Song Patterns Research Articles

Song variation of the South Eastern Indian Ocean pygmy blue whale population in the Perth Canyon, Western Australia.

Sea noise collected over 2003 to 2017 from the Perth Canyon, Western Australia was analysed for variation in the South Eastern Indian Ocean pygmy blue whale song structure. The primary song-types were: P3, a three unit phrase (I, II and III) repeated with an inter-song interval (ISI) of 170–194 s; P2, a phrase consisting of only units II & III repeated every 84–96 s; and P1 with a phrase consisting of only unit II repeated every 45–49 s. The different ISI values were approximate multiples of each other within a season. When comparing data from each season, across seasons, the ISI value for each song increased significantly through time (all fits had p << 0.001), at 0.30 s/Year (95%CI 0.217–0.383), 0.8 s/Year (95%CI 0.655–1.025) and 1.73 s/Year (95%CI 1.264–2.196) for the P1, P2 and P3 songs respectively. The proportions of each song-type averaged at 21.5, 24.2 and 56% for P1, P2 and P3 occurrence respectively and these ratios could vary by up to ± 8% (95% CI) amongst years. On some occasions animals changed the P3 ISI to be significantly shorter (120–160 s) or longer (220–280 s). Hybrid song patterns occurred where animals combined multiple phrase types into a repeated song. In recent years whales introduced further complexity by splitting song units. This variability of song-type and proportions implies abundance measure for this whale sub population based on song detection needs to factor in trends in song variability to make data comparable between seasons. Further, such variability in song production by a sub population of pygmy blue whales raises questions as to the stability of the song types that are used to delineate populations. The high level of song variability may be driven by an increasing number of background whale callers creating ‘noise’ and so forcing animals to alter song in order to ‘stand out’ amongst the crowd.

Bark beetles use a spring-loaded mechanism to produce variable song patterns.

Many insects vary their song patterns to communicate different messages, but the underlying biomechanisms are often poorly understood. Here, we report on the mechanics of sound production and variation in an elytro-tergal stridulator, male Dendroctonus valens bark beetles. Using ablation experiments coupled with high-speed video and audio recordings, we show that: (1) chirps are produced using a stridulatory file on the left elytron (forewing) and a protrusion (plectrum) on the seventh abdominal segment; (2) chirps are produced by 'spring stridulation', a catch-and-release mechanism whereby the plectrum catches on a file tooth and, upon release, springs forward along the file; and (3) variability in chirp types is caused by introducing multiple catch-and-release events along the file to create regular interruptions. These results provide experimental evidence for the mechanics of elytro-tergal stridulation, and provide insight into how an insect can incorporate variability into its acoustic repertoire using a spring-loaded mechanism.

ЗВУКОВЫСОТНАЯ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЯ ВОКАЛЬНЫХ ЖАНРОВ УСТНОЙ ТРАДИЦИИ У КУБАНСКИХ НОГАЙЦЕВ

The article analyses the typological peculiarities of the pitch accent pattern of the traditional Kuban Nogai song tunes. The authors provide the theoretical justification of tone arrangement principles, their transformations, genre implementations and modern functioning. It is shown that the scales of the Kuban Nogai folk music are divided into anhemitonic and hemitonic (diatonic and chromatic), and each of them has certain structure and peculiarities of intra-tonal arrangement conditioned by temporal-phase and genre-style factors.

Cultural revolutions reduce complexity in the songs of humpback whales.

