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Author Gentner, T.Q.; Fenn, K.M.; Margoliash, D.; Nusbaum, H.C. doi  openurl
  Title Recursive syntactic pattern learning by songbirds Type Journal Article
  Year 2006 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal (up) Nature  
  Volume 440 Issue 7088 Pages 1204-1207  
  Keywords Acoustic Stimulation; *Animal Communication; Animals; Auditory Perception/*physiology; Humans; *Language; Learning/*physiology; Linguistics; Models, Neurological; Semantics; Starlings/*physiology; Stochastic Processes  
  Abstract Humans regularly produce new utterances that are understood by other members of the same language community. Linguistic theories account for this ability through the use of syntactic rules (or generative grammars) that describe the acceptable structure of utterances. The recursive, hierarchical embedding of language units (for example, words or phrases within shorter sentences) that is part of the ability to construct new utterances minimally requires a 'context-free' grammar that is more complex than the 'finite-state' grammars thought sufficient to specify the structure of all non-human communication signals. Recent hypotheses make the central claim that the capacity for syntactic recursion forms the computational core of a uniquely human language faculty. Here we show that European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) accurately recognize acoustic patterns defined by a recursive, self-embedding, context-free grammar. They are also able to classify new patterns defined by the grammar and reliably exclude agrammatical patterns. Thus, the capacity to classify sequences from recursive, centre-embedded grammars is not uniquely human. This finding opens a new range of complex syntactic processing mechanisms to physiological investigation.  
  Address Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. tgentner@ucsd.edu  
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  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1476-4687 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:16641998 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 353  
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Author Dyer, F.C. doi  openurl
  Title Animal behaviour: when it pays to waggle Type
  Year 2002 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal (up) Nature  
  Volume 419 Issue 6910 Pages 885-886  
  Keywords *Animal Communication; Animals; Bees/*physiology; California; Dancing/physiology; Environment; Evolution; Female; Flowers/chemistry; *Food; Gravitation; Lighting; Motor Activity/*physiology; Odors; Seasons; Sunlight  
  Abstract  
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  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0028-0836 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:12410290 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 769  
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Author Franks, N.R.; Richardson, T. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Teaching in tandem-running ants Type Journal Article
  Year 2006 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal (up) Nature  
  Volume 439 Issue 7073 Pages 153  
  Keywords *Animal Communication; Animals; Ants/*physiology; Feedback/physiology; Learning/*physiology; *Teaching  
  Abstract The ant Temnothorax albipennis uses a technique known as tandem running to lead another ant from the nest to food--with signals between the two ants controlling both the speed and course of the run. Here we analyse the results of this communication and show that tandem running is an example of teaching, to our knowledge the first in a non-human animal, that involves bidirectional feedback between teacher and pupil. This behaviour indicates that it could be the value of information, rather than the constraint of brain size, that has influenced the evolution of teaching.  
  Address School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 IUG, UK. nigel.franks@bristol.ac.uk  
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  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1476-4687 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:16407943 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4651  
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Author Liebal, K.; Pika, S.; Tomasello, M. doi  openurl
  Title Social communication in siamangs (Symphalangus syndactylus): use of gestures and facial expressions Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Primates Abbreviated Journal (up) Primates  
  Volume 45 Issue 1 Pages 41-57  
  Keywords Age Factors; *Animal Communication; Animals; Animals, Zoo/*physiology; *Cognition; Female; Hylobates/*physiology; *Kinesics; Male; Sex Factors; *Social Behavior; Video Recording  
  Abstract The current study represents the first systematic investigation of the social communication of captive siamangs (Symphalangus syndactylus). The focus was on intentional signals, including tactile and visual gestures, as well as facial expressions and actions. Fourteen individuals from different groups were observed and the signals used by individuals were recorded. Thirty-one different signals, consisting of 12 tactile gestures, 8 visual gestures, 7 actions, and 4 facial expressions, were observed, with tactile gestures and facial expressions appearing most frequently. The range of the signal repertoire increased steadily until the age of six, but declined afterwards in adults. The proportions of the different signal categories used within communicative interactions, in particular actions and facial expressions, also varied depending on age. Group differences could be traced back mainly to social factors or housing conditions. Differences in the repertoire of males and females were most obvious in the sexual context. Overall, most signals were used flexibly, with the majority performed in three or more social contexts and almost one-third of signals used in combination with other signals. Siamangs also adjusted their signals appropriately for the recipient, for example, using visual signals most often when the recipient was already attending (audience effects). These observations are discussed in the context of siamang ecology, social structure, and cognition.  
