Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

The coordinated exchange of vocal signals (?vocal interaction?) is a key form of communication in humans and other animals. The long-term objective of my research program is to understand the behaviours that structure complex vocal interactions. Research on animal models reveals insights into the cognitive rules that govern vocal interaction. My previous work elucidated the rules that structure vocal duets in birds. I now study ?countersinging?, a more complex form of avian vocal interaction in which neighbouring territory holders interact vocally. I propose a comprehensive program of research on vocal interaction in the Adelaide?s warbler model system. This work compliments a parallel line of research I am conducting on the decision processes that shape vocal interaction rules across multiple species and contexts. Short term objectives 1. Advances in data acquisition and processing technologies permit the acquisition of ever-larger datasets, necessitating new analytic tools. I will develop freely available software tools to analyze sequential events as transition networks. 2. Description is an essential first step in understanding complex systems. I will record countersinging birds and use transition networks to describe their interactions at unprecedented levels of detail and holism. 3. To move from description to prediction, mechanism, and function, we must characterize the cognitive rules that govern individuals? behaviour. I will use transition networks and other approaches to model the rules that govern vocal interaction. 4. The primary functions of bird song are mate attraction and territory defense. Functional interpretations of countersinging have consistently focused on the territorial function. I will test a new network-based framework in which countersinging males influence female choice by exploiting females? cognitive biases. Summary and impact Just as bird song has served as a model for the development and control of speech, so vocal interaction in birds can serve as a model for interactive communication. The work described in this proposal sets the foundation for research on the cognitive, neuro-endocrine, and genetic underpinnings of conversation and other forms of interactive communication. Potential long-term applications include advances in communication, artificial intelligence, and medicine (e.g., diagnosis and treatment of autism and other disorders that affect vocal interaction). The research tools that will be developed and made freely available will promote research on sequential data and interactions of all kinds. The alternative signaling tactics framework offers a conceptual bridge between the adaptive processes that drive signaling systems toward ?honesty? and the proximate constraints that limit rational choice in humans and other animals. This research will train three graduate students and several undergraduates.