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The role of vocal learning in call acquisition of wild grey seal pups
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences ( IF 6.3 ) Pub Date : 2021-09-06 , DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0251
Amanda L Stansbury 1, 2 , Vincent M Janik 1
Affiliation  

Pinnipeds have been identified as one of the best available models for the study of vocal learning. Experimental evidence for their learning skills is demonstrated with advanced copying skills, particularly in formant structure when copying human speech sounds and melodies. By contrast, almost no data are available on how learning skills are used in their own communication systems. We investigated the impact of playing modified seal sounds in a breeding colony of grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) to study how acoustic input influenced vocal development of eight pups. Sequences of two or three seal pup calls were edited so that the average peak frequency between calls in a sequence changed up or down. We found that seals copied the specific stimuli played to them and that copies became more accurate over time. The differential response of different groups showed that vocal production learning was used to achieve conformity, suggesting that geographical variation in seal calls can be caused by horizontal cultural transmission. While learning of pup calls appears to have few benefits, we suggest that it also affects the development of the adult repertoire, which may facilitate social interactions such as mate choice.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.



中文翻译:

声音学习在野生灰海豹幼崽叫声获取中的作用

鳍足类动物已被确定为研究声乐学习的最佳可用模型之一。他们学习技能的实验证据通过高级复制技巧得到了证明,特别是在复制人类语音和旋律时的共振峰结构。相比之下,几乎没有关于如何在他们自己的通信系统中使用学习技能的数据。我们调查了在灰海豹(Halichoerus grypus)繁殖群中播放改良海豹声音的影响) 研究声学输入如何影响八只幼崽的声音发育。编辑了两个或三个海豹幼崽呼叫的序列,以便序列中呼叫之间的平均峰值频率向上或向下变化。我们发现海豹复制了播放给他们的特定刺激,并且随着时间的推移,副本变得更加准确。不同群体的差异反应表明,发声学习被用来实现一致性,这表明海豹叫声的地域差异可能是由横向文化传播引起的。虽然学习幼犬叫声似乎没有什么好处,但我们认为它也会影响成人曲目的发展,这可能会促进社会互动,如择偶。

这篇文章是主题问题“动物和人类的声音学习”的一部分。

更新日期:2021-09-06
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