Dataset Information

Features of animal babbling in the vocal ontogeny of the gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus).

ABSTRACT: In human infants babbling is an important developmental stage of vocal plasticity to acquire maternal language. To investigate parallels in the vocal development of human infants and non-human mammals, seven key features of human babbling were defined, which are up to date only shown in bats and marmosets. This study will explore whether these features can also be found in gray mouse lemurs by investigating how infant vocal streams gradually resemble the structure of the adult trill call, which is not present at birth. Using unsupervised clustering, we distinguished six syllable types, whose sequential order gradually reflected the adult trill. A subset of adult syllable types was produced by several infants, with the syllable production being rhythmic, repetitive, and independent of the social context. The temporal structure of the calling bouts and the tempo-spectral features of syllable types became adult-like at the age of weaning. The age-dependent changes in the acoustic parameters differed between syllable types, suggesting that they cannot solely be explained by physical maturation of the vocal apparatus. Since gray mouse lemurs exhibit five features of animal babbling, they show parallels to the vocal development of human infants, bats, and marmosets.

SUBMITTER: Langehennig-Peristenidou A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10696017 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Features of animal babbling in the vocal ontogeny of the gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus).

Langehennig-Peristenidou Alexandra A Romero-Mujalli Daniel D Bergmann Tjard T Scheumann Marina M

Scientific reports 20231204 1

In human infants babbling is an important developmental stage of vocal plasticity to acquire maternal language. To investigate parallels in the vocal development of human infants and non-human mammals, seven key features of human babbling were defined, which are up to date only shown in bats and marmosets. This study will explore whether these features can also be found in gray mouse lemurs by investigating how infant vocal streams gradually resemble the structure of the adult trill call, which ...[more]

PMID: 38049448

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Project description:Madagascar's lemur populations are declining in dwindling habitats due to anthropogenic expansion and changing climatic conditions. Gastrointestinal parasites can be important indicators to assess the health status of threatened species. However, parasites, hosts and the environment are connected in complex interactions. The present study aimed to disentangle the impact of seasonal and several host-specific factors (sex, species, age, reproductive status, and body mass) on endoparasitism in two small-bodied, co-occurring lemur species (Microcebus murinus and Microcebus ravelobensis) in the Ankarafantsika National Park. Helminth prevalence and egg shedding intensity was investigated via copromicroscopic examination of 810 fecal samples that were obtained from 178 individuals across an 11-month period with a longitudinal approach via repeated captures in a 30.6 ha forest area. Both mouse lemur hosts shed seven morphologically distinct egg types (assigned to Subulura baeri, unidentified Enterobiinae, Spirura sp., Lemuricola sp., two Hymenolepididae spp., one unidentified ascarid). Postmortem examination of two deceased individuals enabled assignment of adult worms to egg morphotypes of S. baeri, Spirura sp. and one Hymenolepididae sp., supported by molecular analysis. A significant seasonal variation was observed in the occurrence of the three most common helminth species S. baeri (total prevalence 71%), unidentified Enterobiinae (46%) and Spirura sp. (38%), with a higher likelihood of infection with advancing dry season. Neither host species, sex nor reproductive status had a significant effect on gastrointestinal helminth infections. Host body mass showed pronounced seasonal changes but did not differ significantly between infected and non-infected individuals. The pathogenic effects of gastrointestinal helminths therefore likely remained within compensable limits in the studied mouse lemur populations. Our findings highlight the prominent influence of seasonal changes on helminth communities. The results of combined morphologic and genetic approaches can furthermore help to overcome limitations of parasite identification via copromicroscopy by linking egg morphology to DNA sequences.

Dataset Information

Features of animal babbling in the vocal ontogeny of the gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus).

Publications

Features of animal babbling in the vocal ontogeny of the gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus).

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