Honest signaling in domestic piglets (Sus scrofa domesticus): vocal allometry and the information content of grunt calls

ABSTRACT The information conveyed in acoustic signals is a central topic in mammal vocal communication research. Body size is one form of information that can be encoded in calls. Acoustic allometry aims to identify the specific acoustic correlates of body size within the vocalizations of a given species, and formants are often a useful acoustic cue in this context. We conducted a longitudinal investigation of acoustic allometry in domestic piglets (Sus scrofa domesticus), asking whether formants of grunt vocalizations provide information concerning the caller's body size over time. On four occasions, we recorded grunts from 20 kunekune piglets, measured their vocal tract length by means of radiographs (X-rays) and weighed them. Controlling for effects of age and sex, we found that body weight strongly predicts vocal tract length, which in turn determines formant frequencies. We conclude that grunt formant frequencies could allow domestic pigs to assess a signaler's body size as it grows. Further research using playback experiments is needed to determine the perceptual role of formants in domestic pig communication. Summary: Longitudinal investigation of acoustic allometry in domestic piglets indicates that grunt formant frequencies allow conspecifics to assess a signaler's body size.

• Publication year

  2016

• Venue

  Journal of Experimental Biology

• Publication date

  2016-06-15

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1242/jeb.138255PMID 27059064PMCID 4920241
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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