Vocal tract anatomy of king penguins: morphological traits of two-voiced sound production
Abstract Background The astonishing variety of sounds that birds can produce has been the subject of many studies aiming to identify the underlying anatomical and physical mechanisms of sound production. An interesting feature of some bird vocalisations is the simultaneous production of two differen...
Published in: | Frontiers in Zoology |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
BMC
2020
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-020-0351-8 https://doaj.org/article/2bb432a7499044c4a638d081ed71aa48 |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:2bb432a7499044c4a638d081ed71aa48 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:2bb432a7499044c4a638d081ed71aa48 2023-05-15T17:03:50+02:00 Vocal tract anatomy of king penguins: morphological traits of two-voiced sound production Hannah Joy Kriesell Céline Le Bohec Alexander F. Cerwenka Moritz Hertel Jean-Patrice Robin Bernhard Ruthensteiner Manfred Gahr Thierry Aubin Daniel Normen Düring 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-020-0351-8 https://doaj.org/article/2bb432a7499044c4a638d081ed71aa48 EN eng BMC https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-020-0351-8 https://doaj.org/toc/1742-9994 doi:10.1186/s12983-020-0351-8 1742-9994 https://doaj.org/article/2bb432a7499044c4a638d081ed71aa48 Frontiers in Zoology, Vol 17, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2020) Syrinx anatomy Micro computed tomography 3D reconstruction Spheniscidae Vocal communication Zoology QL1-991 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-020-0351-8 2022-12-31T10:19:36Z Abstract Background The astonishing variety of sounds that birds can produce has been the subject of many studies aiming to identify the underlying anatomical and physical mechanisms of sound production. An interesting feature of some bird vocalisations is the simultaneous production of two different frequencies. While most work has been focusing on songbirds, much less is known about dual-sound production in non-passerines, although their sound production organ, the syrinx, would technically allow many of them to produce “two voices”. Here, we focus on the king penguin, a colonial seabird whose calls consist of two fundamental frequency bands and their respective harmonics. The calls are produced during courtship and for partner and offspring reunions and encode the birds’ identity. We dissected, μCT-scanned and analysed the vocal tracts of six adult king penguins from Possession Island, Crozet Archipelago. Results King penguins possess a bronchial type syrinx that, similarly to the songbird’s tracheobronchial syrinx, has two sets of vibratory tissues, and thus two separate sound sources. Left and right medial labium differ consistently in diameter between 0.5 and 3.2%, with no laterality between left and right side. The trachea has a conical shape, increasing in diameter from caudal to cranial by 16%. About 80% of the king penguins’ trachea is medially divided by a septum consisting of soft elastic tissue (septum trachealis medialis). Conclusions The king penguins’ vocal tract appears to be mainly adapted to the life in a noisy colony of a species that relies on individual vocal recognition. The extent between the two voices encoding for individuality seems morphologically dictated by the length difference between left and right medial labium. The septum trachealis medialis might support this extent and could therefore be an important anatomical feature that aids in the individual recognition process. Article in Journal/Newspaper King Penguins Possession Island Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Possession Island ENVELOPE(171.200,171.200,-71.867,-71.867) Frontiers in Zoology 17 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Syrinx anatomy Micro computed tomography 3D reconstruction Spheniscidae Vocal communication Zoology QL1-991 |
spellingShingle |
Syrinx anatomy Micro computed tomography 3D reconstruction Spheniscidae Vocal communication Zoology QL1-991 Hannah Joy Kriesell Céline Le Bohec Alexander F. Cerwenka Moritz Hertel Jean-Patrice Robin Bernhard Ruthensteiner Manfred Gahr Thierry Aubin Daniel Normen Düring Vocal tract anatomy of king penguins: morphological traits of two-voiced sound production |
topic_facet |
Syrinx anatomy Micro computed tomography 3D reconstruction Spheniscidae Vocal communication Zoology QL1-991 |
description |
Abstract Background The astonishing variety of sounds that birds can produce has been the subject of many studies aiming to identify the underlying anatomical and physical mechanisms of sound production. An interesting feature of some bird vocalisations is the simultaneous production of two different frequencies. While most work has been focusing on songbirds, much less is known about dual-sound production in non-passerines, although their sound production organ, the syrinx, would technically allow many of them to produce “two voices”. Here, we focus on the king penguin, a colonial seabird whose calls consist of two fundamental frequency bands and their respective harmonics. The calls are produced during courtship and for partner and offspring reunions and encode the birds’ identity. We dissected, μCT-scanned and analysed the vocal tracts of six adult king penguins from Possession Island, Crozet Archipelago. Results King penguins possess a bronchial type syrinx that, similarly to the songbird’s tracheobronchial syrinx, has two sets of vibratory tissues, and thus two separate sound sources. Left and right medial labium differ consistently in diameter between 0.5 and 3.2%, with no laterality between left and right side. The trachea has a conical shape, increasing in diameter from caudal to cranial by 16%. About 80% of the king penguins’ trachea is medially divided by a septum consisting of soft elastic tissue (septum trachealis medialis). Conclusions The king penguins’ vocal tract appears to be mainly adapted to the life in a noisy colony of a species that relies on individual vocal recognition. The extent between the two voices encoding for individuality seems morphologically dictated by the length difference between left and right medial labium. The septum trachealis medialis might support this extent and could therefore be an important anatomical feature that aids in the individual recognition process. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hannah Joy Kriesell Céline Le Bohec Alexander F. Cerwenka Moritz Hertel Jean-Patrice Robin Bernhard Ruthensteiner Manfred Gahr Thierry Aubin Daniel Normen Düring |
author_facet |
Hannah Joy Kriesell Céline Le Bohec Alexander F. Cerwenka Moritz Hertel Jean-Patrice Robin Bernhard Ruthensteiner Manfred Gahr Thierry Aubin Daniel Normen Düring |
author_sort |
Hannah Joy Kriesell |
title |
Vocal tract anatomy of king penguins: morphological traits of two-voiced sound production |
title_short |
Vocal tract anatomy of king penguins: morphological traits of two-voiced sound production |
title_full |
Vocal tract anatomy of king penguins: morphological traits of two-voiced sound production |
title_fullStr |
Vocal tract anatomy of king penguins: morphological traits of two-voiced sound production |
title_full_unstemmed |
Vocal tract anatomy of king penguins: morphological traits of two-voiced sound production |
title_sort |
vocal tract anatomy of king penguins: morphological traits of two-voiced sound production |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-020-0351-8 https://doaj.org/article/2bb432a7499044c4a638d081ed71aa48 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(171.200,171.200,-71.867,-71.867) |
geographic |
Possession Island |
geographic_facet |
Possession Island |
genre |
King Penguins Possession Island |
genre_facet |
King Penguins Possession Island |
op_source |
Frontiers in Zoology, Vol 17, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-020-0351-8 https://doaj.org/toc/1742-9994 doi:10.1186/s12983-020-0351-8 1742-9994 https://doaj.org/article/2bb432a7499044c4a638d081ed71aa48 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-020-0351-8 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Zoology |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766057788311601152 |