Vocal learners such as humans and songbirds can learn to produce elaborate patterns of
structurally organized vocalizations, whereas many other vertebrates such as non-human …

This review reports on the effects of human activities on animal acoustic signals published in
the literature from 1970 to 2009. Almost 5% of the studies on variation in animal …

To better determine the history of modern birds, we performed a genome-scale phylogenetic
analysis of 48 species representing all orders of Neoaves using phylogenomic methods …

The relationships of passerines (such as the well-studied zebra finch) with non-passerine
birds is one of the great enigmas of avian phylogenetic research, because decades of …

Research on avian vocalisations has traditionally focused on male song produced by oscine
passerines. However, accumulating evidence indicates that complex vocalisations can …

Divergence in acoustic signals between populations of animals can lead to species
recognition failure, reproductive isolation, and speciation. Character displacement may …

Background Several studies suggested great ape cultures, arguing that human cumulative
culture presumably evolved from such a foundation. These focused on conspicuous …

Natural selection is known to produce convergent phenotypes through mimicry or ecological
adaptation. It has also been proposed that social selection—ie, selection exerted by social …

Divergence in sexual signals may drive reproductive isolation between lineages, but
behavioural barriers can weaken in contact zones. Here, we investigate the role of song as a …

Vocal learning is a behavioral trait in which the social and acoustic environment shapes the
vocal repertoire of individuals. Over the past century, the study of vocal learning has …