Biology subjects

Wojczulanis-Jakubas, K.

Publications and source records attributed to Wojczulanis-Jakubas, K..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Seabird calls are shaped by prosody, efficiency, and rhythmic encoding

In the search for universals shaping acoustic communication across species, we increasingly look for patterns known from human languages and music in non-human animals. These parallels are often explored separately and with limited ecological context. Here, we take a deep dive into the temporal structure of a complex call used by the little auk (Alle alle), a pelagic seabird with elaborate vocal behaviour and socially complex colonial life. Based on syllable durations, intervals and silences, we examine its conformance to linguistic laws, rhythmic structure and information content. This reveals intricate problems of temporal organisation: while the calls conform not only to linguistic laws of brevity but also to the initial and final lengthening known from human prosody, these effects interact with the internal structure of the call and information carried within it. To our knowledge, this is the first time that conformance to multiple linguistic laws, exceeding simple vocal efficiency, has been described for a non-human, non-vocal learning animal. The calls rhythmic structure shows a progressive rallentando -- a systematic slowing driven by changes in syllable and silence durations and the intervals between syllable onsets. The exact patterns of this rallentando are indicative of the callers sex and individually specific. These results reveal how seabird communication is shaped not only by efficiency universals, but also the specific pressures of colonial life. Our work highlights the temporal structure as an important axis of communication evolution, but also serves as a reminder to consider the species ecological reality and the function, not only presence, of temporal organisation. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=127 SRC="FIGDIR/small/713940v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (38K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1e35c7eorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1cd74f6org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1b9f7b7org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@364180_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2024

Long distance calls: negligible information loss of seabird social vocalisations over propagation down to the hearing threshold

How well does the information contained in vocal signals travel through the environment? To assess the efficiency of information transfer in little auk (Alle alle, an Arctic seabird) calls over distance, we selected two of the social call types with the highest potential for individuality coding. Using available recordings of known individuals, we calculated the apparent source levels, with apparent maximum peak sound pressure level (ASPL) of 63 dB re 20 {micro}Pa at 1 m for both call types. Further, we created a sound propagation model using meteorological data collected in the vicinity of the little auk colony in Hornsund, Spitsbergen. Using this model, we simulated call propagation up to the putative hearing threshold of the species, calculated to equal ASPL of signals propagated to roughly one kilometre. Those propagated calls were then used in a permuted discriminant function analysis, support vector machine models, and linear models of Beechers information statistic, to investigate whether transmission loss will affect the retention of individual information of the signal. Calls could be correctly classified to individuals above chance level independently of the distance, down to and over the putative physiological hearing threshold. Interestingly, the information capacity of the signal did not decrease with propagation. While this study touches on signal properties purely and cannot provide evidence of the actual use by the animals, it shows that little auk signals can travel long distances with negligible information loss. For the animals, this could mean that they can recognize calls of the members of their social networks as far as those calls are actually audible, and support the hypothesis that vocalisations could facilitate long-distance communication in the species.

animal behavior and cognition↗