Vocal learning has also been seen in killer whales (Orcinus orca). Two juvenile killer whales, separated from their natal pods, were seen mimicking cries of California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) that were near the region they lived in. The composition of the calls of these two juveniles were also different from their natal groups, reflecting more of the sea lion calls than that of the whales. Foote, AD; Griffin, RM; Howitt, D; Larsson, L, Miller, PJO; and Hoelzel, AR. (2006). Killer whales are capable of vocal learning. Biol. Lett., 2, pp. 509–512. Other evidence of vocal learning in elephants occurred in a cross-fostering situation with a captive African elephant. At the Basel Zoo in Switzerland, Calimero, a male African elephant, was kept with two female Asian elephants. Recordings of his cries shows evidence of chirping noises, typically only produced by Asian elephants. The duration and frequency of these calls differs from recorded instances of chirping calls from other African elephants and more closely resembles the chirping calls of Asian elephants. Poole, JH et al. (2005). "Animal behaviour: elephants are capable of vocal learning." Nature 434.7032 : 455-456. Non-human primates Early research asserted that primate calls are fully formed at an early age in development, yet recently some studies have suggested these calls are modified later in life. Owren, MJ, et al. (1992). "'Food' Calls Produced by Adult Female Rhesus (Macaca mulatta) and Japanese (M. fuscata) Macaques, Their Normally-Raised Offspring, and Offspring Cross-Fostered between Species." Behaviour: 218-231. In 1989, Masataka and Fujita cross-fostered Japanese and rhesus monkeys in the same room and demonstrated that foraging calls were learned directly from their foster mothers, providing evidence of vocal learning. Masataka, N; and Fujita, K. (1989). "Vocal learning of Japanese and rhesus monkeys." Behaviour: 191-199. However, when another independent group was unable to reproduce these results, Masataka and Fujita's findings were questioned. Adding to the evidence against vocal learning in non-human primates is the suggestion that regional differences in calls maybe be attributed to genetic differences between populations and not vocal learning.Snowdon, CT. (2009). "Plasticity of communication in non-human primates," in Advances in the Study of Behavior, eds M. Naguib and V. M. Janik (Burlington, NJ: Academic Press), 239–276. There has been intense debate on whether these songs are innate or learned. In 2011, Kikusui et al. cross-fostered two strains of mice with distinct song phenotypes and discovered that strain-specific characteristics of each song persisted in the offspring, indicating that these vocalizations are innate. Kikusui, T; et al. (2011). "Cross fostering experiments suggest that mice songs are innate." PloS one 6.3: e17721. However, a year later work by Arriaga et al. contradicted these results as their study found a motor cortex region active during singing, which projects directly to brainstem motor neurons and is also important for keeping songs stereotyped and on pitch. Vocal control by forebrain motor areas and direct cortical projections to vocal motor neurons are both features of vocal learning. Furthermore, male mice were shown to depend on auditory feedback to maintain some ultrasonic song features, and sub-strains with differences in their songs were able to match each other’s pitch when cross-housed under competitive social conditions. Currently, no other genes have been linked as compellingly to vocal learning in animals or humans. See also Animal cognition Bioacoustics Biolinguistics Biomusic Birdsong Entrainment Evolution of language Evolution of music Evolutionary linguistics Evolutionary psychology Human voice Phonation Social learning Speech repetition Talking animal Whale song References%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% Category:Learning Category:Animal cognition Category:Oral communication Category:Cognitive musicolog
Vocal learning has also been seen in killer whales (Orcinus orca). Two juvenile killer whales, separated from their natal pods, were seen mimicking cries of California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) that were near the region they lived in. The composition of the calls of these two juveniles were also different from their natal groups, reflecting more of the sea lion calls than that of the whales. Other evidence of vocal learning in elephants occurred in a cross-fostering situation with a captive African elephant. At the Basel Zoo in Switzerland, Calimero, a male African elephant, was kept with two female Asian elephants. Recordings of his cries shows evidence of chirping noises, typically only produced by Asian elephants. The duration and frequency of these calls differs from recorded instances of chirping calls from other African elephants and more closely resembles the chirping calls of Asian elephants. Non-human primates Early research asserted that primate calls are fully formed at an early age in development, yet recently some studies have suggested these calls are modified later in life. In 1989, Masataka and Fujita cross-fostered Japanese and rhesus monkeys in the same room and demonstrated that foraging calls were learned directly from their foster mothers, providing evidence of vocal learning. However, when another independent group was unable to reproduce these results, Masataka and Fujita's findings were questioned. Adding to the evidence against vocal learning in non-human primates is the suggestion that regional differences in calls maybe be attributed to genetic differences between populations and not vocal learning.Snowdon, CT. (2009). "Plasticity of communication in non-human primates," in Advances in the Study of Behavior, eds M. Naguib and V. M. Janik (Burlington, NJ: Academic Press), 239–276. There has been intense debate on whether these songs are innate or learned. In 2011, Kikusui et al. cross-fostered two strains of mice with distinct song phenotypes and discovered that strain-specific characteristics of each song persisted in the offspring, indicating that these vocalizations are innate. However, a year later work by Arriaga et al. contradicted these results as their study found a motor cortex region active during singing, which projects directly to brainstem motor neurons and is also important for keeping songs stereotyped and on pitch. Vocal control by forebrain motor areas and direct cortical projections to vocal motor neurons are both features of vocal learning. Furthermore, male mice were shown to depend on auditory feedback to maintain some ultrasonic song features, and sub-strains with differences in their songs were able to match each other’s pitch when cross-housed under competitive social conditions. Currently, no other genes have been linked as compellingly to vocal learning in animals or humans. %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% 
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Foote, AD; Griffin, RM; Howitt, D; Larsson, L, Miller, PJO; and Hoelzel, AR. (2006). Killer whales are capable of vocal learning. Biol. Lett., 2, pp. 509–512.
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Poole, JH et al. (2005). "Animal behaviour: elephants are capable of vocal learning." Nature 434.7032 : 455-456.
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Owren, MJ, et al. (1992). "'Food' Calls Produced by Adult Female Rhesus (Macaca mulatta) and Japanese (M. fuscata) Macaques, Their Normally-Raised Offspring, and Offspring Cross-Fostered between Species." Behaviour: 218-231.
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Masataka, N; and Fujita, K. (1989). "Vocal learning of Japanese and rhesus monkeys." Behaviour: 191-199.
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Kikusui, T; et al. (2011). "Cross fostering experiments suggest that mice songs are innate." PloS one 6.3: e17721.
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See also Animal cognition Bioacoustics Biolinguistics Biomusic Birdsong Entrainment Evolution of language Evolution of music Evolutionary linguistics Evolutionary psychology Human voice Phonation Social learning Speech repetition Talking animal Whale song
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References
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Category:Learning Category:Animal cognition Category:Oral communication Category:Cognitive musicolog