Environmental correlates of vocal communication of wild pygmy marmosets, Cebuella pygmaea

Torre, Stella de la; Snowdon, Charles T.

doi:10.1006/anbe.2001.1978

Cited by 128 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Blue monkeys Cercopithecus mitis and pygmy marmosets Cebuella pygmaea produce calls with dominant frequencies coinciding with typical low-amplitude regions in the environmental noise spectra of their habitats, which may be the result of an evolutionary shaping of call phonetics to minimise masking by background noise (Brown and Waser, 1984;de la Torre and Snowdon, 2002). Furthermore, de la Torre and Snowdon (2002) could show that with varying communication distance, pygmy marmosets use two different call types that transmit particularly well over the respective distance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acoustic communication in noise: regulation of call characteristics in a New World monkey

Brumm

Voß

Köllmer

et al. 2004

Journal of Experimental Biology

312

208

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This study on common marmosets Callithrix jacchus is the first to examine noise-dependent mechanisms of vocal plasticity in a New World monkey. Since acoustic communication can be considerably impaired by environmental noise, some animals have evolved adaptations to counteract its masking effects. The studied marmosets increased the sound level of their spontaneous calls in response to increased levels of white noise broadcast to them. Possibly, such noise-dependent adjustment of vocal amplitude serves to maintain a specific signal-to-noise ratio that is favourable for signal production. Concurrently, the adjustment of vocal amplitude can maintain a given active space for communication. In contrast to some bird species, no noiseinduced increase in the number of syllables per call series could be found, showing that an increased serial redundancy of vocal signals was not used to communicate under noisy conditions. Finally, we examined a possible noise-dependent prolongation of vocal signals. This approach was guided by the findings of perceptional studies, which suggest an increased detection probability of prolonged signals in noise by temporal summation. Marmosets indeed increased the duration of their call syllables along with increasing background noise levels. This is the first evidence of such mechanism of vocal plasticity in an animal communication system.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acoustic communication in noise: regulation of call characteristics in a New World monkey

Brumm

Voß

Köllmer

et al. 2004

Journal of Experimental Biology

312

208

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…[32,33,40,41,53,101]). This experimental procedure was selected because it has shown lack of significant differences in attenuation average rates by comparing with those obtained from natural calls [102].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Call Transmission Efficiency in Native and Invasive Anurans: Competing Hypotheses of Divergence in Acoustic Signals

et al. 2013

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Invasive species are a leading cause of the current biodiversity decline, and hence examining the major traits favouring invasion is a key and long-standing goal of invasion biology. Despite the prominent role of the advertisement calls in sexual selection and reproduction, very little attention has been paid to the features of acoustic communication of invasive species in nonindigenous habitats and their potential impacts on native species. Here we compare for the first time the transmission efficiency of the advertisement calls of native and invasive species, searching for competitive advantages for acoustic communication and reproduction of introduced taxa, and providing insights into competing hypotheses in evolutionary divergence of acoustic signals: acoustic adaptation vs. morphological constraints. Using sound propagation experiments, we measured the attenuation rates of pure tones (0.2–5 kHz) and playback calls (Lithobates catesbeianus and Pelophylax perezi) across four distances (1, 2, 4, and 8 m) and over two substrates (water and soil) in seven Iberian localities. All factors considered (signal type, distance, substrate, and locality) affected transmission efficiency of acoustic signals, which was maximized with lower frequency sounds, shorter distances, and over water surface. Despite being broadcast in nonindigenous habitats, the advertisement calls of invasive L. catesbeianus were propagated more efficiently than those of the native species, in both aquatic and terrestrial substrates, and in most of the study sites. This implies absence of optimal relationship between native environments and propagation of acoustic signals in anurans, in contrast to what predicted by the acoustic adaptation hypothesis, and it might render these vertebrates particularly vulnerable to intrusion of invasive species producing low frequency signals, such as L. catesbeianus. Our findings suggest that mechanisms optimizing sound transmission in native habitat can play a less significant role than other selective forces or biological constraints in evolutionary design of anuran acoustic signals.

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“…The long distance calls of some New and Old World primate species reach long distances with few modifications on their original structure, suggesting that call structure is adapted to the environment (Mitani 1985;Waser 1977;Waser and Brown 1986;Waser and Waser 1977;Whitehead 1995). However, there is only 1 study (de la Torre and Snowdon 2002) of the long calls of small New World primates (Callithrichidae), which are high-pitched calls that theoretically would degrade quickly in forested environments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Field and captive studies have revealed systematic variation in acoustic structure correlated with context, gender, individuals, group membership, populations, and ambient noise levels (de la Torre and Snowdon 2002;Snowdon 1989Snowdon , 1993Snowdon and Hodun 1985;Snowdon et al 1986;Ruiz-Miranda and Kleiman 2002;Rukstalis et al 2003). To understand the function of long calls it is necessary to understand if variation in the signal is functional and how the sound decays or changes during transmission over long distances.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Acoustical Aspects of the Propagation of Long Calls of Wild Leontopithecus rosalia

Sabatini

Ruiz‐Miranda

2008

Int J Primatol

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Golden lion tamarins emit conspicuous and complex long calls. Little is known about the propagation distance of the calls, and the knowledge is important to understand the function of long calls. The high-frequency spectrum of the calls renders them susceptible to substantial degradation inside forest habitats. We investigated 1) the propagation distance of the long call and if the height from the ground affects the degree of degradation and 2) whether long-call acoustic variation affects the propagation distance. We conducted a playback study of 7 2-phrase long calls recorded at different distances (20, 40, 80, 120 m) and heights above ground (2 m and 7.5 m) in 3 transects of Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We quantified the degradation by measuring differences in the number of syllables and frequency measures of the calls at each distance. Degradation became significant at 80 m; the calls degraded below background noise at 120 m. The degradation of syllables was lower for recordings at 7.5 m above ground. The frequency spectra of the calls influenced significantly the propagation distance of the call. Because of the short propagation distance of long calls relative to territory size, we hypothesize that long calls may be adapted to avoiding ambient noise and that they evolved first for intragroup communication and then for territorial defense.

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Environmental correlates of vocal communication of wild pygmy marmosets, Cebuella pygmaea

Cited by 128 publications

References 18 publications

Acoustic communication in noise: regulation of call characteristics in a New World monkey

Acoustic communication in noise: regulation of call characteristics in a New World monkey

Call Transmission Efficiency in Native and Invasive Anurans: Competing Hypotheses of Divergence in Acoustic Signals

Acoustical Aspects of the Propagation of Long Calls of Wild Leontopithecus rosalia

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