Field Propagation Experiments of Male African Savanna Elephant Rumbles: A Focus on the Transmission of Formant Frequencies
African savanna elephants live in dynamic fission–fusion societies and exhibit a sophisticated vocal communication system. Their most frequent call-type is the ‘rumble’, with a fundamental frequency (which refers to the lowest vocal fold vibration rate when producing a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2018-09-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/8/10/167 |
| _version_ | 1819209216223608832 |
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| author | Anton Baotic Maxime Garcia Markus Boeckle Angela Stoeger |
| author_facet | Anton Baotic Maxime Garcia Markus Boeckle Angela Stoeger |
| author_sort | Anton Baotic |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | African savanna elephants live in dynamic fission–fusion societies and exhibit a sophisticated vocal communication system. Their most frequent call-type is the ‘rumble’, with a fundamental frequency (which refers to the lowest vocal fold vibration rate when producing a vocalization) near or in the infrasonic range. Rumbles are used in a wide variety of behavioral contexts, for short- and long-distance communication, and convey contextual and physical information. For example, maturity (age and size) is encoded in male rumbles by formant frequencies (the resonance frequencies of the vocal tract), having the most informative power. As sound propagates, however, its spectral and temporal structures degrade progressively. Our study used manipulated and resynthesized male social rumbles to simulate large and small individuals (based on different formant values) to quantify whether this phenotypic information efficiently transmits over long distances. To examine transmission efficiency and the potential influences of ecological factors, we broadcasted and re-recorded rumbles at distances of up to 1.5 km in two different habitats at the Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa. Our results show that rumbles were affected by spectral–temporal degradation over distance. Interestingly and unlike previous findings, the transmission of formants was better than that of the fundamental frequency. Our findings demonstrate the importance of formant frequencies for the efficiency of rumble propagation and the transmission of information content in a savanna elephant’s natural habitat. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T05:51:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-04475626bb28465d89d93a2834e1c153 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T05:51:45Z |
| publishDate | 2018-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-04475626bb28465d89d93a2834e1c1532022-12-21T17:57:56ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152018-09-0181016710.3390/ani8100167ani8100167Field Propagation Experiments of Male African Savanna Elephant Rumbles: A Focus on the Transmission of Formant FrequenciesAnton Baotic0Maxime Garcia1Markus Boeckle2Angela Stoeger3Mammal Communication Lab, Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna 1090, AustriaMammal Communication Lab, Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna 1090, AustriaDepartment of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UKMammal Communication Lab, Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna 1090, AustriaAfrican savanna elephants live in dynamic fission–fusion societies and exhibit a sophisticated vocal communication system. Their most frequent call-type is the ‘rumble’, with a fundamental frequency (which refers to the lowest vocal fold vibration rate when producing a vocalization) near or in the infrasonic range. Rumbles are used in a wide variety of behavioral contexts, for short- and long-distance communication, and convey contextual and physical information. For example, maturity (age and size) is encoded in male rumbles by formant frequencies (the resonance frequencies of the vocal tract), having the most informative power. As sound propagates, however, its spectral and temporal structures degrade progressively. Our study used manipulated and resynthesized male social rumbles to simulate large and small individuals (based on different formant values) to quantify whether this phenotypic information efficiently transmits over long distances. To examine transmission efficiency and the potential influences of ecological factors, we broadcasted and re-recorded rumbles at distances of up to 1.5 km in two different habitats at the Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa. Our results show that rumbles were affected by spectral–temporal degradation over distance. Interestingly and unlike previous findings, the transmission of formants was better than that of the fundamental frequency. Our findings demonstrate the importance of formant frequencies for the efficiency of rumble propagation and the transmission of information content in a savanna elephant’s natural habitat.http://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/8/10/167African savanna elephantrumblevocalizationformantpropagation |
| spellingShingle | Anton Baotic Maxime Garcia Markus Boeckle Angela Stoeger Field Propagation Experiments of Male African Savanna Elephant Rumbles: A Focus on the Transmission of Formant Frequencies Animals African savanna elephant rumble vocalization formant propagation |
| title | Field Propagation Experiments of Male African Savanna Elephant Rumbles: A Focus on the Transmission of Formant Frequencies |
| title_full | Field Propagation Experiments of Male African Savanna Elephant Rumbles: A Focus on the Transmission of Formant Frequencies |
| title_fullStr | Field Propagation Experiments of Male African Savanna Elephant Rumbles: A Focus on the Transmission of Formant Frequencies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Field Propagation Experiments of Male African Savanna Elephant Rumbles: A Focus on the Transmission of Formant Frequencies |
| title_short | Field Propagation Experiments of Male African Savanna Elephant Rumbles: A Focus on the Transmission of Formant Frequencies |
| title_sort | field propagation experiments of male african savanna elephant rumbles a focus on the transmission of formant frequencies |
| topic | African savanna elephant rumble vocalization formant propagation |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/8/10/167 |
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