspecies hybrid Phodopus dwarf hamster pups. Behav Processes 2023; 210:104917. [PMID: 37459937 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2023.104917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023]
Abstract
In mammalian cross-species hybrids, parameters of voice calls, produced by vocal fold vibrations, are intermediate between parental species. Inheritance of ultrasonic calls, produced by whistle mechanism, is unstudied for hybrids. We examined 4000 pup ultrasonic isolation-induced calls for peak power of call fundamental frequency and for call duration in 4-8-day-old captive hamsters of four Study Groups: pure Phodopus sungorus; pure P. campbelli of two populations (Mongolian and Kosh-Agach) and hybrids between male P. sungorus and female P. campbelli (Kosh-Agach). All Study Groups produced two categories of ultrasonic calls: Low-Frequency centered around 41 kHz and High-Frequency centered around 60 kHz, but in different percentages. Between populations, only Low-Frequency calls were shorter and higher-frequency in Mongolian P. campbelli. Between species, only High-Frequency calls were shorter and higher-frequency in P. sungorus. In hybrids, Low-Frequency calls were shorter and lower-frequency than in either parental species, whereas High-Frequency calls were longer and lower-frequency in hybrids than in pure P. sungorus but similar with another parental species. We discuss that interspecific hybridization may give rise to offspring with new properties of ultrasonic calls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Semen V Piastolov
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Vorobievy Gory, 1/12, Moscow 119234, Russia
| | - Ilya A Volodin
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Vorobievy Gory, 1/12, Moscow 119234, Russia.
| | - Nina Yu Vasilieva
- Department of Comparative Ethology and Biocommunication, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky prospect, 33, Moscow 119071, Russia
| | - Anastasia M Khrushchova
- Department of Comparative Ethology and Biocommunication, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky prospect, 33, Moscow 119071, Russia
| | - Olga N Shekarova
- Department of Population Ecology, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky prospect, 33, Moscow 119071, Russia
| | - Elena V Volodina
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky prospect, 33, Moscow 119071, Russia
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Sportelli JJ, Jones BL, Ridgway SH. Non-linear phenomena: a common acoustic feature of bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus) signature whistles. BIOACOUSTICS 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2022.2106306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jessica J. Sportelli
- Conservation Biology, Sound and Health, National Marine Mammal Foundation, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Brittany L. Jones
- Conservation Biology, Sound and Health, National Marine Mammal Foundation, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Sam H. Ridgway
- Conservation Biology, Sound and Health, National Marine Mammal Foundation, San Diego, CA, USA
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Dymskaya MM, Volodin IA, Smorkatcheva AV, Vasilieva NA, Volodina EV. Audible, but not ultrasonic, calls reflect surface-dwelling or subterranean specialization in pup and adult Brandt’s and mandarin voles. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03213-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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Zedda M, Brunetti A, Palombo MR. First Attempt to Infer Sound Hearing and Its Paleoenvironmental Implications in the Extinct Insular Canid Cynotherium sardous Studiati, 1857 (Sardinia, Italy). Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12070833. [PMID: 35405823 PMCID: PMC8996844 DOI: 10.3390/ani12070833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary The microtomographic approach allows nondestructive acquisition of anatomical details of the bone labyrinth that houses the inner ear. The petrosal bone can be a gold mine of information for a variety of questions in different research fields, including taxonomic, behavioral, and genetic studies. The semicircular canals provide information on head posture and locomotor ability, whereas the cochlea provides data on hearing ability. The petrosal bone is the hardest structure in the skeleton and could be well preserved in fossil specimens. As a result, it is becoming more and more popular in current archaeological and paleontological studies. In this study, petrosal microtomographic analysis was applied for the first time to Cynotherium sardous, a highly modified endemic canid that inhabited Sardinia during the Middle to Late Pleistocene. Indications about its hearing ability may provide interesting insights to better understand the new lifestyle and behavior this canid acquired during the long evolutionary process it underwent in the peculiar insular ecosystem with a depleted fauna. The poor hearing and echolocalization capabilities of Cynotherium sardous would have been the outcome of reduced competition pressure due to the absence of predators and the abundance of prey, such as the large ochotonid Prolagus sardus, while the high-frequency hearing could be interpreted as an adaptation to detect sounds emitted by its preferred prey. Abstract This is the first study on the bony labyrinth of Cynotherium sardous, an intriguing extinct canid that inhabited Sardinia in the late Middle and Late Pleistocene. The morphological features of the cochlea indicate that C. sardous had a lower number of cochlear turns (2.25) than all extant canids. This feature, as well as the reduced length of the spiral canal, the cochlear curvature rate, and the narrow basal membrane, indicates that C. sardous had poor hearing abilities limited to high-frequency sounds with a low limit of 250 Hz and poor echolocalization skills. From the data available, it is not possible to infer whether C. sardous was unable to echolocalize its prey and relied on other senses (e.g., smell and sight) to locate them or whether the acoustic range of C. sardous was specialized for identifying the sounds produced by its most common prey to transmit signals for predator warnings or group communication. All things considered, the results obtained confirm the utility of cochlea morphological studies in reconstructing the hearing abilities of this species and in providing some suggestions about its ethology, but they fall short of providing any new sound evidence regarding the ecological role of C. sardous in the Late Pleistocene Sardinian ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Zedda
