Vocal tract anatomy of king penguins: morphological traits of two-voiced sound production

• Published in: Frontiers in Zoology
• Main Authors: Kriesell, Hannah Joy, Le Bohec, Céline, Cerwenka, Alexander, Hertel, Moritz, Robin, Jean-Patrice, Ruthensteiner, Bernhard, Gahr, Manfred, Aubin, Thierry, Düring, Daniel Normen
• Other Authors: Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie (DEPE-IPHC), Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC), Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar (Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA))-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar (Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA))-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Bavarian State Collection of Zoology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay (NeuroPSI), Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institute of Neuroinformatics Zürich (INI), Universität Zürich Zürich = University of Zurich (UZH)-Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETH Zürich)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2020
• Subjects: 3D reconstruction; Micro computed tomography; Spheniscidae; Syrinx anatomy; Vocal communication; [SDV.NEU.NB]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC]/Neurobiology; [SDV.NEU.PC]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC]/Psychology and behavior; [SDV.NEU.SC]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC]/Cognitive Sciences; Possession Island; King Penguins
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-02519512; https://hal.science/hal-02519512v1/document; https://hal.science/hal-02519512v1/file/manuscript_vocal%20tract%20anatomy%20of%20king%20penguins_co-author%20proof.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-020-0351-8

International audience 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.