week 4 - mammal vocal comm and reproductive success

Question 1

Fallow deer have a ___ ____ mating system

Answer 1

variable polygynous

Question 2

Fallow deer have intense ___ competition, causing a high ___ ___ and high ___ ___

Answer 2

intrasexual
mating skew
sexual dimorphism

Question 3

Fallow deer are one of the only deer species which?

Answer 3

have a lek

Question 4

The timing of the rut in fallow deer is when?

Answer 4

consistent year round and starts in middle october

Question 5

What did McElligott et al. 1998 show with distribution of matings and fights during the rut?

Answer 5

very similar

as fights increase so do the number of matings

Question 6

McElligott et al 2002 showed that there is a positive relationships between male fitness correlates…

Answer 6

successful males survive better and more likely to breed again

Question 7

Is there any polyandry seen in fallow deer?

Answer 7

about 13% of females are polyandrous and this is linked to female and male age and potentially sperm depletion

Question 8

what is the source-filter theory of speech production?

Answer 8

speech can be seen as a source signal produced in the larynx and then filtered by the cavities of the vocal tract

Question 9

Longer vocal folds = lower __ ___

Answer 9

fundamental frequency (F0)

Question 10

longer vocal tract = lower __ __ and __ ___

Answer 10

formant frequencies
formant dispersion (Df)

Question 11

fundamental frequency (F0) is also known as?

Answer 11

pitch

Question 12

Bigger animals produce lower pitched (F0) calls why?

Answer 12

longer vocal folds leads to lower fundamental frequency (F0)

Question 13

Fundamental frequency can be used as a cue to ___ ___

Answer 13

body size

Question 14

Fundamental frequency cannot be used as a cue to body size when?

Answer 14

male dimorphic mammals

Question 15

In dimorphic mammals what can be used as a cue to body size?

Answer 15

formant frequencies (Df)

Question 16

Acoustic structure of calls can be used for which 3 things?

Answer 16

individual identity
competitive ability - male quality
body size - male

Question 17

Evidence for acoustic structure of calls and reproductive success, do groans encode information on male quality?

Answer 17

Vannoni and McElligot 2007
- groans are individually distinct
McElligot et al 2006
- vocal tract increases by 54% decreasing formant frequencies during groan
Vannoni and McElligot 2008
- body size (hind leg length) and minimum fundamental frequency (F0min) are not linked
- bigger males produce calls with lower formant frequencies (Dfmin)
- dominant males produce calls with lower fundamental frequencies (F0)

Question 18

F0 and Df related to ___ and ___

Df related to __ ___

Answer 18

individuality dominance

body size

Question 19

As male fallow deer age there is a trade off between ___ and ____

Answer 19

individuality and quality cues

Question 20

Groaning is a ___ ___ signal

Answer 20

unimodal multicomponent

Question 21

conclusions
size of __ and ___ affects acoustic structure
groans contain dynamic cues that ___ ___ ___ (within seasons and over years)

Answer 21

larynx. vocal tract

change over time

Question 22

can males detect fatigue in groans?

Answer 22

went out to the lek. played normal calls to indiviudal. also artificially increased calling rate and changed vocal parameters to make them sound like exhausted males.
males initially responded to both groan types equally, but spent more time vigilant after hearing early rut groans (those which are not exhausted, potentially more of a threat). The fatigued fgroans the males didn’t spend as much time looking at the speaker possibly because it is less of a threat.

Question 23

Are groans an indicator of body condition?

Answer 23

the sound of their calls change during the rut. The later in October there call becomes more hoarse. Increasingly noisy groans – more broken up not as smooth.

phase of rut and structure of groans - number of pulses, the pulses of the vocal chords in the larynx. the number of pulses per groan goes down the further into the rut season as they get more worn out.
other males could be using this information, other males may notice that his groan begins to crack and males notice he gets worn out and start to attack him.