Network analysis reveals underlying syntactic features in a vocally learnt mammalian display, humpback whale song.

ABSTRACT: Vocal communication systems have a set of rules that govern the arrangement of acoustic signals, broadly defined as 'syntax'. However, there is a limited understanding of potentially shared or analogous rules across vocal displays in different taxa. Recent work on songbirds has investigated syntax using network-based modelling. This technique quantifies features such as connectivity (adjacent signals in a sequence) and recurring patterns. Here, we apply network-based modelling to the complex, hierarchically structured songs of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) from east Australia. Given the song's annual evolving pattern and the cultural conformity of males within a population, network modelling captured the patterns of multiple song types over 13 consecutive years. Song arra

SUBMITTER: Allen JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6939930 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature