Field Propagation Experiments of Male African Savanna Elephant Rumbles: A Focus on the Transmission of Formant Frequencies.

ABSTRACT: African savanna elephants live in dynamic fission⁻fusion societies and exhibit a sophisticated vocal communication system. Their most frequent call-type is the 'rumble', with a fundamental frequency (which refers to the lowest vocal fold vibration rate when producing a vocalization) near or in the infrasonic range. Rumbles are used in a wide variety of behavioral contexts, for short- and long-distance communication, and convey contextual and physical information. For example, maturity (age and size) is encoded in male rumbles by formant frequencies (the resonance frequencies of the vocal tract), having the most informative power. As sound propagates, however, its spectral and temporal structures degrade progressively. Our study used manipulated and resynthesized male social rumbles to simu

SUBMITTER: Baotic A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6210294 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature