The bark, the howl and the bark-howl: Identity cues in dingoes’ multicomponent calls

Déaux, Éloïse C.; Charrier, Isabelle; Clarke, Jennifer A.

doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2016.06.012

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 69 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…howl segments). In other words, these results confirm that vocal identity signatures shared by howl vocalisations and howl segments28 are salient to receivers. Although it may be that howl segments have no/alternative functions, we propose that affixed howl segments may function as ‘identity signals’.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

“…Indeed, there is evidence to indicate that dogs’ barks can convey information on individual identity and the context of production4344 and dingoes’ bark segments have similarly been found to be individually distinctive (although to a lesser extent than howl segments28). Thus, it could be that the redundant coding of identity cues in bark and howl segments facilitates individual discrimination28. Future research could aim to investigate the relative importance of the bark segment’s structure with regards to its potential information content and efficacy effects using sound resynthesis techniques.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1). Both the bark and howl segments of dingo bark-howls can convey identity cues, although the level of individuality is higher in the howl segment28. Furthermore, the coding of identity cues (i.e.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, the coding of identity cues (i.e. ‘individual signature characteristics’) appears conserved across howl segments of bark-howls and howl vocalisations28. Dingo howls (as opposed to howl segments) are produced singly or in bouts, often without any apparent external stimulus and allow for class-level recognition of familiar and unfamiliar conspecifics29 (Fig.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Concatenation of ‘alert’ and ‘identity’ segments in dingoes’ alarm calls

Déaux

Allen

Clarke

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Multicomponent signals can be formed by the uninterrupted concatenation of multiple call types. One such signal is found in dingoes, Canis familiaris dingo. This stereotyped, multicomponent ‘bark-howl’ vocalisation is formed by the concatenation of a noisy bark segment and a tonal howl segment. Both segments are structurally similar to bark and howl vocalisations produced independently in other contexts (e.g. intra- and inter-pack communication). Bark-howls are mainly uttered in response to human presence and were hypothesized to serve as alarm calls. We investigated the function of bark-howls and the respective roles of the bark and howl segments. We found that dingoes could discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar howl segments, after having only heard familiar howl vocalisations (i.e. different calls). We propose that howl segments could function as ‘identity signals’ and allow receivers to modulate their responses according to the caller’s characteristics. The bark segment increased receivers’ attention levels, providing support for earlier observational claims that barks have an ‘alerting’ function. Lastly, dingoes were more likely to display vigilance behaviours upon hearing bark-howl vocalisations, lending support to the alarm function hypothesis. Canid vocalisations, such as the dingo bark-howl, may provide a model system to investigate the selective pressures shaping complex communication systems.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Concatenation of ‘alert’ and ‘identity’ segments in dingoes’ alarm calls

Déaux

Allen

Clarke

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We evaluated the success of the procedures by comparing the success rates obtained to the success rates obtained on 1,000 permutated datasets, where calls were randomized across individuals. This comparative approach allows obtaining expected classification rates, which pertain directly to the dataset investigated, rather than relying on a theoretical distribution (see [50] for more details on the methods). Data were transformed to reach approximate symmetrical distribution when needed and scaled (mean = 0 and s.d.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlates of social role and conflict severity in wild vervet monkey agonistic screams

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Screams are acoustically distinct, high-pitched and high-amplitude calls, produced by many social species. Despite a wide range of production contexts, screams are characterised by an acoustic structure that appears to serve in altering the behaviour of targeted receivers during agonistic encounters. In chimpanzees, this can be achieved by callers producing acoustic variants that correlate with their identity, social role, relationship with the targeted recipient, the composition of the audience and the nature of the event. Although vervet monkeys ( Chlorocebus pygerythrus ) have been studied for decades, not much is known about their agonistic screams. Here, we examined agonistic screams produced by wild vervet monkeys to investigate the degree to which caller identity, social role and conflict severity affected call structure. We found that screams were both individually distinctive and dependent of the agonistic events. In particular, victim screams were longer and higher-pitched than aggressor screams, while screams produced in severe conflicts (chases, physical contact) had higher entropy than those in mild conflicts. We discuss these findings in terms of their evolutionary significance and suggest that acoustic variation might serve to reduce the aggression level of opponents, while simultaneously attracting potential helpers.

show abstract

Feel the beat: cape fur seal males encode their arousal state in their bark rate

Martin

Gridley

Elwen

et al. 2021

Sci Nat

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Cape fur seal is one of the most colonial mammal species in the world. Breeding colonies are composed of harems held by mature males (older than 10 years) with up to 30 females and their pups, while roaming subadult males (younger and socially immature) are kept away from bulls' territories. As in other pinnipeds, Cape fur seals are highly vocal and use acoustic signals in all their social interactions. Both sexes frequently produce barks -short vocalizations always produced in sequences. Barks are produced by males for territorial defence, mating behaviours and agonistic interactions and they convey information about the sex, age-class and individual identity. This study investigated whether motivational cues such as the arousal state can be encoded in territorial males' barks and whether these cues are decoded by listening sub-adult males. The rate (number of calls per unit of time) and fundamental frequency of barks were found to significantly increase during high arousal state interactions (i.e. male-male confrontation) compared to spontaneous barks. Playback experiments revealed that subadult males responded with a higher level of vigilance when territorial males' barks had a faster bark rate. This mechanism of decoding the bulls' arousal state from barks will likely constitute an advantage for both bulls and the subadult males, by avoiding or reducing physical conflicts, and thereby reducing energy expenditure and the risk of injury. This study is the first experimental evidence of Cape fur seals' ability to use rhythm in their vocalizations to modulate their social interactions.

show abstract

The bark, the howl and the bark-howl: Identity cues in dingoes’ multicomponent calls

Cited by 9 publications

References 69 publications

Concatenation of ‘alert’ and ‘identity’ segments in dingoes’ alarm calls

Concatenation of ‘alert’ and ‘identity’ segments in dingoes’ alarm calls

Correlates of social role and conflict severity in wild vervet monkey agonistic screams

Feel the beat: cape fur seal males encode their arousal state in their bark rate

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About