Female Calls Research Articles

Female calls promote song learning in male juvenile zebra finches

Social interactions promote vocal learning, but the impact of social feedback on this process and its neural circuitry is not well understood. We studied song imitation in juvenile male zebra finches raised either in the presence or absence of adult females. Juveniles learned songs more accurately with a female present, suggesting her presence improves imitation. When female calls correlated with practice, tutees’ songs better resembled the tutor’s, hinting toward the possibility that females provide practice-specific vocalizations. Intracellular recordings of HVC projection neurons revealed that a subset of these neurons in both juveniles and adults is sensitive to female calls during listening, suggesting a consistent neural mechanism for processing important vocalizations, regardless of age. However, call-related neural responses during singing were observed only in juveniles. These findings highlight how vocalizations, beyond those of the tutor, influence the neural circuits for vocal learning and production.

Exploring the impact of quality of life on happiness among female healthcare professionals: The moderating roles of family and education

Purpose: This study explores the impact of quality of life (QoL) on the happiness of female healthcare professionals, focusing on the moderating roles of family dynamics and education. Method: A descriptive and exploratory design was used with data from 503 female healthcare professionals. Various quantitative analyses, including regression and correlation, were conducted using SPSS and AMOS. Findings: The study found a positive relationship between QoL and happiness. Family dynamics and education significantly moderated this relationship, highlighting the influence of these factors on happiness levels. Implications: The research offers insights into the well-being of female healthcare professionals and calls for policies that support QoL through flexible work arrangements and wellness programs, considering diverse family structures and educational backgrounds. Originality: This study provides a focused analysis of the role of family and education in shaping the relationship between QoL and happiness for female healthcare professionals.

Sex differences in the acoustic structure of terrestrial alarm calls in vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus).

The alarm calls of vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) have been the subject of considerable focus by researchers, owing primarily to the purported referential qualities of different alarm call types. With this focus on reference, acoustic variation among calls elicited by the same range of predators has typically been overlooked. Specifically, at least one type of alarm call-the terrestrial alarm-was described over 50 years ago as being acoustically distinct between males and females-a description that has largely eluded more systematic scrutiny. Here, we provide a quantitative acoustic analysis and comparison of terrestrial alarm calls produced by adult male and female vervet monkeys. We use a random forest model to determine which acoustic variables best distinguish between the calls of males and females, and use an unsupervised clustering technique to objectively determine whether alarms produced by each sex fall into discrete types. We found that the calls of males and females differed most in frequency-based parameters, with male alarms containing more energy at lower frequencies relative to females. Calls produced by males were also of longer duration, and consisted of longer individual call elements relative to female calls. While calls generally fell into clusters associated with either male or female alarms, we found that some fell into atypical clusters given the caller's sex, and that the clusters themselves showed evidence of intergradation. We discuss these results in terms of potential differences in the function of, and motivation for, calling by males and females. We emphasize the need for a more holistic approach to the classification of vocal signals that considers contextual, functional, and structural variation.

Vibrational communication in Scolypopa australis: characterising spontaneous and intrasexual calls in an invasive orchard pest

AbstractVibrational communication in the Auchenorrhyncha is an avenue of growing interest, with many pesticide‐free vibrational pest control programmes against auchenorrhynchan agricultural pests continuing to be developed around the world. Passion vine hoppers (PVH), Scolypopa australis (Walker) (Hemiptera: Ricaniidae), are an economically damaging pest species in New Zealand, where they facilitate the growth of sooty mould in kiwifruit orchards. Scolypopa australis is already known to use vibrational signals, therefore a further understanding of the spectral and temporal characteristics of its calls will be an essential next step to developing vibration‐based pest management strategies. Here, we aimed to characterise the properties of spontaneous S. australis calls in solitary and intrasexual communication contexts. We used laser Doppler vibrometry to record vibrational signals produced by male and female S. australis (separately), when in groups of three or individually. We sorted calls and call sub‐units (syllables) into groups based on cluster analyses of various spatio‐temporal parameters. We define four male calls and three female calls, and newly describe a ‘two‐syllable’ calling structure that may be involved in male intrasexual competition. Certain syllables were more prevalent at the beginning or end of calls for males, and were more homogenously distributed throughout calls for females. The types of calls used differed between single males and groups, with more energetically intense call types observed in the group settings. Additional studies on the behavioural context of S. australis vibrational calls and their responses to playback of such calls will be necessary to assess the viability of vibration‐based pest management for this species.

