Vocal learning, communication, and the evolution of culture in wild animals

野生动物的声音学习、交流和文化进化

• 批准号: RGPIN-2020-04839
• 负责人: Mennill, Daniel
• 金额: $ 4.74万
• 依托单位: University of Windsor
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=740248
• 关键词: Vocal; learning; communication; evolution; culture

In eight groups of animals, including humans and songbirds, vocalizations are inherited through social learning, where young animals learn to vocalize by listening to adults. These culturally inherited traits play a vital role in animal survival and mating. Culturally-inherited traits have important consequences for ecology: learned vocalizations are critical for defending territories and attracting mates. They also have important consequences for evolution: learning promotes geographic variation and influences population divergence and speciation. Birds provide a model system for studying vocal learning and animal culture because they produce diverse vocal signals, they have short generation times, and they respond to experimental playback. Traditional studies have focused on learning in males, temperate animals, and captive individuals. Breaking with tradition, my research involves studies of communication in both males and females, in both temperate and tropical animals, and in wild animals in their natural environment. With a team of students and postdoctoral researchers, I will conduct research on two model systems: a population of temperate sparrows where males use songs to defend territories and attract mates; and a population of tropical wrens where both sexes use solo songs and coordinated vocal duets in diverse contexts. We will teach songs to young birds using loudspeakers that simulate vocal tutors and we will conduct long-term acoustic monitoring to assess the ecological and evolutionary consequences. This will allow us to test new hypotheses about vocal learning and animal culture in both males and females, and in both temperate and tropical environments. In part A, studying temperate birds, we will test the hypotheses that the presence of a physical tutor enhances learning, that young animals learn songs based on frequency of exposure, that interactions between tutors and tutees influences learning, and that birds undergo a process of selective attrition in choosing song tutors. In part B, studying duetting tropical birds, we will test hypotheses that learning is sex-specific in tropical animals, that duets facilitate vocal learning, and that birds learn not only their vocalizations but also their duetting behaviour. In part C, we will study cultural evolution in both temperate and tropical birds by documenting patterns of acoustic changes through time and space, thereby developing a better understanding of the roles of imitation, innovation, selection, and drift. In parts D-H we will study animal communication in other taxa, including other songbirds, frogs, and whales, expanding the scope of our investigations. This body of research will provide groundbreaking insights into the behaviour, ecology, and evolution of animals, and answer novel questions about vocal learning and animal culture. This research will also allow me to train many diverse Canadian scientists, and develop innovative technologies for studying wild animals.

在包括人类和鸣禽在内的八组动物中，发声是通过社会学习继承的，在这个社会学习中，年轻的动物学会通过听成年人来发声。这些文化遗传的特征在动物的生存和交配中起着至关重要的作用。具有文化的特征对生态学有重要的后果：学到的发声对于捍卫领土和吸引伴侣至关重要。它们对进化也有重要的后果：学习促进地理差异并影响种群差异和物种形成。鸟类提供了一种模型系统，用于研究声带学习和动物文化，因为它们会产生各种声音信号，它们的生成时间很短，并且对实验性播放做出了反应。传统研究的重点是男性，温带动物和圈养的人学习。凭借传统的破坏，我的研究涉及对男性和女性，温带和热带动物以及自然环境中野生动物的交流研究。我将与一个学生和博士后研究人员一起进行研究，对两个模型系统进行研究：一群温带麻雀，男性使用歌曲来捍卫领土并吸引伴侣；以及在各种背景下，男女都使用独奏歌曲和协调的声乐二重奏的热带wr。我们将使用模拟声乐导师的扬声器向幼鸟传授歌曲，并将进行长期的声学监测以评估生态和进化后果。这将使我们能够在男性和女性以及温带和热带环境中测试有关声音学习和动物文化的新假设。在研究温带鸟类的第A部分中，我们将检验以下假设：物理导师的存在会增强学习，年轻动物根据暴露频率学习歌曲，导师和滋补师之间的相互作用会影响学习，并且鸟类在选择歌曲辅导员时经历了选择性损耗的过程。在B部分中，研究二重奏热带鸟类，我们将检验假设，即在热带动物中学习是性别特定的，二重奏促进了声音学习，并且鸟类不仅学习了它们的发声，而且还学习二重奏的行为。在C部分中，我们将通过记录通过时间和空间的声学变化模式来研究温带和热带鸟类的文化进化，从而更好地了解模仿，创新，选择和漂移的作用。在D-H部分中，我们将研究其他分类单元中的动物交流，包括其他鸣禽，青蛙和鲸鱼，从而扩大了我们调查的范围。这项研究将为动物的行为，生态和进化提供开创性的见解，并回答有关声乐学习和动物文化的新颖问题。这项研究还可以使我能够培训许多加拿大的科学家，并开发用于研究野生动物的创新技术。