Much evidence for non-human culture comes from vocally learned displays, such as the vocal dialects and song displays of birds and cetaceans. While many oscine birds use song complexity to assess male fitness, the role of complexity in humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) song is uncertain owing to population-wide conformity to one song pattern. Although songs change gradually each year, the eastern Australian population also completely replaces their song every few years in cultural 'revolutions'. Revolutions involve learning large amounts of novel material introduced from the Western Australian population. We examined two measures of song structure, complexity and entropy, in the eastern Australian population over 13 consecutive years. These measures aimed to identify the role of complexity and information content in the vocal learning processes of humpback whales. Complexity was quantified at two hierarchical levels: the entire sequence of individual sound 'units' and the stereotyped arrangements of units which comprise a 'theme'. Complexity increased as songs evolved over time but decreased when revolutions occurred. No correlation between complexity and entropy estimates suggests that changes to complexity may represent embellishment to the song which could allow males to stand out amidst population-wide conformity. The consistent reduction in complexity during song revolutions suggests a potential limit to the social learning capacity of novel material in humpback whales.

Structure, Activity and Function of a Singing CPG Interneuron Controlling Cricket Species-Specific Acoustic Signaling.

The evolution of species-specific song patterns is a driving force in the speciation of acoustic communicating insects. It must be closely linked to adaptations of the neuronal network controlling the underlying singing motor activity. What are the cellular and network properties that allow generating different songs? In five cricket species, we analyzed the structure and activity of the identified abdominal ascending opener interneuron, a homologous key component of the singing central pattern generator. The structure of the interneuron, based on the position of the cell body, ascending axon, dendritic arborization pattern, and dye coupling, is highly similar across species. The neuron's spike activity shows a tight coupling to the singing motor activity. In all species, current injection into the interneuron drives artificial song patterns, highlighting the key functional role of this neuron. However, the pattern of the membrane depolarization during singing, the fine dendritic and axonal ramifications, and the number of dye-coupled neurons indicate species-specific adaptations of the neuronal network that might be closely linked to the evolution of species-specific singing.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT A fundamental question in evolutionary neuroscience is how species-specific behaviors arise in closely related species. We demonstrate behavioral, neurophysiological, and morphological evidence for homology of one key identified interneuron of the singing central pattern generator in five cricket species. Across-species differences of this interneuron are also observed, which might be important to the generation of the species-specific song patterns. This work offers a comprehensive and detailed comparative analysis addressing the neuronal basis of species-specific behavior.

Culturally transmitted song exchange between humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the southeast Atlantic and southwest Indian Ocean basins.

In migratory marine species, investigating population connectivity and structure can be challenging given barriers to dispersal are less evident and multiple factors may influence individual movement patterns. Male humpback whales sing a song display that can provide insights into contemporary connectivity patterns, as there can be a cultural exchange of a single, population-wide shared song type with neighbouring populations in acoustic contact. Here, we investigated song exchange between populations located on the east and west coasts of Africa using 5 years of concurrent data (2001–2005). Songs were qualitatively and quantitatively transcribed by measuring acoustic features of all song units and then compared using both Dice’s similarity index and the Levenshtein distance similarity index (LSI) to quantitatively calculate song similarity. Song similarity varied among individuals and potentially between populations depending on the year (Dice: 36–100%, LSI: 21–100%), suggesting varying levels of population connectivity and/or interchange among years. The high degree of song sharing indicated in this study further supports genetic studies that demonstrate interchange between these two populations and reinforces the emerging picture of broad-scale connectivity in Southern Hemisphere populations. Further research incorporating additional populations and years would be invaluable for better understanding of fine-scale, song interchange patterns between Southern Hemisphere male humpback whales.

Inter- and intra-specific differences in muscarinic acetylcholine receptor expression in the neural pathways for vocal learning in songbirds.

Acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) abound in the central nervous system of vertebrates. Muscarinic AChRs (mAChRs), a functional subclass of AChRs, mediate neuronal responses via intracellular signal transduction. They also play roles in sensorimotor coordination and motor skill learning by enhancing cortical plasticity. Learned birdsong is a complex motor skill acquired through sensorimotor coordination during a critical period. However, the functions of AChRs in the neural circuits for vocal learning and production remain largely unexplored. Here, we report the unique expression of mAChRs subunits (chrm2-5) in the song nuclei of zebra finches. The expression of excitatory subunits (chrm3 and chrm5) was downregulated in the song nuclei compared with the surrounding brain regions. In contrast, the expression of inhibitory mAChRs (chrm2 and chrm4) was upregulated in the premotor song nucleus HVC relative to the surrounding nidopallium. Chrm4 showed developmentally different expression in HVC during the critical period. Compared with chrm4, individual differences in chrm2 expression emerged in HVC early in the critical period. These individual differences in chrm2 expression persisted despite testosterone administration or auditory deprivation, which altered the timing of song stabilization. Instead, the variability in chrm2 expression in HVC correlated with parental genetics. In addition, chrm2 expression in HVC exhibited species differences and individual variability among songbird species. These results suggest that mAChRs play an underappreciated role in the development of species and individual differences in song patterns by modulating the excitability of HVC neurons, providing a potential insight into the gating of auditory responses in HVC neurons.

Cooperative and Creativity Building in Unison Singing

This research analyses the building of cooperative and creative character in the teaching of singing unison. This research employed the qualitative method. The data of this research were obtained from observation, interview, and documentation. The analysis of the data was in the sequence of data reduction, data presentation, and data verification or conclusion. The finding showed that the teaching of singing in unison instil the character of cooperativeness when the students play different musical instruments together. Besides, cooperativeness is also realised when the students sang that in the group. In teaching arts, the song also contained the value of creativity of which the students can solve specific task given by the teacher and when the students developed the rhythmic pattern of the song with a traditional instrument. The findings implied education, particularly musical education.

Rufous‐capped Warblers Basileuterus rufifrons show seasonal, temporal and annual variation in song use

In the majority of songbird species, males have repertoires of multiple song types used for mate attraction and territory defence. The wood‐warblers (family Parulidae) are a diverse family of songbirds in which males of many migratory species use different song types or patterns of song delivery (known as ‘singing modes’) depending on context. The vocal behaviour of most tropical resident warblers remains undescribed, although these species differ ecologically and behaviourally from migratory species, and may therefore differ in their vocal behaviour. We test whether male Rufous‐capped Warblers Basileuterus rufifrons use distinct singing modes by examining song structure and context‐dependent variation in their songs. We recorded multiple song bouts from 50 male Warblers in a Costa Rican population over 3 years to describe seasonal, diel and annual variation in song structure and vocal behaviour. We found that Rufous‐capped Warbler songs are complex, with many syllable types shared both within and between males’ repertoires. Males varied their song output depending on context: they sang long songs at a high rate at dawn and during the breeding season, and shortened songs in the presence of a vocalizing female mate. Unlike many migratory species, Rufous‐capped Warblers do not appear to have different singing modes; they did not change the song variants used or the pattern of song delivery according to time of day, season or female vocal activity. Our research provides the first detailed vocal analysis of any Basileuterus warbler species, and enhances our understanding of the evolution of repertoire specialization in tropical resident songbirds.

Multifunctional Wing Motor Control of Song and Flight

Multifunctional motor systems produce distinct output patterns that are dependent on behavioral context, posing a challenge to underlying neuronal control. Flies use their wings for flight and the production of a patterned acoustic signal, the male courtship song, employing in both cases a small set of wing muscles and corresponding motor neurons. We took first steps toward elucidating the neuronal control mechanisms of this multifunctional motor system by live imaging of muscle ensemble activity patterns during song and flight, and we established the functional role of a comprehensive set of wing muscle motor neurons by silencing experiments. Song and flight rely on distinct configurations of neuromuscular activity, with most, but not all, flight muscles and their corresponding motor neurons contributing to song and shaping its acoustic parameters. The two behaviors are exclusive, and the neuronal command for flight overrides the command for song. The neuromodulator octopamine is a candidate for selectively stabilizing flight, but not song motor patterns.

Dawn chorus interpretation differs when using songs or calls: the Dupont's Lark Chersophilus duponti case.

