Marmoset monkeys use different avoidance strategies to cope with ambient noise during vocal behavior
Julia Löschner,
Thomas Pomberger,
Steffen R. Hage
Affiliations
Julia Löschner
Neurobiology of Social Communication, Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Hearing Research Center, University of Tübingen, Medical Center, Elfriede-Aulhorn-Strasse 5, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Str. 25, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
Thomas Pomberger
Neurobiology of Social Communication, Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Hearing Research Center, University of Tübingen, Medical Center, Elfriede-Aulhorn-Strasse 5, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; Graduate School of Neural & Behavioural Sciences - International Max Planck Research School, University of Tübingen, Österberg-Str. 3, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
Steffen R. Hage
Neurobiology of Social Communication, Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Hearing Research Center, University of Tübingen, Medical Center, Elfriede-Aulhorn-Strasse 5, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Str. 25, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; Corresponding author
Summary: Multiple strategies have evolved to compensate for masking noise, leading to changes in call features. One call adjustment is the Lombard effect, an increase in call amplitude in response to noise. Another strategy involves call production in periods where noise is absent. While mechanisms underlying vocal adjustments have been well studied, mechanisms underlying noise avoidance strategies remain largely unclear. We systematically perturbed ongoing phee calls of marmosets to investigate noise avoidance strategies. Marmosets canceled their calls after noise onset and produced longer calls after noise-phases ended. Additionally, the number of uttered syllables decreased during noise perturbation. This behavior persisted beyond the noise-phase. Using machine learning techniques, we found that a fraction of single phees were initially planned as double phees and became interrupted after the first syllable. Our findings indicate that marmosets use different noise avoidance strategies and suggest vocal flexibility at different complexity levels in the marmoset brain.
