Animal vocal sequences: not the Markov chains we thought they were
Many animals produce vocal sequences that appear complex. Most researchers assume that these sequences are well characterized as Markov chains (i.e. that the probability of a particular vocal element can be calculated from the history of only a finite number of preceding elements). However, this ass...
Published in: | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rspb.2014.1370 2024-06-23T07:55:58+00:00 Animal vocal sequences: not the Markov chains we thought they were Kershenbaum, Arik Bowles, Ann E. Freeberg, Todd M. Jin, Dezhe Z. Lameira, Adriano R. Bohn, Kirsten 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.1370 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2014.1370 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2014.1370 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 281, issue 1792, page 20141370 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 journal-article 2014 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.1370 2024-06-10T04:15:15Z Many animals produce vocal sequences that appear complex. Most researchers assume that these sequences are well characterized as Markov chains (i.e. that the probability of a particular vocal element can be calculated from the history of only a finite number of preceding elements). However, this assumption has never been explicitly tested. Furthermore, it is unclear how language could evolve in a single step from a Markovian origin, as is frequently assumed, as no intermediate forms have been found between animal communication and human language. Here, we assess whether animal taxa produce vocal sequences that are better described by Markov chains, or by non-Markovian dynamics such as the ‘renewal process’ (RP), characterized by a strong tendency to repeat elements. We examined vocal sequences of seven taxa: Bengalese finches Lonchura striata domestica , Carolina chickadees Poecile carolinensis , free-tailed bats Tadarida brasiliensis , rock hyraxes Procavia capensis , pilot whales Globicephala macrorhynchus , killer whales Orcinus orca and orangutans Pongo spp . The vocal systems of most of these species are more consistent with a non-Markovian RP than with the Markovian models traditionally assumed. Our data suggest that non-Markovian vocal sequences may be more common than Markov sequences, which must be taken into account when evaluating alternative hypotheses for the evolution of signalling complexity, and perhaps human language origins. Article in Journal/Newspaper Orca Orcinus orca The Royal Society Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 281 1792 20141370 |
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Open Polar |
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The Royal Society |
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crroyalsociety |
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English |
description |
Many animals produce vocal sequences that appear complex. Most researchers assume that these sequences are well characterized as Markov chains (i.e. that the probability of a particular vocal element can be calculated from the history of only a finite number of preceding elements). However, this assumption has never been explicitly tested. Furthermore, it is unclear how language could evolve in a single step from a Markovian origin, as is frequently assumed, as no intermediate forms have been found between animal communication and human language. Here, we assess whether animal taxa produce vocal sequences that are better described by Markov chains, or by non-Markovian dynamics such as the ‘renewal process’ (RP), characterized by a strong tendency to repeat elements. We examined vocal sequences of seven taxa: Bengalese finches Lonchura striata domestica , Carolina chickadees Poecile carolinensis , free-tailed bats Tadarida brasiliensis , rock hyraxes Procavia capensis , pilot whales Globicephala macrorhynchus , killer whales Orcinus orca and orangutans Pongo spp . The vocal systems of most of these species are more consistent with a non-Markovian RP than with the Markovian models traditionally assumed. Our data suggest that non-Markovian vocal sequences may be more common than Markov sequences, which must be taken into account when evaluating alternative hypotheses for the evolution of signalling complexity, and perhaps human language origins. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kershenbaum, Arik Bowles, Ann E. Freeberg, Todd M. Jin, Dezhe Z. Lameira, Adriano R. Bohn, Kirsten |
spellingShingle |
Kershenbaum, Arik Bowles, Ann E. Freeberg, Todd M. Jin, Dezhe Z. Lameira, Adriano R. Bohn, Kirsten Animal vocal sequences: not the Markov chains we thought they were |
author_facet |
Kershenbaum, Arik Bowles, Ann E. Freeberg, Todd M. Jin, Dezhe Z. Lameira, Adriano R. Bohn, Kirsten |
author_sort |
Kershenbaum, Arik |
title |
Animal vocal sequences: not the Markov chains we thought they were |
title_short |
Animal vocal sequences: not the Markov chains we thought they were |
title_full |
Animal vocal sequences: not the Markov chains we thought they were |
title_fullStr |
Animal vocal sequences: not the Markov chains we thought they were |
title_full_unstemmed |
Animal vocal sequences: not the Markov chains we thought they were |
title_sort |
animal vocal sequences: not the markov chains we thought they were |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.1370 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2014.1370 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2014.1370 |
genre |
Orca Orcinus orca |
genre_facet |
Orca Orcinus orca |
op_source |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 281, issue 1792, page 20141370 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.1370 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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281 |
container_issue |
1792 |
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20141370 |
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1802648798539808768 |