BackgroundTerritorial songbirds vocalise intensively before sunrise and then decrease their vocal activity. This creates a communication network that disseminates essential information for both males and females. The function of dawn chorus in birds has been frequently interpreted according to seasonal variation of singing as the breeding season advances, but potential differences in seasonal variation of song and calls for the same species have not been taken into account.MethodsWe chose Dupont’s Lark as a model species to study whether the seasonal pattern of dawn chorus differs between singing and calling activity, because in this species most daily songs and calls are uttered at dawn. We registered vocal activity of Dupont’s Lark before and around dawn in three different populations, through repeated sampling over the entire breeding season of two consecutive years.ResultsWe found that dawn singing parameters remained constant or presented an increasing trend while dawn calling activity decreased as breeding season advanced. We also found different daily patterns for singing and calling, with birds calling mostly during the first 30 minutes of dawn choruses and singing peaking afterwards.DiscussionThe different time patterns of songs and calls may indicate that they serve diverse functions at dawn in the Dupont’s Lark. Relaxation of dawn calling activity after the first month of the breeding season would suggest that dawn calling may be mainly related to mate attraction, while constant dawn singing throughout the breeding period would support a relationship of dawn singing to territorial defence. Our study highlights that the type of vocalisation used is an important factor to consider in further research on dawn choruses, since results may differ depending on whether calls or songs are analysed.

&lt;em&gt;Sĕkar Cina Gambuh&lt;/em&gt;: Anomali Metrum Gambuh pada Teks &lt;em&gt;Swara Sĕstra&lt;/em&gt;

The writing of sastra kapujanggan (poetry literature) is always used the meter as rule should be obeyed. However, the study of meter as the rules poetry is rarely found. If we are given the necessary attention, there are many meters that have not been identified or it lost along with the loss of literature. The main aim of this research is to reveal the Cina Gambuh meter in the text of Swara Sĕstra as an anomaly meter of Gambuh song pattern. This study is done by focusing on discipline of philology and codicology as the method. While, the method of codicology is done by comparing an alphabet pattern of the Swara Sestra with another text from Pakualaman's scriptorium in a similar script style to identify the text. The other aim of this study is to identify another variety meter and add the list meter of Gambuh. At the end of the study, the anomaly song pattern of Gambuh, in fact, is a creativity of the writer Jayengminarsa from Pakualaman.

Singing activity‐driven Arc expression associated with vocal acoustic plasticity in juvenile songbird

Learned vocalization, including birdsong and human speech, is acquired through self‐motivated vocal practice during the sensitive period of vocal learning. The zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) develops a song characterized by vocal variability and crystallizes a defined song pattern as adulthood. However, it remains unknown how vocal variability is regulated with diurnal singing during the sensorimotor learning period. Here, we investigated the expression of activity‐dependent neuroplasticity‐related gene Arc during the early plastic song phase to examine its potential association with vocal plasticity. We first confirmed that multiple acoustic features of syllables in the plastic song were dramatically and simultaneously modulated during the first 3 hr of singing in a day and the altered features were maintained until sleep. In a concurrent manner, Arc was intensely induced during morning singing and a subsequent attenuation during afternoon singing in the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA) and the interfacial nucleus of the nidopallium (NIf). The singing‐driven Arc expression was not altered by circadian rhythm, but rather reduced during the day as juveniles produced more songs. Song stabilization accelerated by testosterone administration in juveniles was accompanied with attenuation of Arc induction in RA and NIf. In contrast, although early‐deafened birds produced highly unstable song even at adulthood, singing‐driven Arc expression was not different between intact and early‐deafened adults. These results suggest a potential functional link between Arc expression in RA and NIf and vocal plasticity during the sensorimotor phase of song learning. Nonetheless, Arc expression did not reflect the quality of bird's own song or auditory feedback.

