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Red deer stags use formants as assessment cues during intra-sexual agonistic interactions

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-07, 18:17 authored by David Reby, Karen Mccomb, Bruno Cargnelutti, Chris Darwin, W Tecumseh Fitch, Tim Clutton-Brock
While vocal tract resonances or formants are key acoustic parameters that define differences between phonemes in human speech, little is known about their function in animal communication. Here, we used playback experiments to present red deer stags with re-synthesized vocalizations in which formant frequencies were systematically altered to simulate callers of different body sizes. In response to stimuli where lower formants indicated callers with longer vocal tracts, stags were more attentive, replied with more roars and extended their vocal tracts further in these replies. Our results indicate that mammals other than humans use formants in vital vocal exchanges and can adjust their own formant frequencies in relation to those that they hear.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Proceedings B: Biological Sciences

ISSN

1471-2954

Publisher

Royal Society, The

Issue

1566

Volume

272

Page range

941-947

Department affiliated with

  • Psychology Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2012-02-06

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