  Address Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany. liebal@eva.mpg.de  
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  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0032-8332 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes PMID:14655035 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2812  
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Author Peake, T.M.; Terry, A.M.R.; McGregor, P.K.; Dabelsteen, T. doi  openurl
  Title Do great tits assess rivals by combining direct experience with information gathered by eavesdropping? Type Journal Article
  Year 2002 Publication Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society Abbreviated Journal (up) Proc Biol Sci  
  Volume 269 Issue 1503 Pages 1925-1929  
  Keywords Aggression; *Animal Communication; Animals; Male; Songbirds/*physiology; Territoriality; *Vocalization, Animal  
  Abstract Animals frequently use signals that travel further than the spacing between individuals. For every intended recipient of a given signal there are likely to be many other individuals that receive information. Eavesdropping on signalling interactions between other individuals provides a relatively cost-free method of assessing future opponents or mates. Male great tits (Parus major) extract relative information from such interactions between individuals unknown to them. Here, we show that male great tits can take information gathering a stage further and obtain more information about a previously unencountered intruder, by the hitherto unknown capability of combining information gathered by eavesdropping with that derived from their own direct interaction with an individual. Prior experience with an intruder (A) was achieved by subjecting a focal male to different levels of intrusion simulated using interactive playback. This intruder (A) then took part in a simulated interaction with an unknown male (B) outside the territorial boundary of the focal males. In response to subsequent intrusion by the second male (B), focal males showed low song output in response to males that had lost to a male that the subject was able to beat. Males of known high quality, or those about which information was ambiguous, elicited a high level of song output by focal males. We discuss the implications of this finding for the evolution of communication and social behaviour.  
  Address Department of Animal Behaviour, Zoological Institute, Copenhagen University, Tagensvej 16, DK 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark. tmpeake@zi.ku.uk  
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  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0962-8452 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:12350255 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 501  
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Author Brilot, B.O.; Johnstone, R.A. doi  openurl
  Title The limits to cost-free signalling of need between relatives Type Journal Article
  Year 2003 Publication Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society Abbreviated Journal (up) Proc Biol Sci  
  Volume 270 Issue 1519 Pages 1055-1060  
  Keywords *Animal Communication; Animals; Birds/physiology; Models, Biological; *Social Behavior  
  Abstract Theoretical models have demonstrated the possibility of stable cost-free signalling of need between relatives. The stability of these cost-free equilibria depends on the indirect fitness cost of cheating and deceiving a donor into giving away resources. We show that this stability is highly sensitive to the distribution of need among signallers and receivers. In particular, cost-free signalling is likely to prove stable only if there is very large variation in need (such that the least-needy individuals stand to gain much less than the most-needy individuals from additional resources). We discuss whether these conditions are likely to be found in altricial avian breeding systems--the most intensively studied instance of signalling of need between relatives. We suggest that cost-free signalling is more likely to prove stable and will provide parents with more information during the earlier phases of chick growth, when parents can more easily meet the demands of a brood (and chicks are more likely to reach satiation). Later, informative yet cost-free signalling is unlikely to persist.  