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-079-229-583
| | - Antonio Brunetti
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy;
| | - Maria Rita Palombo
- CNR-IGAG c/o Department of Earth Sciences, Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy;
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Effect of pitch range on dogs' response to conspecific vs. heterospecific distress cries. Sci Rep 2021; 11:19723. [PMID: 34611191 PMCID: PMC8492669 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-98967-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Distress cries are emitted by many mammal species to elicit caregiving attention. Across taxa, these calls tend to share similar acoustic structures, but not necessarily frequency range, raising the question of their interspecific communicative potential. As domestic dogs are highly responsive to human emotional cues and experience stress when hearing human cries, we explore whether their responses to distress cries from human infants and puppies depend upon sharing conspecific frequency range or species-specific call characteristics. We recorded adult dogs' responses to distress cries from puppies and human babies, emitted from a loudspeaker in a basket. The frequency of the cries was presented in both their natural range and also shifted to match the other species. Crucially, regardless of species origin, calls falling into the dog call-frequency range elicited more attention. Thus, domestic dogs' responses depended strongly on the frequency range. Females responded both faster and more strongly than males, potentially reflecting asymmetries in parental care investment. Our results suggest that, despite domestication leading to an increased overall responsiveness to human cues, dogs still respond considerably less to calls in the natural human infant range than puppy range. Dogs appear to use a fast but inaccurate decision-making process to determine their response to distress-like vocalisations.
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Volodin IA, Dymskaya MM, Smorkatcheva AV, Volodina EV. Ultrasound from underground: cryptic communication in subterranean wild-living and captive northern mole voles (Ellobius talpinus). BIOACOUSTICS 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2021.1960191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ilya A. Volodin
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Margarita M. Dymskaya
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | | | - Elena V. Volodina
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
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Beeck VC, Heilmann G, Kerscher M, Stoeger AS. A novel theory of Asian elephant high-frequency squeak production. BMC Biol 2021; 19:121. [PMID: 34134675 PMCID: PMC8210382 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-021-01026-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Anatomical and cognitive adaptations to overcome morpho-mechanical limitations of laryngeal sound production, where body size and the related vocal apparatus dimensions determine the fundamental frequency, increase vocal diversity across taxa. Elephants flexibly use laryngeal and trunk-based vocalizations to form a repertoire ranging from infrasonic rumbles to higher-pitched trumpets. Moreover, they are among the few evolutionarily distantly related animals (humans, pinnipeds, cetaceans, birds) capable of imitating species-atypical sounds. Yet, their vocal plasticity has so far not been related to functions within their natural communicative system, in part because not all call types have been systematically studied. Here, we reveal how Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) produce species-specific squeaks (F0 300-2300 Hz) by using acoustic camera recordings to visualize sound emission and examining this alongside acoustic, behavioral, and morphological data across seven captive groups. RESULTS We found that squeaks were emitted through the closed mouth in synchrony with cheek depression and retraction of the labial angles. The simultaneous emission of squeaks with nasal snorts (biphonation) in one individual confirmed that squeak production was independent of nasal passage involvement and this implicated oral sound production. The squeaks' spectral structure is incongruent with laryngeal sound production and aerodynamic whistles, pointing to tissue vibration as the sound source. Anatomical considerations suggest that the longitudinal closed lips function as the vibrators. Acoustic and temporal parameters exhibit high intra- and inter-individual variability that enables individual but no call-subtype classification. Only 19 of 56 study subjects were recorded to squeak, mostly during alarming contexts and social arousal but some also on command. CONCLUSION Our results strongly suggest that Asian elephants force air from the small oral cavity through the tensed lips, inducing self-sustained lip vibration. Besides human brass players, lip buzzing is not described elsewhere in the animal kingdom. Given the complexity of the proposed mechanism, the surprising absence of squeaking in most of the unrelated subjects and the indication for volitional control, we hypothesize that squeak production involves social learning. Our study offers new insights into how vocal and cognitive flexibility enables mammals to overcome size-related limitations of laryngeal sound production. This flexibility enables Asian elephants to exploit a frequency range spanning seven octaves within their communicative system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronika C Beeck
- Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Biology, Mammal Communication Lab, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
| | | | | | - Angela S Stoeger
- Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Biology, Mammal Communication Lab, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
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Volodin IA, Volodina EV, Frey R, Karaseva KD, Kirilyuk VE. Daurian pika (Ochotona dauurica) alarm calls: individual acoustic variation in a lagomorph with audible through ultrasonic vocalizations. J Mammal 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyab048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Colonial lagomorphs warn conspecifics of potential danger with alarm calls encoding information about attributes of presumptive predators as well as the caller. In this study, we show that alarm calls of Daurian pikas, Ochotona dauurica (Pallas, 1776), encode information about caller identity. We recorded the alarm calls produced toward a surrogate predator (researcher), slowly moving (0.5–1 km/h) between densely distributed colonies. The alarm calls of most (32 of the 35) callers started in the ultrasonic range at 22.41 kHz on average and rapidly decreased to 3.88 kHz on average at call end. Call duration was very short (0.057 s on average). The accuracy of classifying alarm calls to correct callers with discriminant function analysis (DFA) was 93.71% for the manually measured set of 12 acoustic variables and 95.43% for the semiautomatically measured set of 12 acoustic variables; in both cases exceeding the level of chance (17.28% or 17.33%, respectively). Nonlinear vocal phenomena (biphonations) only were detected in one individual. We discuss the relationship between vocal traits, individuality, vocal production mechanisms, and functions, of pika alarm calls. We propose a potential divergence of alarm calls in Asian pikas to high-frequency whistles (> 20 kHz in Daurian pikas) and in American pikas to low-frequency emissions (0.4–1.3 kHz in Ochotona princeps) during the evolutionary radiation of pikas at the center of the origin of lagomorphs in East Asia and their subsequent geographic dispersal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilya A Volodin
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology of Mammals, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Elena V Volodina
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology of Mammals, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Roland Frey
- Department of Reproduction Management, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Kseniya D Karaseva
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Vadim E Kirilyuk
- Daursky State Nature Biosphere Reserve, Nizhnii Tsasuchei, Ononskii District, Zabaikalskii Krai, Russia
- Department of Biogeography, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
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Volodin IA, Volodina EV, Rutovskaya MV. Camel whistling vocalisations: male and female call structure and context in Camelus bactrianus and Camelus dromedarius. BIOACOUSTICS 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2021.1889403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ilya A. Volodin
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Elena V. Volodina
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Marina V. Rutovskaya
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
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Marx A, Lenkei R, Pérez Fraga P, Bakos V, Kubinyi E, Faragó T. Occurrences of non-linear phenomena and vocal harshness in dog whines as indicators of stress and ageing. Sci Rep 2021; 11:4468. [PMID: 33627739 PMCID: PMC7904949 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-83614-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
During social interactions, acoustic parameters of tetrapods' vocalisations reflect the emotional state of the caller. Higher levels of spectral noise and the occurrence of irregularities (non-linear phenomena NLP) might be negative arousal indicators in alarm calls, although less is known about other distress vocalisations. Family dogs experience different levels of stress during separation from their owner and may vocalise extensively. Analysing their whines can provide evidence for the relationship between arousal and NLP. We recorded 167 family dogs' separation behaviour including vocalisations, assessed their stress level based on behaviour and tested how these, their individual features, and owner reported separation-related problems (SRP) relate to their whines' (N = 4086) spectral noise and NLP. Dogs with SRP produced NLP whines more likely. More active dogs and dogs that tried to escape produced noisier whines. Older dogs' whines were more harmonic than younger ones', but they also showed a higher NLP ratio. Our results show that vocal harshness and NLP are associated with arousal in contact calls, and thus might function as stress indicators. The higher occurrence of NLP in older dogs irrespective to separation stress suggests loss in precise neural control of the larynx, and hence can be a potential ageing indicator.
