baRulho: an R package to quantify degradation in animal acoustic signals

Araya-Salas, Marcelo; Grabarczyk, Erin E.; Quiroz-Oliva, Marcos; García-Rodríguez, Adrián; Rico-Guevara, Alejandro

doi:10.1101/2023.11.22.568305

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The first two dimensions were plotted to generate an acoustic trait space wherein acoustically similar calls appear closer together. We then used the R package PhenotypeSpace (v. 0.1.0; [ 49 ]) to quantify acoustic areas to assess the effect of age on an individual's acoustic repertoire over time. To characterize the acoustic space of each individual per audio recording block, we computed kernel density areas for calls subset by individual identity and time, which quantifies irregular areas with higher precision [ 50 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for maintenance of key components of vocal learning in ageing budgerigars despite diminished affiliative social interaction

Moussaoui,

Overcashier,

Kohn

et al. 2023

Proc. R. Soc. B.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In some species, the ability to acquire new vocalizations persists into adulthood and may be an important mediator of social interactions. While it is generally assumed that vocal learning persists undiminished throughout the lifespan of these open-ended learners, the stability of this trait remains largely unexplored. We hypothesize that vocal learning exhibits senescence, as is typical of complex cognitive traits, and that this decline relates to age-dependent changes in social behaviour. The budgerigar ( Melopsittacus undulatus ), an open-ended learner that develops new contact call types that are shared with social associates upon joining new flocks, provides a robust assay for measuring the effects of ageing on vocal learning ability. We formed captive flocks of 4 previously unfamiliar adult males of the same age class, either ‘young adults’ (6 mo−1 y) or ‘older adults’ (≥ 3 y), and concurrently tracked changes in contact call structure and social interactions over time. Older adults exhibited decreased vocal diversity, which may be related to sparser and weaker affiliative bonds observed in older adults. Older adults, however, displayed equivalent levels of vocal plasticity and vocal convergence compared to young adults, suggesting that many components of vocal learning are largely maintained into later adulthood in an open-ended learner.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%