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: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=744794
• 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类动物中，发声是通过社会学习遗传的，幼小的动物通过聆听成年人的声音来学习发声。这些文化遗传特征在动物生存和交配中发挥着至关重要的作用。文化遗传特征对生态具有重要影响：习得的发声对于保卫领地和吸引配偶至关重要。它们还对进化产生重要影响：学习促进地理变异并影响种群分化和物种形成。鸟类为研究声音学习和动物文化提供了一个模型系统，因为它们产生不同的声音信号，它们的生成时间很短，并且它们对实验回放有反应。传统研究主要集中在雄性、温带动物和圈养个体的学习上。我的研究打破传统，涉及雄性和雌性、温带和热带动物以及自然环境中野生动物的交流研究。我将与一个由学生和博士后研究人员组成的团队一起对两个模型系统进行研究：温带麻雀种群，雄性用歌曲来保卫领地和吸引配偶；还有一群热带鹪鹩，雌雄都在不同的环境中使用独唱和协调的二重唱。我们将使用模拟声音导师的扬声器向幼鸟教授歌曲，并将进行长期声学监测以评估生态和进化后果。这将使我们能够在雄性和雌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 A 部分，研究温带鸟类，我们将测试以下假设：物理导师的存在可以增强学习能力，幼小动物根据接触频率学习歌曲，导师和受训者之间的互动影响学习，以及鸟类经历了一个过程：选择歌曲导师时的选择性消耗。在 B 部分中，研究热带鸟类的二重唱，我们将测试这样的假设：热带动物的学习是有性别特异性的，二重唱促进声音学习，鸟类不仅学习它们的发声，还学习它们的二重唱行为。在 C 部分中，我们将通过记录随时间和空间变化的声音模式来研究温带和热带鸟类的文化进化，从而更好地理解模仿、创新、选择和漂移的作用。在 D-H 部分，我们将研究其他类群的动物交流，包括其他鸣禽、青蛙和鲸鱼，从而扩大我们的调查范围。这项研究将为动物的行为、生态和进化提供突破性的见解，并回答有关声音学习和动物文化的新问题。这项研究还将使我能够培训许多不同的加拿大科学家，并开发研究野生动物的创新技术。