title: Body size and vocalization in primates and carnivores.
abstract: A fundamental assumption in bioacoustics is that large animals tend to produce vocalizations with lower frequencies than small animals. This inverse relationship between body size and vocalization frequencies is widely considered to be foundational in animal communication, with prominent theories arguing that it played a critical role in the evolution of vocal communication, in both production and perception. A major shortcoming of these theories is that they lack a solid empirical foundation: rigorous comparisons between body size and vocalization frequencies remain scarce, particularly among mammals. We address this issue here in a study of body size and vocalization frequencies conducted across 91 mammalian species, covering most of the size range in the orders Primates (n = 50; ~0.11-120 Kg) and Carnivora (n = 41; ~0.14-250 Kg). We employed a novel procedure designed to capture spectral variability and standardize frequency measurement of vocalization data across species. The results unequivocally demonstrate strong inverse relationships between body size and vocalization frequencies in primates and carnivores, filling a long-standing gap in mammalian bioacoustics and providing an empirical foundation for theories on the adaptive function of call frequency in animal communication.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Bowling
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.|L'Equipe de Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, Université de Lyon/Saint Etienne, Saint Étienne, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.affiliation: Department of Archaeology &Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.|Animal and Environment Research Group, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ruprecht
authors.affiliation: Center for Language Evolution, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.affiliation: Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: K-H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Frommolt
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: W T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Fitch
mesh_terms: D000819:Animal Communication; D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size; D002335:Carnivora / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011323:Primates / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D014828:Vocalization, Animal; D014831:Voice