School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
J Acoust Soc Am. 2023 Nov 1;154(5):3466-3478. doi: 10.1121/10.0022386.
The relationship between sound complexity and the underlying morphology and physiology of the vocal organ anatomy is a fundamental component in the evolution of acoustic communication, particularly for fishes. Among vertebrates, the mammalian larynx and avian syrinx are the best-studied vocal organs, and their ability to produce complex vocalizations has been modeled. The range and complexity of the sounds in mammalian lineages have been attributed, in part, to the bilateral nature of the vocal anatomy. Similarly, we hypothesize that the bipartite swim bladder of some species of toadfish (family Batrachoididae) is responsible for complex nonlinear characters of the multiple call types that they can produce, supported by nerve transection experiments. Here, we develop a low-dimensional coupled-oscillator model of the mechanics underlying sound production by the two halves of the swim bladder of the three-spined toadfish, Batrachomoeus trispinosus. Our model was able to replicate the nonlinear structure of both courtship and agonistic sounds. The results provide essential support for the hypothesis that fishes and tetrapods have converged in an evolutionary innovation for complex acoustic signaling, namely, a relatively simple bipartite mechanism dependent on sonic muscles contracting around a gas filled structure.
声音复杂性与发声器官解剖结构的潜在形态和生理学之间的关系是声学通讯进化的一个基本组成部分，特别是对于鱼类而言。在脊椎动物中，哺乳动物的喉和鸟类的鸣管是研究得最好的发声器官，其产生复杂声音的能力已被建模。哺乳动物谱系中声音的范围和复杂性部分归因于发声解剖结构的双侧性。同样，我们假设某些蟾鱼（蟾鱼科）的二分法鳔负责它们能够产生的多种叫声的复杂非线性特征，神经横切实验支持这一假设。在这里，我们开发了一个低维耦合振荡器模型，用于模拟三刺蟾鱼（Batrachomoeus trispinosus）鳔的两半部分产生声音的力学原理。我们的模型能够复制求偶和竞争声音的非线性结构。研究结果为鱼类和四足动物在复杂声学信号的进化创新中趋同的假说提供了重要支持，即相对简单的二分法机制，依赖于围绕充满气体的结构收缩的声肌。