Recurrent development of song idiosyncrasy without auditory inputs in the canary, an open-ended vocal learner

Complex learned behaviors, like bird song and human speech, develop under the influence of both genetic and environmental factors. Accordingly, learned behaviors comprise species specificity and individual variability. Auditory information plays a critical role in vocal learning by songbirds, both to memorize tutor songs and to monitor own vocalizations. Nevertheless, audition-deprived songbirds develop structured, species-specific song patterns. It remains to be elucidated how the auditory input contributes to the development of individual variability of song characteristics. Here we show that an open-ended vocal learner, the canary, annually recapitulates individually unique songs without audition. Although the total number of syllable types was reduced by auditory deprivation, other vocal phenotypes examined in the syllable, phrase, and syntax of songs were conserved between the 1st and 2nd years, both in deafened and intact birds. In deafened canaries, approximately 60% of the syllables were yearly reproduced with consistent acoustic features, whereas the remaining syllables were replaced with new ones in an annual cycle of song development. These results indicate that the open-ended vocal learning of canaries involves an audition-independent mechanism for the development of recurrent song idiosyncrasy.

New genera and new species of Acrometopini (Orthoptera: Tettigonioidea Phaneropterinae) from East Africa and a review of all known stridulatory organs, songs and karyotypes of the tribe

Two new genera of East African Acrometopini are erected: the monotypicPeronurellan. gen. withP. centralisn. sp. from Miombo woodlands in central Tanzania, andTenerasphagan. gen. for a morphological uniform group of species formerly included inHoratosphaga,T. chyuluensisn. sp.,T. mbulun. sp.T. nanyuki,T. nudan. comb,T. meruensisn. comb,T. teneran. comb andT. bazeletaen. comb. Additional species are described in the generaAltihoratosphaga,LamecosomaandPeronura. Keys to African genera of Acrometopini and species of the genusTenerasphagaare provided. We review the male calling songs and the morphology of the acoustical apparatus and discuss how the morphology of the stridulatory files explains the complicated song patterns and elements. All Acrometopini species showed a plesiomorphic karyotype with a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 31 and a X0 sex chromosome system in males.

Premotor Neuron Divergence Reflects Vocal Evolution.

To identify mechanisms of behavioral evolution, we investigated the hindbrain circuit that generates distinct vocal patterns in two closely related frog species. Male Xenopus laevis and Xenopus petersii produce courtship calls that include a fast trill: trains of ∼60 Hz sound pulses. Although fast trill rates are similar, X. laevis fast trills have a longer duration and period than those of X. petersii To pinpoint the neural basis of these differences, we used whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in a key premotor hindbrain nucleus (the Xenopus parabrachial area, PBX) in ex vivo brains that produce fictive vocalizations, vocal nerve activity corresponding to advertisement call patterns. We found two populations of PBX neurons with distinct properties: fast trill neurons (FTNs) and early vocal neurons (EVNs). FTNs, but not EVNs, appear to be intrinsically tuned to produce each species' call patterns because: (1) X. laevis FTNs generate longer and slower depolarizations than X. petersii FTNs during their respective fictive vocalizations, (2) current steps in FTNs induce burst durations that are significantly longer in X. laevis than X. petersii, and (3) synaptically isolated FTNs oscillate in response to NMDA in a species-specific manner: longer and slower in X. laevis than in X. petersii Therefore, divergence of premotor neuron membrane properties is a strong candidate for generating vocal differences between species.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The vertebrate hindbrain includes multiple neural circuits that generate rhythmic behaviors including vocalizations. Male African clawed frogs produce courtship calls that are unique to each species and differ in temporal patterns. Here, we identified two functional subtypes of neurons located in the parabrachial nucleus: a hindbrain region implicated in vocal and respiratory control across vertebrates. One of these neuronal subtypes exhibits distinct properties across species that can account for the evolutionary divergence of song patterns. Our results suggest that changes to this group of neurons during evolution may have had a major role in establishing novel behaviors in closely related species.