  Address Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK. bob21@cam.ac.uk  
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  ISSN 0962-8452 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes PMID:12803895 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 558  
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Author Fischer, J.; Cheney, D.L.; Seyfarth, R.M. doi  openurl
  Title Development of infant baboons' responses to graded bark variants Type Journal Article
  Year 2000 Publication Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society Abbreviated Journal (up) Proc Biol Sci  
  Volume 267 Issue 1459 Pages 2317-2321  
  Keywords *Animal Communication; Animals; Behavior, Animal; Female; Male; Models, Psychological; Papio/growth & development/*physiology; *Vocalization, Animal  
  Abstract We studied the development of infant baboons' (Papio cynocephalus ursinus) responses to conspecific 'barks' in a free-ranging population in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. These barks grade from tonal, harmonically rich calls into calls with a more noisy, harsh structure. Typically, tonal variants are given when the signaller is at risk of losing contact with the group or a particular individual ('contact barks'), whereas harsh variants are given in response to predators ('alarm barks'). We conducted focal observations and playback experiments in which we presented variants of barks recorded from resident adult females. By six months of age, infants reliably discriminated between typical alarm and contact barks and they responded more strongly to intermediate alarm calls than to typical contact barks. Infants of six months and older also recognized their mothers by voice. The ability to discriminate between different call variants developed with increasing age. At two and a half months of age, infants failed to respond at all, whereas at four months they responded irrespective of the call type that was presented. At six months, infants showed adult-like responses by responding strongly to alarm barks but ignoring contact barks. We concluded that infants gradually learn to attach the appropriate meaning to alarm and contact barks.  
  Address Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, 3815 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. fischerj@eva.mpg.de  
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  ISSN 0962-8452 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes PMID:11413649 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 694  
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Author Bergstrom, C.T.; Lachmann, M. openurl 
  Title Signaling among relatives. III. Talk is cheap Type Journal Article
  Year 1998 Publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Abbreviated Journal (up) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.  
  Volume 95 Issue 9 Pages 5100-5105  
  Keywords Animal Communication; Animals; Costs and Cost Analysis; *Evolution; Interpersonal Relations; Models, Biological  
  Abstract The Sir Philip Sidney game has been used by numerous authors to show how signal cost can facilitate honest signaling among relatives. Here, we demonstrate that, in this game, honest cost-free signals are possible as well, under very general conditions. Moreover, these cost-free signals are better for all participants than the previously explored alternatives. Recent empirical evidence suggests that begging is energetically inexpensive for nestling birds; this finding led some researchers to question the applicability of the costly signaling framework to nestling begging. Our results show that cost-free or inexpensive signals, as observed empirically, fall within the framework of signaling theory.  
  Address Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. carl@charles.stanford.edu  
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  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0027-8424 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes PMID:9560235 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 561  
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Author Griffin, D.R. doi  openurl
  Title Animals know more than we used to think Type
  Year 2001 Publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Abbreviated Journal (up) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.  
  Volume 98 Issue 9 Pages 4833-4834  
  Keywords Animal Communication; Animals; Attention/physiology; Brain/physiology; Choice Behavior/physiology; Cognition/*physiology; Humans; Macaca mulatta/physiology/*psychology; Memory/*physiology; Optic Disk/physiology; Psychological Tests  
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  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0027-8424 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:11320232 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2823  
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Author Seyfarth, R.M.; Cheney, D.L.; Marler, P. openurl 
  Title Monkey responses to three different alarm calls: evidence of predator classification and semantic communication Type Journal Article
  Year 1980 Publication Science (New York, N.Y.) Abbreviated Journal (up) Science  
  Volume 210 Issue 4471 Pages 801-803  
  Keywords *Animal Communication; Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Cercopithecidae/*physiology; *Fear; Female; Male; Predatory Behavior; Vocalization, Animal  
  Abstract Vervet monkeys give different alarm calls to different predators. Recordings of the alarms played back when predators were absent caused the monkeys to run into trees for leopard alarms, look up for eagle alarms, and look down for snake alarms. Adults call primarily to leopards, martial eagles, and pythons, but infants give leopard alarms to various mammals, eagle alarms to many birds, and snake alarms to various snakelike objects. Predator classification improves with age and experience.  
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  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0036-8075 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:7433999 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 351  
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