Reflections: Students\u27 Tribute to Stan Kuczaj (1950-2016)

On April 14th, 2016, Animal Behavior and Cognition lost its Editor-in-Chief. But the scientific community and the friends and colleagues of Stanley ‘Stan’ Kuczaj III lost so much more. As many know, Stan began his career in Developmental Psychology, making enormous contributions in the area of language development, but became best known for his many innovative contributions in the area of marine mammal behavior. Stan founded Animal Behavior and Cognition because he was deeply passionate about research with a broad range of topics concerning animal behavior, animal cognition, and animal welfare. He was equally passionate about the idea that science should be accessible to all, and that accessibility should not come at a financial burden to researchers. The current editorial team is committed to carrying on Stan’s vision for the journal, and we believe that its continuation will pay homage to Stan as a researcher, and as a leader within the scientific community. However, for the next few pages, we wish to pay special tribute to Stan as a mentor, as this role was perhaps the one that was most pivotal in defining who he was as a scientist, colleague, and friend. We take comfort in the fact that Stan’s memory will live on in the legacy of his mentees, many of whom became cherished friends and colleagues. Below you will find reflections from several of these former students who were given the difficult task of trying to summarize the most meaningful aspect of Stan’s influence on their personal and professional development. Although no few words could summarize the impact of someone as enigmatic as Stan, we hope that these reflections will contribute to a full and nuanced tribute to the man he was

Trajectories of Vocal Repertoire Development In Beluga (\u3ci\u3eDelphinapterus leucas\u3c/i\u3e) Calves: Insights From Studies a Decade Apart

There has been only one published study of beluga vocal development, despite the value of ontogenetic research for our understanding of sound-centered species. Findings from this seminal study were vital to understanding the beluga vocal repertoire, but further empirical study is necessary to determine if other calves follow similar trajectories in sound acquisition and development. Herein, we compare the two-year vocal progression of an additional calf, Kylu, to the previous research. Additionally, we report on changes in acoustic energy distribution and source level of early calf sounds for the first time as part of a larger effort to understand the impacts of underwater noise on neonate vocalizations. From his day of birth, Kylu produced broadband pulse trains with upper-frequency limits above the study\u27s Nyquist cutoff (128 kHz)-higher than what was reported by the previous study, which was limited by lower sampling rates. Pulsed signals were his most common sound type during his first year as in the previous study. Over Kylu\u27s first month of life, pulse repetition rate, source level, and third quartile frequencies of the calf\u27s pulse trains increased significantly. First and third quartile, center, and peak frequencies increased significantly over the first year as did pulse repetition rate and call duration. Mixed calls and tonal sounds were infrequent and not regularly produced until later in the first year of life. Calf acquisition of adult-like mixed call production appeared similarly between studies, while tonal acquisition appeared more variable. Kylu developed a contact call that was most similar to his mother\u27s as found in the previous study, although slight variation in contact call acquisition was evident. By comparing beluga calves and employing new technology, we reveal species-specific parallels in development and provide new information about beluga calves

Pre-and Post-Partum Whistle Production of a Bottlenose Dolphin (\u3ci\u3eTursiops truncatus\u3c/i\u3e) Social Group

The signature whistle of the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is a well-studied acoustic signal know for broadcasting identity and maintaining contact with conspecifics. Several studies have investigated the use of this signal surrounding the birth of calves to dolphin social groups, although there appears to be discrepancies between the findings of these studies. We aimed to add to the current literature in an attempt to reconcile some of these inconsistencies through investigation of signature whistle production by a bottlenose dolphin group two months prior to and two months following the birth of a calf to one of the social group members. We found that the production of signature whistles matching the contour belonging to our dolphin mother increased significantly in both the pre- and post-partum period. Heightened production of the mother’s signature whistle type in the first week of our focal calf’s life supports the establishment of a recognition system within this time period. Given that learning processes associated with the sound environment appear to begin shortly after calf birth, we also explored the signature whistle rates of the other social group members in an effort to determine whether any signature whistle production influenced the development of the dolphin calf’s own signature whistle type. We found that the signature whistles of the other social group members were significantly lower than production of the mother’s signature whistle until after the first week post-partum. None of the signature whistle types appeared to influence the signature whistle development of our focal calf within the scope of this study, however, as the calf did not develop a signature whistle in her first two months of life

Pre-and Post-Partum Whistle Production of a Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) Social Group

