Vibrational and Acoustic Communication in Animals

Abstract

An introduction to acoustic and vibrational communication in animals is presented in this chapter. Starting with the origins of communication and ritualization of vocal and vibrational signals to produce a clear message or broadcast. A summary of communication concepts is presented describing behaviors such as displays. The chapter continues by unraveling some of the complexities of acoustic and vibrational communication such as elephant vibration detection posture and reception of long-range vibrational signal production—or drumming—in Prairie chickens and Kangaroo rats. We discuss the advantages of vibrational and acoustic signal production signals as well as the disadvantages including the influence of environmental factors that may mask or attenuate signals such as wind, water, or structural clutter. Research on the informational content of these signals is progressing. We provide a summary of ground-breaking earlier work, an indication of where we believe the field is now, and a glimpse of where we believe the field could be going in the future. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the characteristics of human language and whether nonhuman animals have such a language with the accompanying mental abilities. It could just be that other animals are most entertained (and threatened!) by our signaling behaviors.

Sound production by the short‐beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus)

“…Animals communicate to convey information between individuals. Vibrational and chemical communication evolved very early during the evolution of the Metazoa (Cocroft et al., 2014) while acoustic communication evolved more recently, presumably from the evolutionary advantage afforded by associating information with sounds inadvertently made by animals' activity in their environment (Dunlop et al., 2022). Development of the respiratory tract allowed terrestrial vertebrates to develop acoustic communication by exploiting the airflow necessary for ventilation of the respiratory surfaces, generating specific sounds associated with particular situations (Ladich & Winkler, 2017).…”

“…Development of the respiratory tract allowed terrestrial vertebrates to develop acoustic communication by exploiting the airflow necessary for ventilation of the respiratory surfaces, generating specific sounds associated with particular situations (Ladich & Winkler, 2017). This culminated in the evolution of specialized structures for sound production, such as the larynx of mammals and the syrinx of birds (functioning as the sound source), which combine with resonating cavities of the respiratory tract (functioning as a filter) to produce frequency‐ and amplitude‐specific vocal output, summarized by the source‐filter theory of vocalization (Dunlop et al., 2022; Ladich & Winkler, 2017; Larsen et al., 2022; Taylor et al., 2016).…”