Neurogenetics of Vocal Communication Group, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Division of Neurobiology, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Germany.
Biol Lett. 2020 Apr;16(4):20190928. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2019.0928. Epub 2020 Apr 15.
Vocal production learning (VPL), or the ability to modify vocalizations through the imitation of sounds, is a rare trait in the animal kingdom. While humans are exceptional vocal learners, few other mammalian species share this trait. Owing to their singular ecology and lifestyle, bats are highly specialized for the precise emission and reception of acoustic signals. This specialization makes them ideal candidates for the study of vocal learning, and several bat species have previously shown evidence supportive of vocal learning. Here we use a sophisticated automated set-up and a contingency training paradigm to explore the vocal learning capacity of pale spear-nosed bats. We show that these bats are capable of directional change of the fundamental frequency of their calls according to an auditory target. With this study, we further highlight the importance of bats for the study of vocal learning and provide evidence for the VPL capacity of the pale spear-nosed bat.
发声学习（Vocal production learning，VPL），即通过模仿声音来改变发声的能力，在动物界中是一种罕见的特征。人类是出色的发声学习者，但仅有少数其他哺乳动物物种具有这种特征。由于其独特的生态和生活方式，蝙蝠高度专门化以精确地发出和接收声信号。这种专业化使它们成为研究发声学习的理想候选者，并且先前已经有几种蝙蝠物种表现出支持发声学习的证据。在这里，我们使用复杂的自动化设置和应急训练范式来探索 Pale spear-nosed 蝙蝠的发声学习能力。我们表明，这些蝙蝠能够根据听觉目标改变其叫声的基频的方向。通过这项研究，我们进一步强调了蝙蝠在发声学习研究中的重要性，并为 Pale spear-nosed 蝙蝠的 VPL 能力提供了证据。
