Elephant communication
Team: Angela Stoeger, Anton Baotic, Viktoria Staufer
Description:
This long-term research project encompasses various aspects such as the production of sounds, the cognitive and internal factors that influence the acoustic structure of elephant vocal signals, and the adaptive function of these signals in both African savanna (Loxodonta africana) and Asian elephants (Elephas maximus).
Elephants are known for their low-frequency rumbles, vocalizations with fundamental frequencies in the infrasonic range used in a variety of contexts and as a long-distance contact calls and their remarkable vocal plasticity, including context-dependent within-call type flexibility.
Using sound visualization experiments, we revealed that elephants can control the vocal path from oral to nasal rumble production depending on context, that they apply velopharyngeal coupling and produce complex forms of biphonation including the simultaneous production of nasally and orally emitted calls. In addition, sounds, including common call types and idiosyncratic ones, are also produced by modulating non-phonatory structures, allowing for a wider range of communicative frequencies.
The capacity for vocal learning and their sound creativity is fundamental to understanding the eloquence within the elephants’ communication system. This might also help to understand the evolution of human language and of open-ended vocal systems, which build upon similar cognitive processes.
Most important collaboration partner:
Gunnar Heilmann, Micalc, South Africa
Prof. Matthias Zeppelzauer
Sam Ferreira, South African National Parks
Sean Hensmann, Advantures with Elephants
