Review
Neurosciences
Gregg A. Castellucci, Frank H. Guenther, Michael A. Long
Summary: This article reviews the literature and identifies the cognitive operations involved in generating communicative action. It presents a framework for investigating the cognitive and neural computations underlying vocal communication across species.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Marisa Hoeschele, Bernhard Wagner, Dan C. Mann
Summary: When studying human cognition, it is important to adopt a similar approach used in studying other species, treating humans as just another species. This objective human-centric approach helps identify interesting and relevant aspects of cognitive processes across the animal kingdom.
Article
Zoology
Luiz Fernando Carmo, Juliana Alves, Iuri R. Dias, Mirco Sole, Caio De Mira-Mendes, Laisa Santos, Mario Barbosa S. Junior, Cassio Zocca, Rodrigo B. Ferreira, Joao Victor A. Lacerda
Summary: The study describes the advertisement call characteristics of Gabohyla pauloalvini, provides new distribution records, and updates the map for this species. Three new populations of Gabohyla pauloalvini have been recorded, extending its distribution by 60 km south. However, Gabohyla pauloalvini is still known only from a few localities.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Xiaoman Yang, Daji Guo, Keshen Li, Lei Shi
Summary: Characterizing ultrasonic vocalizations (USV) is a useful method for evaluating communication in mouse models of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study categorized USVs into 12 types and compared the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of USV repertoire emitted by Dock4 knockout (KO) mice and wild-type (WT) littermates, revealing developmental differences in USV patterns between the two groups. Specifically, the Dock4 KO pups exhibited larger volume and more multiple-note calls with higher pitch compared to WT pups in later developmental stages.
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Heather R. Mattila, Hannah G. Kernen, Gard W. Otis, Lien T. P. Nguyen, Hanh D. Pham, Olivia M. Knight, Ngoc T. Phan
Summary: Asian honeybees use a variety of sound signals to coordinate defenses against hornet attacks, with different signals triggered by different stimuli. This alarm system allows the bees to effectively protect their nests and assemble workers for defense against dangerous predators. Additionally, the bees exhibit flexible alarm responses mirroring those seen in socially complex vertebrates.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Sebastian Schneider, Sarah Goettlich, Charlette Diercks, Paul Wilhelm Dierkes
Summary: This study demonstrates the natural response ability of meerkats to potential threat sounds in zoos, including the retention of graded information structure in alarm calls and their response to alarm calls. The findings suggest that meerkats in captivity maintain their graded structure in alarm calls and can distinguish between dangerous and non-dangerous animal calls, indicating the preservation of natural cooperative behavior.
Review
Biology
Yitzchak Ben Mocha, Judith M. Burkart
Summary: Intentional signalling is crucial in human communication, and studying the taxonomic distribution of this ability may provide insights into the selective pressures that drove the evolution of communication. However, methodological issues such as inconsistent definitions, incomplete testing, and publication bias hinder comparative research in this field. A unified scheme with statistical criteria has been proposed to address these obstacles and allow for comparisons across modalities and species.
BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Gustavo J. Fernandez, Mylene Dutour, Mariana E. Carro
Summary: Many bird species adjust their alarm calls based on the level of risk they face, and this information is used by other birds to respond to potential threats. Recent studies have shown that the number of birds calling can influence whether or not additional individuals join in mobbing behavior. In this study, researchers conducted a playback experiment with house wrens to determine how differences in calling rate and number of callers affect their behavioral response. The results revealed that higher calling rates elicited more frequent responses from the house wrens, but lower calling rates caused focal individuals to move closer to the speaker. The number of callers did not impact the response. This suggests that call rates, rather than caller number, are important for communicating danger in house wrens.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Cristina Risueno-Segovia, Deniz Dohmen, Yasemin B. Gultekin, Thomas Pomberger, Steffen R. Hage
Summary: Human language follows statistical regularities and linguistic laws, such as the concise Zipf's law. It is unclear whether this law emerged de novo in humans or also exists in the non-linguistic vocal systems of our primate ancestors. Through studying marmoset monkeys, we found that they exhibit vocal statistical regularities consistent with Zipf's law in their vocalizations, suggesting that linguistic laws may have emerged in non-linguistic vocal systems in the primate lineage.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Kumiko Fukumura, Coralie Herve, Sandra Villata, Shi Zhang, Francesca Foppolo
Summary: Research has shown that speakers use fewer pronouns when the referential candidates are more similar and compete more strongly, with the competition being influenced by non-linguistic factors. The type of pronoun used also plays a role in how similarity affects non-linguistic competition.
QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Experimental
Kumiko Fukumura, Celine Pozniak, F-Xavier Alario
Summary: The study found that speakers tend to avoid using pronouns when human referents have the same gender, but are more likely to avoid using pronouns with grammatical-gender ambiguity when there is semantic similarity between non-human referents. Additionally, in a non-linguistic context, speakers are more likely to ignore the grammatical-gender ambiguity of a pronoun and base their choice on non-linguistic competition among referents.
Article
Acoustics
Benjamin R. Colbert, A. N. Popper, Helen Bailey
Summary: This study investigated the effects of anthropogenic sound on the vocalization behavior of oyster toadfish using passive acoustic monitoring. It was found that vessel-generated sound significantly lowered the call rate of oyster toadfish, and the effect of vessel sound was greater than any other environmental variable.
JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Linguistics
Paula Rubio-Fernandez, Anne Wienholz, Carey M. Ballard, Simon Kirby, Amy M. Lieberman
Summary: This study investigates the position of adjectives in sign language and finds that linguistic, pragmatic, and developmental factors affect referential choice, supporting the hypothesis that communicative efficiency is an important factor in shaping language structure and use.
JOURNAL OF MEMORY AND LANGUAGE
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Applied
Yifei Wu, Hansong Li
Summary: This paper explores the interpersonal dynamics of pedestrians and proposes a game-theoretical approach to studying their psychology, behavior, and welfare. Using a combined method of survey, modeling, and theory, it presents an equilibrium analysis of inter pedestrian signaling and offers a set of public policy recommendations aimed at improving interactions among pedestrians.
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH PART F-TRAFFIC PSYCHOLOGY AND BEHAVIOUR
(2022)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
L. D. Yankowitz, V. Petrulla, S. Plate, B. Tunc, W. Guthrie, S. S. Meera, K. Tena, J. Pandey, M. R. Swanson, J. R. Pruett, M. Cola, A. Russell, N. Marrus, H. C. Hazlett, K. Botteron, J. N. Constantino, S. R. Dager, A. Estes, L. Zwaigenbaum, J. Piven, R. T. Schultz, J. Parish-Morris
Summary: Some studies have shown delayed or reduced canonical babbling in infants at high familial likelihood for ASD, but evidence is mixed. This study found that infants diagnosed with ASD at 12 months had significantly lower canonical babbling ratios compared to infants without ASD and low familial likelihood infants. Infants without ASD but with language delay also showed reduced canonical babbling ratios at 12 months.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
James A. Klarevas-Irby, Damien R. Farine
Summary: Little is known about how animals overcome temporal constraints on movement during dispersal. This study used GPS tracking of vulturine guineafowl and found that dispersers showed the greatest increase in movement at the same times of day when they moved the most prior to dispersal. These findings suggest that individuals face the same ecological constraints during dispersal as they do in daily life and achieve large displacements by maximizing movement when conditions are most favorable.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Simone Ciaralli, Martina Esposito, Stefano Francesconi, Daniela Muzzicato, Marco Gamba, Matteo Dal Zotto, Daniela Campobello
Summary: Male cuckoos may transfer nest location information to females as a nonmaterial nuptial gift through specific postures and behaviors, potentially influencing mating choices of female cuckoos.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Anne E. Aulsebrook, Rowan Jacques-Hamilton, Bart Kempenaers
Summary: Accelerometry and machine learning have been used to quantify mating behaviors of captive male ruffs. Different machine learning methods were compared and evaluated for their classification performance. The study highlights the challenges and potential pitfalls in classifying mating behaviors using accelerometry and provides recommendations and considerations for future research.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Maria G. Smith, Joshua B. LaPergola, Christina Riehl
Summary: This study analyzed individual contributions to parental care in the greater ani bird and found that workload inequality varied between groups of two and three pairs. However, there was no clear evidence of division of labour within the groups, suggesting individual differences in overall work performed.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Noah M. T. Smith, Reuven Dukas
Summary: Winner and loser effects are observed in many animals, and recent experiments suggest that they may also occur in humans. In two experiments involving video games and reading comprehension, participants who won in the first phase performed significantly better in the second phase compared to those who lost. The effect size was larger in the video game experiment, and men and women showed similar magnitudes of winner and loser effects.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Bianca J. L. Marcellino, Peri Yee, Shannon J. Mccauley, Rosalind L. Murray
Summary: This study examines the trade-off between mating effort and thermoregulatory behavior in dragonflies in response to temperature changes, and investigates the effect of wing melanin on these behaviors. The results indicate that as temperature increases, dragonflies reduce their mating effort and increase their thermoregulatory behavior.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Rafael Rios Moura, Paulo Inacio Prado, Joao Vasconcellos-Neto
Summary: This study examined the escape behavior and decision-making of Aglaoctenus castaneus spiders on different substrates. It was found that spiders inhabiting injurious substrates displayed shorter flight initiation distances and lower sensitivity to predators.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Luigi Baciadonna, Cwyn Solvi, Francesca Terranova, Camilla Godi, Cristina Pilenga, Livio Favaro
Summary: In this study, it was found that African penguins could use ventral dot patterns to recognize their lifelong partner and nonpartner colonymates. This challenges the previous assumption of limited visual involvement in penguin communication, highlighting the complex and flexible recognition process in birds.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Nick A. R. Jones, Jade Newton-Youens, Joachim G. Frommen
Summary: Environmental conditions, particularly temperature, have a significant impact on animal behavior. This study focused on aggression in Neolamprologus pulcher fish and found that aggression rates increased with temperature at lower levels, but decreased after reaching a peak. Additionally, the influence of high temperatures on aggression changed over time during the trials. These findings provide a more comprehensive understanding of the short-term effects of temperature on aggression and highlight the importance of considering non-linear changes in thermal performance.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Bruno Herlander Martins, Andrea Soriano-Redondo, Aldina M. A. Franco, Ines Carry
Summary: Human activities have affected the availability of resources for wildlife, particularly through the provision of anthropogenic food subsidies at landfill sites. This study explores the influence of age on landfill attendance and foraging behavior in white storks. Adult storks visit landfills more frequently and show dominance over juveniles in food acquisition. Juveniles have limited access to landfill resources and are forced to use lower quality areas.