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Affiliation(s)
- András Marx
- Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Rita Lenkei
- Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Paula Pérez Fraga
- Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- MTA-ELTE 'Lendület' Neuroethology of Communication Research Group, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Viktória Bakos
- Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Enikő Kubinyi
- Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Tamás Faragó
- Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
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Sibiryakova OV, Volodin IA, Volodina EV. Polyphony of domestic dog whines and vocal cues to body size. Curr Zool 2020; 67:165-176. [PMID: 33854534 PMCID: PMC8026154 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoaa042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
In domestic dogs Canis familiaris, vocal traits have been investigated for barks and growls, and the relationship between individual body size and vocal traits investigated for growls, with less corresponding information for whines. In this study, we examined the frequency and temporal traits of whines of 20 adult companion dogs (9 males, 11 females), ranging in body mass from 3.5 to 70.0 kg and belonging to 16 breeds. Dog whines (26–71 per individual, 824 in total) were recorded in conditioned begging contexts modeled by dog owners. Whines had 3 independent fundamental frequencies: the low, the high and the ultra-high that occurred singly as monophonic calls or simultaneously as 2-voice biphonic or 3-voice polyphonic calls. From the smallest to largest dog, the upper frequency limit varied from 0.24 to 2.13 kHz for the low fundamental frequency, from 2.95 to 10.46 kHz for the high fundamental frequency and from 9.99 to 23.26 kHz for the ultra-high fundamental frequency. Within individuals, the low fundamental frequency was lower in monophonic than in biphonic whines, whereas the high fundamental frequency did not differ between those whine types. All frequency variables of the low, high, and ultra-high fundamental frequencies correlated negatively with dog body mass. For duration, no correlation with body mass was found. We discuss potential production mechanisms and sound sources for each fundamental frequency; point to the acoustic similarity between high-frequency dog whines and rodent ultrasonic calls and hypothesize that ultra-high fundamental frequencies function to allow private, “tete-a-tete” communication between members of social groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga V Sibiryakova
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119234, Russia
| | - Ilya A Volodin
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119234, Russia.,Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, Russia
| | - Elena V Volodina
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, Russia
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13
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Yurlova DD, Volodin IA, Ilchenko OG, Volodina EV. Rapid development of mature vocal patterns of ultrasonic calls in a fast-growing rodent, the yellow steppe lemming (Eolagurus luteus). PLoS One 2020; 15:e0228892. [PMID: 32045453 PMCID: PMC7015103 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2019] [Accepted: 01/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Ultrasonic vocalizations (USV) of laboratory rodents may serve as age-dependent indicators of emotional arousal and anxiety. Fast-growing Arvicolinae rodent species might be advantageous wild-type animal models for behavioural and medical research related to USV ontogeny. For the yellow steppe lemming Eolagurus luteus, only audible calls of adults were previously described. This study provides categorization and spectrographic analyses of 1176 USV calls emitted by 120 individual yellow steppe lemmings at 12 age classes, from birth to breeding adults over 90 days (d) of age, 10 individuals per age class, up to 10 USV