Small apes adjust rhythms to facilitate song coordination

Song coordination is a universal characteristic of human music. Many animals also produce well-coordinated duets or choruses that resemble human music. However, the mechanism and evolution of song coordination have only recently been studied in animals. Here, we studied the mechanism of song coordination in three closely related species of wild Nomascus gibbons that live in polygynous groups. In each species, song bouts were dominated by male solo sequences (referred to hereafter as male sequence), and females contributed stereotyped great calls to coordinate with males. Considering the function of rhythm in facilitating song coordination in human music and animal vocalizations, we predicted that adult males adjust their song rhythm to facilitate song coordination with females. In support of this prediction, we found that adult males produced significantly more isochronous rhythms with a faster tempo in male sequences that were followed by successful female great calls (a complete sequence with "introductory" and "wa" notes). The difference in isochrony and tempos between successful great call sequences and male sequences was smaller in N.concolor compared with the other two species, which may make it difficult for females to predict a male's precise temporal pattern. Consequently, adult females of N.concolor produced more failed great call (an incomplete sequence with only introductory notes) sequences. We propose that the high degree of rhythm change functions as an unambiguous signal that can be easily perceived by receivers. In this regard, gibbon vocalizations offer an instructive model to understand the origins and evolution of human music.

Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients outperform embeddings from pre-trained convolutional neural networks under noisy conditions for discrimination tasks of individual gibbons

Passive acoustic monitoring – an approach that utilizes autonomous acoustic recording units – allows for non-invasive monitoring of individuals, assuming that it is possible to acoustically distinguish individuals. However, identifying effective analytical approaches for individual identification remains a challenge. Our study investigates how the use of different feature representations impacts our ability to distinguish between individual female Northern grey gibbons (Hylobates funereus). We broadcast pre-recorded calls from twelve gibbon females and re-recorded the calls at varying distances (directly under the tree to ∼400 m away) using autonomous recording units. We evaluated the effectiveness of using different automated feature extraction approaches to classify gibbon calls: Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs), embeddings from three pre-trained neural networks (BirdNET, VGGish, and Wav2Vec2), and four commonly used acoustic indices. We used a supervised classification approach (random forest) to classify calls to the respective female and compared two unsupervised clustering approaches (affinity propagation clustering and hierarchical density-based spatial clustering) to evaluate which features were most effective for distinguishing female calls without using class labels. We used MFCCs as a baseline as previous work has shown they can be used to distinguish high-quality calls of individual gibbon females. Human annotators could only identify calls in spectrograms from recordings <350 m from the playback speaker with signal-to-noise ratio ∼ 0 dB, so our results focus on these recordings. Using supervised classification, our results confirmed the efficiency of MFCCs and the use of embeddings from one neural network (BirdNET) for effective acoustic classification of gibbon individuals at closer recording distances (signal-to-noise ratio > 10 dB), while the remaining features did not perform well. Contrary to our expectations, we found that MFCCs outperformed all other features for the unsupervised clustering tasks at closer distances and none of the features performed well at farther distances. The ability to acoustically discriminate animals under noisy conditions and from low signal-to-noise ratio calls has important implications for monitoring populations of endangered animals, such as gibbons. Focusing only on high signal-to-noise ratio calls for individual discrimination may not be possible for rare sounds, and future work should focus on developing effective approaches of feature extraction that can perform well across noisy, real-world conditions with a limited number of training samples.

Genetic susceptibility and late bone outcomes in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia survivors.

Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (cALL) survivors are at increased risk for bone comorbidities, but accurate screening tools for such comorbidities are limited. Polygenic scores (PGS) could stratify cALL survivors for risk of long-term adverse bone outcomes. We evaluated 214 (51% female) cALL survivors from the Prévenir les Effets TArdifs de la LEucémie study (median age 21yr). Bone mineral density (BMD) measurements were obtained using dual X-ray absorptiometry at the lumbar spine (LS-BMD), femoral neck (FN-BMD), and total body (TB-BMD), and vertebral fractures (VF) were documented using the vertebral deformity criterion. We computed a PGS for adult heel quantitative ultrasound speed of sound (gSOS), known to be associated with the risk of osteoporotic fracture, using imputed genotype data of the participants, and tested it for association with BMD Z-scores and VF risk, adjusting for clinical risk factors, and in sex and prognostic risk-stratified analyses. We found that a gSOS below the mean was associated with lower BMD in all three sites in univariate and multivariate models. In univariate analyses, 1 SD increase in gSOS conferred a 0.16 SD increase in LS-BMD (95% CI 0.005-0.31), whereas a gSOS above the mean was associated with a 0.31 SD higher LS-BMD (95% CI 0.008-0.61), a 0.36 SD higher TB-BMD (95% CI 0.06-0.67), and a 0.43 SD higher FN-BMD (95% CI 0.13-0.72). Models combining gSOS with clinical risk factors explained up to 16% of the variance of BMD phenotypes and obtained an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for VF of 0.77 in subgroup analyses. Cranial radiation, high cumulative glucocorticoid doses, high risk group, and male sex were significant risk factors for lower BMD Z-scores. In conclusion, a PGS, in combination with clinical risk factors, could be used as a tool to risk stratify cALL survivors for treatment-related bone morbidity.

Frequency jumps and subharmonic components in calls of female Odorrana tormota differentially affect the vocal behaviors of male frogs

Studies have demonstrated that the sounds of animals from many taxa with nonlinear phenomena (NLP)—caused by nonlinear characteristics of vocal organ dynamics that lead to nonlinear vocal phenomena—can influence the behavior of receivers. However, the specific functions of different NLP components have received less attention. In most frog species, females produce few or no vocalizations; in contrast, female Odorrana tormota exhibit a diverse range of calls that are rich in NLP components. Previous field playbacks have shown that the female calls can elicit responses from male frogs. Therefore, we conducted a phonotaxis experiment to investigate the differential effects of different NLP calls by female O. tormota on the vocal behavior of male frogs. The results revealed that calls with subharmonics elicited a greater number of short calls and answering calls from male frogs compared to calls with frequency jumps. However, calls with frequency jumps triggered more staccato calls from males than calls with subharmonics. Additionally, during the phonotaxis experiments, we recorded the initial vocalizations of males in response to playbacks of female calls. The majority of males first produced short calls. Under calls with frequency jumps, most of male frogs approaching within 10 cm of the loudspeaker produced staccato calls instead of “meow” calls or short calls. While under calls with subharmonics, most male frogs preferred to produced short calls. Our findings demonstrate that frequency jumps and subharmonic components in the calls of female O. tormota have different effects on male vocal behaviors. The current study lays a foundation for a further understanding of the function of anuran NLP components.

A vocalization in male Japanese bush warblers in response to both predators and conspecific females

AbstractMale Japanese bush warblers (Cettia diphone) produce not only typical songs but also long, conspicuous vocalizations (continuous songs) during the breeding season. In my preliminary observations, male warblers produced continuous songs in response to both the appearance of a predator and the calls of conspecific females. Although predator‐elicited vocalizations by males have been studied in some species, there are no known cases in which an acoustically identical vocalization is also triggered in response to conspecific females. Here, I examined whether these continuous songs triggered in response to predators and females were acoustically similar. In field experiments, I presented dummies of a Eurasian sparrowhawk and a female warbler before (April) and after (June) female arrival at the breeding ground. Before female arrival, 11.1% of males responded with continuous songs to each of the hawk and female presentations; after female arrival, the respective values were 27.6% and 48.3%. Thus, more males responded to the model presentations with continuous songs after female arrival. There was no difference in the acoustic characteristics of the continuous songs between the two models. The males approached the female model more intensively than the hawk model. These findings do not support the hypothesis that the song functions as an alarm or predator deterrent. The function of these continuous songs remains unclear, but this study is the first to show an example where males produce the same vocalization in response to both predators and conspecific females. The continuous song contains a trill‐like structure, which can be considered a performance‐related song trait. Therefore, the continuous song may possibly be an honest signal of male quality for females. Further studies are required to understand the function of this novel vocalization, particularly the effects of female breeding stage on male singing activity and the female response to the songs.