The Seasonal Pattern of Veery Calls and Song in Relation to Reproductive Contexts

Abstract I investigated the seasonal patterns in the use of Veery vocalizations (song and calls) at a breeding site in northern Delaware. The Veery call repertoire consists of 2 continua (harsh and tonal notes) and 4 discrete call types. Veeries use these calls in long-distance (inter-territory) and short-distance (intra-territory) vocal interaction. To gain insight to Veery communication, I tallied calls during twenty-six 10-min point-counts in seven 11-d periods to determine the pattern of call types used by Veeries from nest initiation through fledging. The pattern of calls used varied depending on the corresponding reproductive context and can be in part explained by their acoustic properties in varying social situations. The use of a variety of calls early in the breeding season coupled with a paucity of song confirms that calls are the primary acoustic signal used by Veeries during the first 2 weeks after spring arrival.

High-speed duetting - latency times of the female acoustic response within the bush-cricket genera Leptophyes and Andreiniimon (Orthoptera, Phaneropteridae).

To find a mate, male and female bush-crickets of the family Phaneropteridae typically engage in duets. The male sings and the female responds. For mutual recognition, the amplitude pattern of the male song and the species-specific timing of the female response have been shown to be very important. In the seven studied species, belonging to the genera Leptophyes and Andreiniimon, these duets are extremely fast and nearly completely in the ultrasonic range. The females produce very short sounds by fast closing movements of the tegmina. They respond with species-specific delays of 20 to 150 ms after the beginning of the male song. The different latency times are probably not important for species recognition, since in sympatric species they are quite similar.

Behavior of singing fin whales Balaenoptera physalus tracked acoustically offshore of Southern California

Author(s): Varga, LM; Wiggins, SM; Hildebrand, JA | Abstract: Fin whales Balaenoptera physalus produce stereotyped low-frequency calls (15- 30 Hz) that can be detected at great ranges and are considered song when produced in a repeated temporal pattern. These calls, referred to as 20 Hz calls, were localized and tracked using a 1 km aperture array of 4 passive acoustic recorders at approximately 800 m depth northwest of San Clemente Island, offshore of Southern California, USA, for 4 continuous weeks during late fall 2007. A total of 1454 calls were localized over the recording period. The average (±SD) estimated source sound pressure level was 194.8 ± 0.2 dBpp re 1 μPa2 at 1 m (where pp is peak-to-peak) and 180.9 ± 0.2 dBrms re 1 μPa at 1 m (where rms is root mean square). The majority of these calls were in the form of a doublet song pattern, with average inter-pulse intervals of 13 and 18 s. These tracks are the first to be reported for transiting solitary singing fin whales using passive acoustic monitoring techniques. Acoustic tracking of fin whales provides insight into the ecology and behavior of this endangered species as well as vocal behaviors, which are important when studying the potential impact of anthropogenic noise. Call source sound pressure level, along with calling behavior, provides important parameters required for population density estimation. Furthermore, studying fin whale song patterns may aid in distinguishing different subpopulations.

A neural circuit for song pattern recognition in the cricket brain

Acoustic communication is based on amplitude and frequency modulation of sound signals. Temporal features of the signal require processing by central auditory neurons, the brain circuits, however that detect temporal features are poorly understood. We show how five neurons in the brain of female field crickets form an auditory feature-detector circuit for the pulse pattern of the male calling song, and exhibit properties of a delay-line and coincidence-detection mechanism. The network receives its direct input from a single ascending auditory interneuron. An internal delay that matches the pulse period of the calling song is established by a non-spiking brain neuron. In response to a sound pulse, it generates a transient inhibition that triggers a delayed rebound depolarization. The direct input and the delayed responses converge in a coincidence detector neuron, which responds best to the pulse pattern of the species-specific calling song as the rebound activation of the non-spiking neuron coincides with the response of the ascending interneuron to the subsequent sound pulse. The output of the coincidence detector neuron is further processed by a feature detector neuron to suppress unselective responses and background activity. The circuit reveals principal mechanisms of sensory processing underlying the perception of temporal auditory patterns.