How small could a pup sound? The physical bases of signaling body size in harbor seals.

摘要: Vocal communication is a crucial aspect of animal behavior. The mechanism which most mammals use to vocalize relies on three anatomical components. First, air overpressure generated inside the lower vocal tract. Second, as airstream goes through glottis, sound produced via fold vibration. Third, this further filtered by geometry and length upper Evidence from mammalian anatomy bioacoustics suggests that some these components may covary with an animal's body size. framework provided acoustic allometry that, because tract (VTL) more strongly constrained growth than (VFL), VTL generates reliable cues This hypothesis often tested acoustically but rarely anatomically, especially in pinnipeds. Here, we test bases harbor seal pups Phoca vitulina. We dissected measured tract, folds, other features 15 seals post-mortem. found while correlates size, VFL does not. puts constraints how vocalizations are seals' no such appear exist at least during puppyhood. It particularly interesting find tracts, same region partially enabling produce individually distinctive vocalizations.