Latest news with #PhilosophicalTransactions
Time of India
a day ago
- Science
- Time of India
Birds sing at sunrise to defend their territory and communicate about food: Study
Pune: Birds in the Western Ghats begin their day with a chorus of songs, mainly to protect their space and share important messages like food locations, a study has found. The study conducted in Valparai plateau in the Western Ghats by scientists Vijay Ramesh, Pavithra Sundar, and Meghana Srivathsa from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Project Dhvani showed that highly territorial birds sing loudly at dawn to warn others to stay away. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Some birds also use their morning songs to help their groups stay connected and informed, especially those that eat a mix of insects and fruits. The researchers placed audio recorders at 43 different rainforest sites to capture bird sounds and studied them between March 2020 and January 2021. The team listened closely to bird calls at dawn and dusk. Of the 120 species recorded, they focused on 69 commonly heard species. Among the birds most active at dawn were the Indian blackbird, little spiderhunter, oriental magpie-robin, and purple sunbird. These birds were often heard in the morning and, to a lesser extent, in the evening. The study was published in the Royal Society journal Philosophical Transactions on June 12. Ramesh said, "Bird species vary widely in their diurnal vocalisation patterns, and the drivers of this variation are not well understood. Using passive acoustic monitoring, we examined species-specific vocal activity patterns at dawn and dusk for a tropical bird community in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot in India." The scientists tested whether environmental factors such as signal transmission conditions, ambient light, and resource availability, and social factors such as territoriality, best explained patterns of diurnal variation in vocal activity. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Using multiple autonomous recording units collecting data across numerous locations simultaneously, they can now obtain large amounts of species-specific acoustic data for an entire community. The Western Ghats is home to hundreds of bird species, several of which are rare, endangered, and endemic to this region. The Valparai plateau is situated in the Anamalai hill range within the Western Ghats and primarily consists of mid-elevation tropical wet evergreen rainforests. The plateau is a typical example of a human-modified biodiverse landscape in India and is home to hundreds of species of rare and endemic flora and fauna and supports the livelihoods of thousands of people. Sundar, another scientist who was part of this study, said, "We found that highly territorial birds and omnivorous species were much more likely to be active singers during dawn hours." The authors of the research paper stated that early morning hours were important for territorial species to protect their locations. Species that eat insects and fruit—that is, omnivores—also showed a prevalence for singing more at dawn. Sundar said these species were often members of mixed species foraging flocks, in which vocal communication was essential for finding food and for warning group members about potential predators nearby. However, additional research that includes visual observations is needed to confirm this speculation, Ramesh said. The researcher stated that this study helped them understand how birds communicated and how changes in the environment could affect their natural behaviour. "By listening carefully to nature, researchers are learning not just when birds sing, but why it truly matters," stated Ramesh. Acoustic signals of four species were detected only at dawn—the Indian blackbird (Turdus simillimus), the little spiderhunter (Arachnothera longirostra), oriental magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis), and the purple sunbird (Cinnyris asiaticus). Twenty species had vocal activity that was substantially higher at dawn. Notable representatives include the grey-headed canary-flycatcher (Culicicapa ceylonensis), greater coucal (Centropus sinensis), large-billed leaf warbler (Phylloscopus magnirostris), and puff-throated babbler (Pellorneum ruficeps). The dark-fronted babbler (Rhopocichla atriceps) was the only species with significantly higher vocal activity at dusk.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Monkeys are "best yodellers" in the world, study says
The world's best yodellers aren't found high in the pristine mountaintops of the Alps – instead, scientists say, they can be found in trees, jungles and rainforests across the globe. It's because the world's best yodellers are monkeys, a study published this week in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B found. Once thought to be the exclusive domain of humans, researchers from Anglia Ruskin University in England and the University of Vienna in Austria recorded and studied the calls of various monkeys at La Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary in Bolivia. Primates studied included the black and gold howler monkey, tufted capuchin, black-capped squirrel monkey, and Peruvian spider monkey. Monkeys, scientists found, had a secret yodelling weapon; the primates possess special anatomical structures in their throats called vocal membranes. These membranes disappeared from humans through evolution to allow for more stable speech. These membranes allow monkeys to introduce "voice breaks" to their calls at the same rapid transitions in frequency heard in yodelling but at much higher octaves than humans. They learned that the primates use these yodels to differentiate themselves and communicate with others, much like humans who used the high, low and deep-throated pitches in rural mountain ranges as a form of communication. "These results show how monkeys take advantage of an evolved feature in their larynx—the vocal membrane—which allows for a wider range of calls to be produced, including these ultra-yodels," said study senior