Observational Evidences of Vocal Learning in Southern Elephant Seals: a Longitudinal Study

Sanvito, Simona; Galimberti, Filippo; Miller, Edward H.

doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.2006.01306.x

Cited by 50 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…The latter has found in three distantly related groups of mammals (humans, bats, and cetaceans) and three distantly related groups of birds (parrots, hummingbirds, and songbirds) (Nottebohm 1972;Janik and Slater 1997). Recent studies have also discovered evidence for vocal learning in seals (Sanvito et al 2007) and elephants (Poole et al 2005). However, it is only in humans and the three vocal learning bird groups that the brain pathways for learned vocalization have been studied.…”

Section: Vocal Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neural systems for vocal learning in birds and humans: a synopsis

Jarvis

2007

J Ornithol

101

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I present here a synopsis on a hypothesis that I derived on the similarities and differences of vocal learning systems in vocal learning birds for learned song and in humans for spoken language. This hypothesis states that vocal learning birds-songbirds, parrots, and hummingbirds-and humans have comparable specialized forebrain regions that are not found in their close vocal non-learning relatives. In vocal learning birds, these forebrain regions appear to be divided into two sub-pathways, a vocal motor pathway mainly used to produce learned vocalizations and a pallial-basal-gangliathalamic loop mainly used to learn and modify the vocalizations. I propose that humans have analogous forebrain pathways within and adjacent to the motor and pre-motor cortices, respectively, used to produce and learn speech. Recent advances have supported the existence of the seven cerebral vocal nuclei in the vocal learning birds and the proposed brain regions in humans. The results in birds suggest that the reason why the forebrain regions are similar across distantly related vocal learners is that the vocal pathways may have evolved out of a pre-existing motor pathway that predates the ancient split from the common ancestor of birds and mammals. Although this hypothesis will require the development of novel technologies to be fully tested, the existing evidence suggest that there are strong genetic constraints on how vocal learning neural systems can evolve.

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Section: Vocal Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neural systems for vocal learning in birds and humans: a synopsis

Jarvis

2007

J Ornithol

101

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“…Sanvito et al (2007) show how more detailed longitudinal data on vocal development in elephant seals provides much stronger data on production learning than does study of dialects. Sanvito et al (2007) recorded 29 male elephant seals throughout vocal development. The observed changes in vocalizations observed are well explained by vocal learning, with young peripheral males imitating vocalizations produced by established successful males.…”

Section: Geographical and Temporal Variation In Callsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Convergence of calls as animals form social bonds, active compensation for noisy communication channels, and the evolution of vocal learning in mammals.

Tyack¹

2008

Journal of Comparative Psychology

131

146

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The classic evidence for vocal production learning involves imitation of novel, often anthropogenic sounds. Among mammals, this has been reported for African elephants, harbor seals, and dolphins. A broader taxonomic distribution has been reported for vocal convergence, where the acoustic properties of calls from different individuals converge when they are housed together in captivity or form social bonds in the wild. This kind of vocal convergence has been demonstrated for animals as diverse as songbirds, parakeets, bats, elephants, cetaceans, and primates. For most of these species, call convergence is thought to reflect a group-distinctive identifier, with shared calls reflecting and strengthening social bonds. Pooling data on vocal imitation and vocal convergence suggests a wider taxonomic distribution of vocal production learning among mammals than generally appreciated. The wide taxonomic distribution of this evidence for vocal production learning suggests that perhaps more of the neural underpinnings for vocal production learning are in place in mammals than is usually imagined. One ubiquitous function for vocal production learning that is starting to receive attention involves modifying signals to improve communication in a noisy channel.

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“…Vocal convergence is well known in humans and is one aspect of a phenomenon called vocal accommodation (Street and Giles 1982 ;Giles 1984). Sanvito et al (2007) showed on the breeding ground of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) that agonistic calls of subordinate males tended to converge on those of the local dominant male.…”

Section: Vocal Convergence As Animals Form a Groupmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vocal Learning and Auditory-Vocal Feedback

Tyack

2016

Vertebrate Sound Production and Acoustic Communication

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Vocal learning is usually studied in songbirds and humans, species that can form auditory templates by listening to acoustic models and then learn to vocalize to match the template. Most other species are thought to develop vocalizations without auditory feedback. However, auditory input influences the acoustic structure of vocalizations in a broad distribution of birds and mammals. Vocalizations are defined here as sounds generated by forcing air past vibrating membranes. A vocal motor program may generate vocalizations such as crying or laughter, but auditory feedback may be required for matching precise acoustic features of vocalizations. This chapter discriminates limited vocal learning, which uses auditory input to fine-tune acoustic features of an inherited auditory template, from complex vocal learning, in which novel sounds are learned by matching a learned auditory template. Two or three songbird taxa and four or five mammalian taxa are known for complex vocal learning. A broader range of mammals converge in the acoustic structure of vocalizations when in socially interacting groups, which qualifies as limited vocal learning. All birds and mammals tested use auditory-vocal feedback to adjust their vocalizations to compensate for the effects of noise, and many species modulate their signals as the costs and benefits of communicating vary. This chapter asks whether some auditory-vocal feedback may have provided neural substrates for the evolution of vocal learning. Progress will require more precise definitions of different forms of vocal learning, broad comparative review of their presence and absence, and behavioral and neurobiological investigations into the mechanisms underlying the skills.

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Observational Evidences of Vocal Learning in Southern Elephant Seals: a Longitudinal Study

Cited by 50 publications

References 47 publications

Neural systems for vocal learning in birds and humans: a synopsis

Neural systems for vocal learning in birds and humans: a synopsis

Convergence of calls as animals form social bonds, active compensation for noisy communication channels, and the evolution of vocal learning in mammals.

Vocal Learning and Auditory-Vocal Feedback

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