The signature whistle of the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus ) is a well-studied acoustic signal know for broadcasting identity and maintaining contact with conspecifics. Several studies have investigated the use of this signal surrounding the birth of calves to dolphin social groups, although there appears to be discrepancies between the findings of these studies. We aimed to add to the current literature in an attempt to reconcile some of these inconsistencies through investigation of signature whistle production by a bottlenose dolphin group two months prior to and two months following the birth of a calf to one of the social group members. We found that the production of signature whistles matching the contour belonging to our dolphin mother increased significantly in both the pre- and post-partum period. Heightened production of the mother’s signature whistle type in the first week of our focal calf’s life supports the establishment of a recognition system within this time period. Given that learning processes associated with the sound environment appear to begin shortly after calf birth, we also explored the signature whistle rates of the other social group members in an effort to determine whether any signature whistle production influenced the development of the dolphin calf’s own signature whistle type. We found that the signature whistles of the other social group members were significantly lower than production of the mother’s signature whistle until after the first week post-partum. None of the signature whistle types appeared to influence the signature whistle development of our focal calf within the scope of this study, however, as the calf did not develop a signature whistle in her first two months of life

Pre-and Post-Partum Whistle Production of a Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) Social Group

The signature whistle of the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is a well-studied acoustic signal know for broadcasting identity and maintaining contact with conspecifics. Several studies have investigated the use of this signal surrounding the birth of calves to dolphin social groups, although there appears to be discrepancies between the findings of these studies. We aimed to add to the current literature in an attempt to reconcile some of these inconsistencies through investigation of signature whistle production by a bottlenose dolphin group two months prior to and two months following the birth of a calf to one of the social group members. We found that the production of signature whistles matching the contour belonging to our dolphin mother increased significantly in both the pre- and post-partum period. Heightened production of the mother’s signature whistle type in the first week of our focal calf’s life supports the establishment of a recognition system within this time period. Given that learning processes associated with the sound environment appear to begin shortly after calf birth, we also explored the signature whistle rates of the other social group members in an effort to determine whether any signature whistle production influenced the development of the dolphin calf’s own signature whistle type. We found that the signature whistles of the other social group members were significantly lower than production of the mother’s signature whistle until after the first week post-partum. None of the signature whistle types appeared to influence the signature whistle development of our focal calf within the scope of this study, however, as the calf did not develop a signature whistle in her first two months of life

Thunks: Evidence for Varied Harmonic Structure In an Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin (\u3ci\u3eTursiops truncatus\u3c/i\u3e) Sound

© 2017 International Journal of Comparative Psychology. McCowan and Reiss first reported the “thunk” sound of the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) during separations and discipline behavior of mother-calf dyads. This sound has been previously described as a wide-band, low frequency contact call, however the harmonic structure of this sound is more variable than previously described. Based on preliminary observations of the graded structure of thunks within our data set, we investigated the directionality of thunks with energies at higher frequencies. We recorded a bottlenose dolphin mother with her calf during the first 30-days of life, and analyzed thunk production during separation and discipline contexts. Two classifications of the thunk sound were compared to determine calf response and whether location cues were embedded in the higher harmonics of one of the thunk types. The mother oriented towards the calf significantly more during production of both thunk types during separation and discipline contexts. This sound may have potential directional information within the harmonic structure; however, we could not draw that conclusion based on our findings. Therefore, we present data here that indicates a graded structure to the harmonics of thunk sounds. McCowan and Reiss first reported the thunk sound of the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) during separations and discipline behavior of mother-calf dyads. However, since this initial report, no other studies have thoroughly investigated this sound. A bottlenose dolphin mother and calf were observed during the first 30 days of life. Thunk production during separations within the mother-calf dyad and discipline behavioral events were analyzed, as thunks were predominately produced in these contexts during the original report by McCowan and Reiss. We found that variation occurs within the thunk sound, contrary to how this acoustic signal has been previously defined. We report the presence of two different types of thunks primarily present in separation events during the calf\u27s early life: the low harmonic range (LHR) and high harmonic range (HHR) thunk. LHR and HHR thunks varied in harmonic structure, but did not have significantly different peak frequencies. Furthermore, in order to determine the salience of the thunk sound to separation and discipline events, we also report on the presence of burst pulses and signature whistles when compared to thunk production. Thunks were the most produced sound during separation events, while burst pulses were more common during the mother\u27s discipline of the calf. The mother\u27s signature whistle was not as common during the course of the study, suggesting that, at least within this bottlenose dolphin mother-calf dyad, other sounds were more important for dyad communication within separation and discipline events

Thunks: Evidence for Varied Harmonic Structure in an Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) Sound

McCowan and Reiss first reported the “thunk” sound of the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus ) during separations and discipline behavior of mother-calf dyads. This sound has been previously described as a wide-band, low frequency contact call, however the harmonic structure of this sound is more variable than previously described. Based on preliminary observations of the graded structure of thunks within our data set, we investigated the directionality of thunks with energies at higher frequencies. We recorded a bottlenose dolphin mother with her calf during the first 30-days of life, and analyzed thunk production during separation and discipline contexts. Two classifications of the thunk sound were compared to determine calf response and whether location cues were embedded in the higher harmonics of one of the thunk types. The mother oriented towards the calf significantly more during production of both thunk types during separation and discipline contexts. This sound may have potential directional information within the harmonic structure; however, we could not draw that conclusion based on our findings. Therefore, we present data here that indicates a graded structure to the harmonics of thunk sounds