author Jacob Dunn, associate professor in Evolutionary Biology at Anglia Ruskin University, in a statement. "This might be particularly important in primates, which have complex social lives and need to communicate in a variety of different ways," he said. New World monkeys, whose range stretches from Mexico to Argentina, were found to have evolved the largest vocal membranes of all the primates. As a result, the New World Monkeys are "ultra-yodellers," the primates can have frequency leaps up to five times larger than the frequency changes that are possible with the human voice. New World monkeys are also capable of exceeding three musical octaves. "This is a fascinating example of how nature provides the means of enriching animal vocalization, despite their lack of language," said study lead author Christian T. Herbst at the University of Vienna. Kentucky whiskey producers react to Trump tariffs From viral floor routine to national champion, first HBCU gymnast breaks barriers RFK Jr. says 20% of health agency layoffs could be mistakes
CBS News
04-04-2025
- Science
- CBS News
Monkeys are "best yodellers" in the world reaching octaves 3 times higher than humans, study says
The world's best yodellers aren't found high in the pristine mountaintops of the Alps – instead, scientists say, they can be found in trees, jungles and rainforests across the globe. It's because the world's best yodellers are monkeys, a study published this week in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B found. Once thought to be the exclusive domain of humans, researchers from Anglia Ruskin University in England and the University of Vienna in Austria recorded and studied the calls of various monkeys at La Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary in Bolivia. Primates studied included the black and gold howler monkey, tufted capuchin, black-capped squirrel monkey, and Peruvian spider monkey. Monkeys, scientists found, had a secret yodelling weapon; the primates possess special anatomical structures in their throats called vocal membranes. These membranes disappeared from humans through evolution to allow for more stable speech. These membranes allow monkeys to introduce "voice breaks" to their calls at the same rapid transitions in frequency heard in yodelling but at much higher octaves than humans. They learned that the primates use these yodels to differentiate themselves and communicate with others, much like humans who used the high, low and deep-throated pitches in rural mountain ranges as a form of communication. "These results show how monkeys take advantage of an evolved feature in their larynx—the vocal membrane—which allows for a wider range of calls to be produced, including these ultra-yodels," said study senior author Jacob Dunn, associate professor in Evolutionary Biology at Anglia Ruskin University, in a statement. "This might be particularly important in primates, which have complex social lives and need to communicate in a variety of different ways," he said. New World monkeys, whose range stretches from Mexico to Argentina, were found to have evolved the largest vocal membranes of all the primates. As a result, the New World Monkeys are "ultra-yodellers," the primates can have frequency leaps up to five times larger than the frequency changes that are possible with the human voice. New World monkeys are also capable of exceeding three musical octaves. "This is a fascinating example of how nature provides the means of enriching animal vocalization, despite their lack of language," said study lead author Christian T. Herbst at the University of Vienna.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Revealed: Why monkeys are better at yodelling than humans
Yodellers of the world, you never stood a chance: Monkeys will always be better at yodelling than humans because they have a "cheap trick" hidden in their voice box, scientists revealed Thursday. When monkeys howl -- or yodellers yodel -- they rapidly switch back and forth between low and high frequency sounds. This is in contrast to opera singers, who are trained to precisely control how they gradually move from note to note, in a way that is pleasing to listen to. Yodellers and monkeys, however, make bigger jumps far more abruptly, creating vocal breaks that sound like Tarzan's yell. When yodelling, a human might be able to jump an octave, which doubles the frequency. Monkeys can manage three and half octaves, according to a new study. A "cheap trick" in their larynx means these monkeys will always beat humans, senior study author Jacob Dunn of the UK's Anglia Ruskin University told AFP. Both humans and monkeys have a pair of vocal folds in their larynx which vibrate to create sound. But monkeys have an additional pair of membranes that gives them a far wider pitch range, the international team of researchers discovered. This is thought to give monkeys, which are social creatures, a more complex way of communicating with each other. All other primates, and even ancient human ancestors, appear to have this special tissue, Dunn said. At some during our evolution, humans seem to have lost these membranes, he added. But the shame of being inferior yodellers may have been worth the trade-off. To be able to speak clearly, humans needed a "streamlined" larynx -- and these membranes would have gotten in the way, Dunn explained. "If you put a human brain on the primate larynx" it would struggle to speak intelligibly because of the membranes and other things like air sacs, he said. For the study, the researchers put sensors on the necks of some monkeys at Bolivia's La Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary. This allowed them to see what was going on in the larynx of black and gold howler monkeys, tufted capuchins, black-capped squirrel monkeys and Peruvian spider monkeys. The spider monkey was the best yodeller, managing around four octaves, Dunn said. The researchers also studied the larynges of dead monkeys and used computer modelling to analyse the frequencies. The study was published in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. dl/giv