calls per individual. The USV calls emerged since 1st day of pup life and occurred at all 12 age classes and in both sexes. The unified 2-min isolation procedure on an unfamiliar territory was equally applicable for inducing USV calls at all age classes. Rapid physical growth (1 g body weight gain per day from birth to 40 d of age) and the early (9-12 d) eyes opening correlated with the early (9-12 d) emergence of mature vocal patterns of USV calls. The mature vocal patterns included a prominent shift in percentages of chevron and upward contours of fundamental frequency (f0) and the changes in the acoustic variables of USV calls. Call duration was the longest at 1-4 d, significantly shorter at 9-12 d and did not between 9-12-d and older age classes. The maximum fundamental frequency (f0max) decreased with increase of age class, from about 50 kHz in neonates to about 40 kHz in adults. These ontogenetic pathways of USV duration and f0max (towards shorter and lower-frequency USV calls) were reminiscent of those in laboratory mice Mus musculus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daria D. Yurlova
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State
University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Ilya A. Volodin
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State
University, Moscow, Russia
- Scientific Research Department, Moscow Zoo, Moscow, Russia
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14
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Volodin IA, Matrosova VA, Frey R, Kozhevnikova JD, Isaeva IL, Volodina EV. Altai pika (Ochotona alpina) alarm calls: individual acoustic variation and the phenomenon of call-synchronous ear folding behavior. THE SCIENCE OF NATURE - NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN 2018; 105:40. [PMID: 29892847 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-018-1567-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2018] [Revised: 05/25/2018] [Accepted: 05/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Non-hibernating pikas collect winter food reserves and store them in hay piles. Individualization of alarm calls might allow discrimination between colony members and conspecifics trying to steal food items from a colony pile. We investigated vocal posture, vocal tract length, and individual acoustic variation of alarm calls, emitted by wild-living Altai pikas Ochotona alpina toward a researcher. Recording started when a pika started calling and lasted as long as possible. The alarm call series of 442 individual callers from different colonies consisted of discrete short (0.073-0.157 s), high-frequency (7.31-15.46 kHz), and frequency-modulated calls separated by irregular intervals. Analysis of 442 discrete calls, the second of each series, revealed that 44.34% calls lacked nonlinear phenomena, in 7.02% nonlinear phenomena covered less than half of call duration, and in 48.64% nonlinear phenomena covered more than half of call duration. Peak frequencies varied among individuals but always fitted one of three maxima corresponding to the vocal tract resonance frequencies (formants) calculated for an estimated 45-mm oral vocal tract. Discriminant analysis using variables of 8 calls per series of 36 different callers, each from a different colony, correctly assigned over 90% of the calls to individuals. Consequently, Altai pika alarm calls are individualistic and nonlinear phenomena might further increase this acoustic individualization. Additionally, video analysis revealed a call-synchronous, very fast (0.13-0.23 s) folding, depression, and subsequent re-expansion of the pinna confirming an earlier report of this behavior that apparently contributes to protecting the hearing apparatus from damage by the self-generated high-intensity alarm calls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilya A Volodin
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Vorobievy Gory, 12/1, Moscow, 119234, Russia. .,Scientific Research Department, Moscow Zoo, B. Gruzinskaya str., 1, Moscow, 123242, Russia.
