A new approach to identify mammals good at learning sounds

Date:
November 16, 2021
Source:
Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
Summary:
Why are some animals good at learning sounds? Did this skill appear
when animals started 'faking' their body size by lowering calls? In
a new study on a wide range of mammals,researchers revisit this
question.

Surprisingly, many animals who are skilled vocalists (such as
dolphins and seals) actually sound higher than would be expected
for their body size.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
Why are some animals good at learning sounds? Did this skill appear
when animals started 'faking' their body size by lowering calls? In
a new study on a wide range of mammals,researchers revisit this
question. Surprisingly, many animals who are skilled vocalists (such
as dolphins and seals) actually sound higher than would be expected for
their body size.


==========================================================================
Some animals -- such as red deer -- sound 'bigger' than they really
are. This means that their calls are lower than you would expect based
on their body size. Biologists think that 'faking' body size in such
a way might be a strategy to impress the other sex. In a recent study,
Garcia and Ravignani noticed that animals who can fake their body size
by changing their calls also tend to be good at learning sounds -- an
ability known as vocal learning. Could natural selection be the driving
force behind both: faking body size and learning sounds? If true, this
idea would have important implications for the evolution of speech.

To further explore the relationship between faking body size and vocal learning, Ravignani and Garcia expanded their earlier analyses of a
wide range of mammals. Would the relation between faking body size
and learning sounds turn out to be a systematic evolutionary pattern?
What they found was surprising. Contrary to expectations, most vocal
learners - - such as dolphins, whales and seals -- sounded higher than
you would expect based on their body size, not lower. Ravignani explains: "There might be an alternative evolutionary scenario in vocal learners,
where selective pressures favour individuals that can change their tone
of voice from low to high." In other words, good vocal learners are
those animals that can hit the high notes.

Vocal learners who sounded lower than expected often had anatomical
adaptations that could explain the lowered voice (such as a longer
nose). Garcia adds: "Of course there are exceptions, and we do not claim
that all vocal learner species sound higher than expected for their
body size. But there is a general trend, and this may help us to better characterise vocal communication in mammals." According to Ravignani
and Garcia, their new framework may help predict which species are vocal learners. For instance, the manatee (or sea cow) is an animal that hasn't
yet shown vocal learning. However, as its calls are higher than expected,
the sea cow may have hidden vocal talents. Likewise, non-vocalists who
sound lower than expected, such as the Juan Fernandez fur seal, may turn
out to have evolved specific anatomical adaptations.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Max_Planck_Institute_for_Psycholinguistics. Note: Content may be edited
for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Andrea Ravignani, Maxime Garcia. A cross-species framework to
identify
vocal learning abilities in mammals. Philosophical Transactions
of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2021; 377 (1841) DOI:
10.1098/ rstb.2020.0394 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/11/211116103135.htm

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