Element repetition rates encode functionally distinct information in pied babbler ‘clucks’ and ‘purrs’

@article{Engesser2017ElementRR,
  title={Element repetition rates encode functionally distinct information in pied babbler ‘clucks’ and ‘purrs’},
  author={Sabrina Engesser and Amanda R. Ridley and Simon W. Townsend},
  journal={Animal Cognition},
  year={2017},
  volume={20},
  pages={953-960}
}
Human language is a recombinant system that achieves its productivity through the combination of a limited set of sounds. Research investigating the evolutionary origin of this generative capacity has generally focused on the capacity of non-human animals to combine different types of discrete sounds to encode new meaning, with less emphasis on meaning-differentiating mechanisms achieved through potentially simpler temporal modifications within a sequence of repeated sounds. Here we show that… 
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Background Citations
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Methods Citations
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9 Citations

Internal acoustic structuring in pied babbler recruitment cries specifies the form of recruitment
TLDR
Evidence is provided for internal “meaning-refining” acoustic variation within a larger stereotyped signal in pied babblers, lending support to the hypothesis that combinatorial structuring may have emerged in species with limited or fixed vocal repertoires in order to enhance communicative output.
Combinatoriality in the vocal systems of nonhuman animals.
TLDR
An overview of the current evidence for combinatorial structures found in the vocal system of diverse species is provided and it is suggested that a fine-grained classification and differentiation of combinatorsiality is a useful approach permitting systematic comparisons across animals.
More than just babble: functional and structural complexity of vocalizations of Jungle Babbler
TLDR
This study demonstrates that Jungle Babblers possess a structurally and functionally complex vocal repertoire, and lays the foundation for future investigations on combinatorial and syntactical rules underlying call function and structure in bird vocalizations.
Structural and functional complexity of vocalizations in a cooperatively breeding passerine, Jungle Babbler
TLDR
This study examined complex communication in a cooperatively breeding social passerine, Jungle Babbler, for which it assessed repertoire size, function, acoustic features of calls and of their constituent elements and found that several calls were composed of multiple, acoustically distinct notes.
Communication as a Fundamental Part of Machiavellian Intelligence
TLDR
It is shown how a focus on communicative and cognitive complexity together can elucidate nuanced manipulations for selfish gains in socially complex groups, under both competitive and cooperative scenarios.
Vocal production in postpartum dairy cows: Temporal organization and association with maternal and stress behaviors.
TLDR
Calf separation was associated with a greater proportion of calls emitted as a sequence, a shorter interval between separate call sequences, and a greater number of vocal units per sequence, compared with calf interactions, and temporal vocal features varied predictably with the high stress expression from cows during calf separation.
Which acoustic parameters modify the great tit’s response to conspecific combinatorial mobbing calls?
Collective close calling mediates group cohesion in foraging meerkats via spatially determined differences in call rates
The role of acoustic templates, contextual information and visual representation in the combinatorial communication system of chestnut-crowned babblers

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