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Research News 2008
Scientists around the world actively pursue research into communication among animals, the relationship between animal communication and human language, and the evolution of human language.
05 03 08 Young Zebra Finches Babble Before They Sing
On Quirks & Quarks, Bob McDonald interviews Michale Fee, a neuroscientist at MIT who studies zebra finches, which babble before they sing. Fee has discovered the brain centre responsible for zebra finch babbling. The Quirks page includes links to Fee’s web site, the Scinece article abstract and a news release from MIT.
Q&Q Babbling Baby Birds
ACP: Male zebra finches respond to the audience
ACP: Song-learning Strategies of Songbirds
02 02 08 Panamanian Golden Frog Communicates with Hand Waves
The Panamanian golden frog (Atelopus zeteki) communicates over the sound of rushing streams by waving its forelimb. A BBC Online article icludes a video clip from David Attenborough’s series Life In Cold Blood.
01 30 08 Anna's Hummingbird Chirps with its Tail
The beeps, chirps and whistles made by some hummingbirds and thought to be vocal are actually created by the birds’ tail feathers, according to a study by two students at the University of California, Berkeley. The students used a high-speed camera to record the dive-bomber display of the Anna’s hummingbird (Calypte anna)
UC Berkeley Press Release includes images, audio and video.
BBC story, also with audio and video.
Quirks & Quarks: Anna’s Hummingbird’s Tail Chirp
Also see Neotropical Bird “Sings” With Wings.
01 26 08 Parasite Causes Ants to Mimic Berries
On Quirks & Quarks, Bob McDonald interviews Stephen Yanoviak, a tropical insect ecologist at the University of Arkansas. Yanoviak and colleagues discovered the cause of the swollen, red abdomens in certain ants: a nematode parasite. The Quirks page includes a link to a news release from UC Berkeley (with video) as well as other links.
Q&Q Ants Look Berry Nice
01 19 08 Weddell Seal Dialects
On Quirks & Quarks, Bob McDonald interviews Jack Terhune, a biologist at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John. Terhune and colleagues recorded Weddell seals in Antarctica, finding that different populations have calls distinct enough to indentify them. The show includes recordings of seals.
Q&Q Seal Sounds
01 19 08 Eau de Rattlesnake Hide
On Quirks & Quarks, Bob McDonald interviews UC Davis graduate student Barbara Clucas, who observed ground squirrels chewing shed rattlesnake skins, and then covering themselves in snake-scented saliva. Further research showed the scent helped protect the ground squirrels from rattlesnakes. It’s not clear that this behavior is signalling—dishonestly claiming, by way of odor, not to be a ground squirrel, but it’s interesting nonetheless. This research comes from the same UC Davis lab that showed squirrels heating their tails to deter rattlesnakes, a sort of infrared communication.
Q&Q Squirrels Eating Snake Skin | Infrared Communication by Squirrels
Researchers at Duke University identifed a certain class of neuron in the Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) forebrain that has similar responses when the bird sings a series of notes, and when it hears a similar sequence sung by another bird. They conclude that these neurons function similarly to so-called morror neurons in primates.
12 22 07 Baboon Social Status
On Quirks & Quarks, Bob McDonald interviews Dorothy Cheney, University of Pennsylvania, about her book on baboon communication. The Quirks & Quarks page includes links to Cheny’s web site, as well as links related to the book. Baboon Metaphysics | Cheney page with baboon calls | Vervet Monkeys.
Birdsong is a complex learned skill requiring precise and rapid vocal control. In some species, including the Bengalese finch, adults sing highly stereotyped songs. But by working within the range of normal variability, and in tiny increments, researchers can push the song in a particular direction. Natural variation, the researchers suggest, may help birds fine tune their songs.
12 08 07 Humpback Whale Communications Recorded
On Quirks & Quarks, Bob McDonald interviews Rebecca Dunlop, a researcher at the University of Queensland in Australia about Humpack Whale communication, and it’s not just the “songs” you’ve heard before. The interview (available for download) includes recordings of the whales. The Quirks & Quarks page also includes links to the Humpback Whale Acoustic Research Collaboration and to Rebecca Dunlop’s web site. Humpback Whale Dictionary
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