Auditory communication in domestic dogs: vocal signalling in the extended social environment of a companion animal

Domestic dogs produce a range of vocalisations, including barks, growls, and whimpers, which are shared with other canid species. The source–filter model of vocal production can be used as a theoretical and applied framework to explain how and why the acoustic properties of some vocalisations are constrained by physical characteristics of the caller, whereas others are more dynamic, influenced by transient states such as arousal or motivation. This chapter thus reviews how and why particular call types are produced to transmit specific types of information, and how such information may be perceived by receivers. As domestication is thought to have caused a divergence in the vocal behaviour of dogs as compared to the ancestral wolf, evidence of both dog–human and human–dog communication is considered. Overall, it is clear that domestic dogs have the potential to acoustically broadcast a range of information, which is available to conspecific and human receivers. Moreover, dogs are highly attentive to human speech and are able to extract speaker identity, emotional state, and even some types of semantic information

Numerical assessment in the wild: insights from social carnivores

Playback experiments have proven to be a useful tool to investigate the extent to which wild animals understand numerical concepts and the factors that play into their decisions to respond to different numbers of vocalizing conspecifics. In particular, playback experiments have broadened our understanding of the cognitive abilities of historically understudied species that are challenging to test in the traditional laboratory, such as members of the Order Carnivora. Additionally, playback experiments allow us to assess the importance of numerical information versus other ecologically important variables when animals are making adaptive decisions in their natural habitats. Here, we begin by reviewing what we know about quantity discrimination in carnivores from studies conducted in captivity. We then review a series of playback experiments conducted with wild social carnivores, including African lions, spotted hyenas, and wolves, which demonstrate that these animals can assess the number of conspecifics calling and respond based on numerical advantage. We discuss how the wild studies compliment those conducted in captivity and allow us to gain insights into why wild animals may not always respond based solely on differences in quantity. We then consider the key role that individual discrimination and cross-modal recognition play in the ability of animals to assess the number of conspecifics vocalizing nearby. Finally, we explore new directions for future research in this area, highlighting in particular the need for further work on the cognitive basis of numerical assessment skills and experimental paradigms that can be effective in both captive and wild settings

Klipsun Magazine, 1988 - April/May

https://cedar.wwu.edu/klipsun_magazine/1095/thumbnail.jp

Wildlife in a Premier African Protected Area do not Perceive Ecotourists as Predators

Researchers have reported that the presence of ecotourists may displace or disturb wildlife with potentially adverse effects, and may be a more serious problem if wildlife perceive ecotourists as predators. I used a playback experiment to test if wildlife at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda, perceive ecotourists as predators. I contrasted wildlife behavioural responses to vocalizations that simulate those of ecotourists to those of local predators (positive controls; dogs and the extirpated native apex predator, leopard) and a non-predator (negative control; insects). Using responses from 14 mammal species, I show that wildlife do not perceive ecotourists as predators, responding no more fearfully to ecotourist vocalizations than to insects, but demonstrating persistent aversive reactions to local predators. My results suggest limited impacts of ecotourism, but negative impacts of dogs and leopard extirpation on the Bwindi wildlife community. Future research should test the response of individual species of conservation concern to ecotourism

Giving Voice to the Wild: The Rhetorical Legacy of Sigurd Olson and The Singing Wilderness

In this study I will examine Olson‘s first and most notable work, The Singing Wilderness, published in 1956. This book became a standard work of the period, it established Olson as a national leader among American conservationists, and most significantly, it served as a rhetorical blueprint for others who were greatly inspired by Olson‘s personal quest to understand the natural world on its own terms. In this essay, I will describe Olson‘s status among scholars and provide a biographical overview of significant events in his life. Next I will analyze The Singing Wilderness as a rhetorical text which established Olson‘s reputations among American conservationists. Finally I will discuss Olson‘s contributions to the emerging environmental movement of the 1960s and 1970s. I believe that Sigurd Olson is a major prophet of the environmentalist crusade and that The Singing Wilderness must be remembered by scholars who seek a complete rhetorical history of the American environmental movement

Animal Issues 4(2) 2000, complete issue

Complete issue

Risk-driven behaviour in the African leopard:how is leopard behaviour mediated by lion presence?

Agricultural expansion is restricting many carnivore species to smaller tracts of land, potentially forcing increased levels of overlap between competitors by constraining spatial partitioning. Understanding encounters between competitors is important because competition can influence species densities, distributions, and reproductive success. Despite this, little is known of the mechanisms that mediate coexistence between the African leopard (Panthera pardus) and its competitors. This project used GPS radiocollar data and playback experiments to understand risk-driven changes in the leopard’s behaviour and movement during actual and perceived encounters with lions (Panthera leo). Targeted playbacks of lion roars were used to elucidate immediate and short-lived behavioural responses in leopards when lions were perceived to be within the immediate area. To investigate the post-encounter spatial dynamics of leopard movements, the project used datasets from high-resolution GPS radiocollars deployed on leopards and lions with overlapping territories in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Leopards were found to adapt behaviours and movements when lions were perceived to be nearby. Specifically, roar playbacks elicited longer periods of vigilance than controls, and movement directions were influenced by speaker locations. Further, leopard movements were quicker and more directional after encountering lions. However, adjustments in behaviour and movement were short-lived. The results provide insights into mechanisms used by the leopard to coexist with its competitors and are a useful case study of the methods that could be used to investigate encounter dynamics within other systems

Old English Poetry and Its Legacy

This collection focuses on the legacy of Old English poetry and includes new interpretations of works such as Exeter Book Riddle 5, which provides an enduring legacy of social critique crafted through humor; the three manuscripts that contain the Solomon and Saturn dialogues, which reveal a shift in the use of poetry over time; Fates of the Apostles in which a previously unseen eighth rune is semiotically operative along with Cynewulf’s signature; The Wife’s Lament, in which the cave occupied by the wife has its archeological antecedents in early medieval rock-cut buildings; The Ruin, in which both the poem’s text and the silent spaces of wyrd’s traces are inscribed upon the material manuscript; the history of the reception of the riddles, which is instrumental in inspiring one of the acknowledged classic ghost stories of the twentieth century; tears and weeping in the whole corpus of Old English literature; and Beowulf, in which the figures of the stag and wolf play an important role in the thematic design of the poem but have not been examined before. The reprint is prefaced with a detailed account of the scholarly contributions to Old English studies by John D. Niles