| | - Vera A Matrosova
- Department of Structural and Functional Genomics, Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilov str., 32, Moscow, 119991, Russia
| | - Roland Frey
- Department of Reproduction Management, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, Berlin, Germany
| | - Julia D Kozhevnikova
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Vorobievy Gory, 12/1, Moscow, 119234, Russia
| | - Inna L Isaeva
- Scientific Research Department, Khakasskiy State Nature Reserve, Tsukanov str., 164, Abakan, 655017, Russia
| | - Elena V Volodina
- Scientific Research Department, Moscow Zoo, B. Gruzinskaya str., 1, Moscow, 123242, Russia
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Volodina EV, Volodin IA, Chelysheva EV, Frey R. Hiss and snort call types of wild-living giraffes Giraffa camelopardalis: acoustic structure and context. BMC Res Notes 2018; 11:12. [PMID: 29316966 PMCID: PMC5761111 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-017-3103-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2017] [Accepted: 12/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Vocalization as part of vigilance behaviour is widespread across animal taxa, including ruminants. Calls of wild-living giraffes have never been recorded and spectrographically investigated. This study reports the acoustic structure of vigilance-related hiss and snort calls of wild-living giraffes Giraffa camelopardalis. RESULTS The hiss and snort calls were emitted during five recording sessions produced by nine individual giraffes (8 adults and 1 subadult) in their natural environment in Namibia (3 individuals) and Kenya (6 individuals). These calls attended vigilance behaviour toward humans in hides or in vehicles and cheetahs as natural predators of giraffe young. This study provides spectrographic analyses of 22 hiss and 20 snort calls. The giraffe hisses were broadband vocalizations of an average duration of 0.72 s (from 0.24 to 1.04 s) and a peak frequency of 0.69 kHz. The giraffe snorts were broadband pulsed calls of an average duration of 0.28 s (from 0.13 to 0.55 s), a peak frequency at 0.20 kHz and comprised a prominent low-frequency pulsation of 23.7 pulses/s. The acoustic structure of giraffe hisses is reminiscent of vigilance-related hisses of musk deer Moschus moschiferus. Giraffe snorts differ from snorts of other ruminants by their prominent pulsed pattern.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ilya A. Volodin
- Scientific Research Department, Moscow Zoo, Moscow, 123242 Russia
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119234 Russia
| | - Elena V. Chelysheva
- Mara-Meru Cheetah Project, Sarit Centre, P.O. Box 1611, Nairobi, 00606 Kenya
| | - Roland Frey
- Department of Reproduction Management, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, 10315 Berlin, Germany
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Effects of free-ranging, semi-captive and captive management on the acoustics of male rutting calls in Siberian wapiti Cervus elaphus sibiricus. MAMMAL RES 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s13364-017-0322-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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17
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Volodin IA, Volodina EV, Frey R. Bull bellows and bugles: a remarkable convergence of low and high-frequency vocalizations between male domestic cattle Bos taurus and the rutting calls of Siberian and North American wapiti. BIOACOUSTICS 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2016.1275805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ilya A. Volodin
- Faculty of Biology, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- Scientific Research Department, Moscow Zoo, Moscow, Russia
| | | | - Roland Frey
- Department of Reproduction Management, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
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Filatova OA, Samarra FIP, Barrett-Lennard LG, Miller PJO, Ford JKB, Yurk H, Matkin CO, Hoyt E. Physical constraints of cultural evolution of dialects in killer whales. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2016; 140:3755. [PMID: 27908070 DOI: 10.1121/1.4967369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Odontocete sounds are produced by two pairs of phonic lips situated in soft nares below the blowhole; the right pair is larger and is more likely to produce clicks, while the left pair is more likely to produce whistles. This has important implications for the cultural evolution of delphinid sounds: the greater the physical constraints, the greater the probability of random convergence. In this paper the authors examine the call structure of eight killer whale populations to identify structural constraints and to determine if they are consistent among all populations. Constraints were especially pronounced in two-voiced calls. In the calls of all eight populations, the lower component of two-voiced (biphonic) calls was typically centered below 4 kHz, while the upper component was typically above that value. The lower component of two-voiced calls had a narrower frequency range than single-voiced calls in all populations. This may be because some single-voiced calls are homologous to the lower component, while others are homologous to the higher component of two-voiced calls. Physical constraints on the call structure reduce the possible variation and increase the probability of random convergence, producing similar calls in different populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga A Filatova
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University, Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Filipa I P Samarra
- Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, Skúlagata 4, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland
| | | | - Patrick J O Miller
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Fife KY168LB, Scotland
| | - John K B Ford
- Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 3190 Hammond Bay Road, Nanaimo, British Columbia V9T1K6, Canada
| | - Harald Yurk
- JASCO Research Ltd., 2305-4464 Markham Street, Victoria, British Columbia V8Z7X8, Canada
| | | | - Erich Hoyt
- Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Park House, Allington Park, Bridport, Dorset DT65DD, United Kingdom
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