Studies on Reproductive Biology of Yellow Stem Borer, Scirpophaga incertulas Walker (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in the Changing Climate Scenario

Studies on reproductive biology of yellow stem borer, Scirpophaga incertulas walker in the changing climate scenario conducted at Agriculture Research Station, Gangavathi during 2020-22.Results on post eclosion behavior of yellow stem borer revealed that the maximum female moths emerged between 18:00 and 21:00 hrs from among the emerged moth the female calling was observed between 23:00 and 02:00 hrs. The time of mating commenced after the calling period and was observed between 23:00 and 03:00 hrs. The average pre-oviposition period, oviposition period and post-oviposition period were completed in 1.09 ± 0.09, 1.28 ± 0.17 and 0.85 ± 0.25 days, respectively. The longevity of adult females and males was about 3.23 ± 0.29 and 2.66 ± 0.33 days, respectively. The total number of eggs laid varied from 68 to 221 in number with an average of 146.95 ± 43.98 per female. The Operational and intrinsic sex ratio of YSB were observed to be female-biased with 1:1.35 and 1:1.44 of male to female moths, respectively.

Women in neurosurgery in Peru: current situation and representation

The participation of women in neurosurgery in Peru began in 1974 with the first Peruvian female neurosurgeon, who was accepted into a residency program with the condition of not getting married during her training. Nowadays, the conditions are more just, and there is greater equality of opportunities between men and women, but the numbers show that the differences have not yet been fully equalized. As evidence of this, it has been observed that only 17% of the residency positions offered in 2022 were filled by women, and there has been reduced participation of female neurosurgeons in the Peruvian Society of Neurosurgery. This article discusses the importance of tracking and promoting stories of Peruvian female neurosurgeons and calls for research in the area of women in neurosurgery in latin countries, like Peru.

Dopaminergic error signals retune to social feedback during courtship.

Hunger, thirst, loneliness and ambition determine the reward value of food, water, social interaction and performance outcome1. Dopamine neurons respond to rewards meeting these diverse needs2-8, but it remains unclear how behaviour and dopamine signals change as priorities change with new opportunities in the environment. One possibility is that dopamine signals for distinct drives are routed to distinct dopamine pathways9,10. Another possibility is that dopamine signals in a given pathway are dynamically tuned to rewards set by the current priority. Here we used electrophysiology and fibre photometry to test how dopamine signals associated with quenching thirst, singing a good song and courting a mate change as male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) were provided with opportunities to retrieve water, evaluate song performance or court a female. When alone, water reward signals were observed in two mesostriatal pathways but singing-related performance error signals were routed to Area X, a striatal nucleus specialized for singing. When courting a female, water seeking was reduced and dopamine responses to both water and song performance outcomes diminished. Instead, dopamine signals in Area X were driven by female calls timed with the courtship song. Thus the dopamine system handled coexisting drives by routing vocal performance and social feedback signals to a striatal area for communication and by flexibly re-tuning to rewards set by the prioritized drive.

La mujer en neurocirugía en el Perú: situación y representación en la actualidad

The participation of women in neurosurgery in Peru began in 1974 with the first Peruvian female neurosurgeon, who was accepted into a residency program with the condition of not getting married during her training. Nowadays, the conditions are more just, and there is greater equality of opportunities between men and women, but the numbers show that the differences have not yet been fully equalized. As evidence of this, it has been observed that only 17% of the residency positions offered in 2022 were filled by women, and there has been reduced participation of female neurosurgeons in the Peruvian Society of Neurosurgery. This article discusses the importance of tracking and promoting stories of Peruvian female neurosurgeons and calls for research in the area of women in neurosurgery in Latin countries, like Peru.

Sounds of danger and post-traumatic stress responses in wild rodents: ecological validity of a translational model of post-traumatic stress disorder

In the wild, animals face a highly variable world full of predators. Most predator attacks are unsuccessful, and the prey survives. According to the conventional perspective, the fear responses elicited by predators are acute and transient in nature. However, the long-term, non-lethal effects of predator exposure on prey behavioral stress sequelae, such as anxiety and post-traumatic symptoms, remain poorly understood. Most experiments on animal models of anxiety-related behavior or post-traumatic stress disorder have been carried out using commercial strains of rats and mice. A fundamental question is whether laboratory rodents appropriately express the behavioral responses of wild species in their natural environment; in other words, whether behavioral responses to stress observed in the laboratory can be generalized to natural behavior. To further elucidate the relative contributions of the natural selection pressures influences, this study investigated the bio-behavioral and morphological effects of auditory predator cues (owl territorial calls) in males and females of three wild rodent species in a laboratory set-up: Acomys cahirinus; Gerbillus henleyi; and Gerbillus gerbillus. Our results indicate that owl territorial calls elicited not only “fight or flight” behavioral responses but caused PTSD-like behavioral responses in wild rodents that have never encountered owls in nature and could cause, in some individuals, enduring physiological and morphological responses that parallel those seen in laboratory rodents or traumatized people. In all rodent species, the PTSD phenotype was characterized by a blunting of fecal cortisol metabolite response early after exposure and by a lower hypothalamic orexin-A level and lower total dendritic length and number in the dentate gyrus granule cells eight days after predator exposure. Phenotypically, this refers to a significant functional impairment that could affect reproduction and survival and thus fitness and population dynamics.

Female Leadership in Muslim Societies

For centuries, Muslim women have been considered legally unqualified for judicial, political, and other highest leadership positions in the public domain. The contemporary debates range from constructing and reconstructing theological contestation to identifying and analysing various socio-cultural realities around Muslim women’s lives which made it more challenging for them to claim leadership. Today, in one hand, a growing number of literatures are challenging conservative religious interpretations that disfavour female leadership and calling to reread religious source texts. On the other hand, many literatures are raising voices on social gender perceptions and cultural biases which create barriers for women leadership. The recent inauguration of hijab-clad Muslim female presidents in Tanzania and Singapore also manifests a positive paradigm shift in collective Muslim consciousness to female leadership. To understand this change, this paper looks into both theological and socio-cultural aspects to outline the different positions and new developments in contemporary literature in identifying the burdens on Muslim women’s shoulders that curtail their aspirations for leadership participation. This study argues that contemporary literature reveals a complex and formidable development in the debate that demands more careful attention to accommodate the changing environment and attitudes in Muslim societies regarding the permissibility and plausibility of female leadership.

Diversified committees in hiring processes: Lab evidence on group dynamics

In recent years, committee quotas have been introduced to combat the underrepresentation of women in male-stereotyped environments. However, the lack of clarity surrounding in-group preferences and gender differences in group dynamics calls into question the inclusion of women as a solution to the gender gap in labour market outcomes. In this paper, I provide experimental evidence to show: a) how the gender composition of committees affects the probability of female candidates being recruited in a hiring process; and b) how men and women behave in group dynamics as a mechanism explaining the outcome of the policy. I designed a laboratory experiment in which groups of three subjects had to jointly select two candidates from a pool of six to perform a task. Female candidates’ probability of success did not improve as the number of women in the committee increased. I found that male-majority committees were the most beneficial for female candidates. In these groups, men and women exhibited a similar level of voice and influence during deliberations, proposing both male and female candidates for recruitment. Conversely, female-majority groups were the most detrimental to female candidates. Women in female-majority groups exhibited a similar level of voice, but men, who proposed more male candidates, were more influential, which limited the contribution of women. The paper suggests that having more women in the committee does not necessarily benefit female candidates and calls for caution when it comes to designing policies for equality in the labour market.

Description of Calling, Courtship and Mating Behaviour of Six Species of the Genus Zyginidia (Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae).

The vibrational communication and mating behaviour of the graminicolous leafhoppers Zyginidia pullula, Z. ribauti, Z. scutellaris, Z. serpentina, Z. sohrab, and Z. biroi were investigated to explain why the first five species hybridize. Z. biroi was used as a control species. All species behaved in the same way and no significant statistical differences were detected with regard to male calls, while female calls and the male courtship song differed in Z. biroi, thus showing that a specific pre-mating isolation mechanism was used by the latter species and the first five ones lacked such a mechanism. In addition, Z. sohrab is missing in Italy, while the other species live allopatrically in Italy, with the only exceptions being Z. serpentina and Z. biroi, which live in Sicily and are often found in sympatry, and Z. scutellaris and Z. biroi, which live in Sardinia. All these species can be distinguished by means of male genital appendages; however, Z. biroi is longer and has a different body colour. The existence of natural hybrids of Z. pullula, Z. ribauti, and Z. scutellaris in the Italian peninsula and their hybridization in the laboratory with Z. serpentina and Z. sohrab require the investigation of possible post-mating reproductive barriers before re-considering their systematic validity.

Female pond frog vocalisation deters sexual coercion by males

Avoiding sexual-conflict-induced sexual coercion is crucial for females, especially in anurans, where the necessity of sexual coercion counterstrategies is increased because of their strong male-male competition and external fertilisation. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the recently discovered female Pelophylax nigromaculatus calls prevent male courtship and prevented sexual coercion. By observing the reproductive behaviour of anurans, this study examined when females emitted calls and how males responded to them, while comparing the reproductive conditions of call-emitting and non-call-emitting females. The results of this study revealed that females without eggs which were assumed to finish spawning emitted calls in response to male approaches, and the males subsequently moved away from the females obediently. This suggests that female P. nigromaculatus calls work as a counterstrategy against male sexual coercion. This countermeasure communication was first identified in anurans, suggesting that they engage in more complex bidirectional vocal communication during the breeding season than previously assumed.

Main functions of loud vocalization in populations of edible dormouse Glis glis

The study aimed to determine when, during summer activity, males and females of the edible dormouse most often used loud calls. On this basis, an attempt was made to determine the main purpose of the emission of these calls. It was assumed that 1) if males have the most of loud calls in July, their emissions may be related primarily to the mating behaviour (which takes place during this period), and if they have the most of loud calls in August, their emissions are most likely concerned defence of food resources, 2) in females, most of this vocalization would occur in August due to the need to defend their food resources and 3) in both sexes, more vocalization would occur in the year of good beech fruit crop (when the dormice would reproduce) than in the year of no crop (when the dormice would not reproduce). To check these assumptions, the number of loud calls and “performances” (series of loud calls) emitted by the animals from two wild populations tracked by telemetry was noted. The mean number of “performances” and loud calls in males and females was higher in August than in July (when beech fruits ripen), but significant differences were found only for “performances”. Both males and females had significantly more “performances” and loud calls in the mast/breeding year than in the non-mast/non-breeding year. It seems that males and females use loud calls mainly to defend important resources and are, therefore, most often heard during the mast year.

The Comparative Toxicity, Biochemical and Physiological Impacts of Chlorantraniliprole and Indoxacarb on Mamestra brassicae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

The cabbage moth, Mamestra brassicae, is a polyphagous pest that attacks several crops. Here, the sublethal and lethal effects of chlorantraniliprole and indoxacarb were investigated on the developmental stages, detoxification enzymes, reproductive activity, calling behavior, peripheral physiology, and pheromone titer of M. brasssicae. Methods: To assess pesticide effects, the second instar larvae were maintained for 24 h on a semi-artificial diet containing insecticides at their LC10, LC30, and LC50 concentrations. M. brassicae was more susceptible to chlorantraniliprole (LC50 = 0.35 mg/L) than indoxacarb (LC50 = 1.71 mg/L). A significantly increased developmental time was observed with both insecticides at all tested concentrations but decreases in pupation rate, pupal weight, and emergence were limited to the LC50 concentration. Reductions in both the total number of eggs laid per female and the egg viability were observed with both insecticides at their LC30 and LC50 concentrations. Both female calling activity and the sex pheromone (Z11-hexadecenyl acetate and hexadecenyl acetate) titer were significantly reduced by chlorantraniliprole in LC50 concentration. Antennal responses of female antennae to benzaldehyde and 3-octanone were significantly weaker than controls after exposure to the indoxocarb LC50 concentration. Significant reductions in the enzymatic activity of glutathione S-transferases, mixed-function oxidases, and carboxylesterases were observed in response to both insecticides.