Resonating device explained

A resonating device is a structure used by an animal that improves the quality of its vocalizations through amplifying the sound produced via acoustic resonance. The benefit of such an adaptation is that the call's volume increases while lessening the necessary energy expenditure otherwise required to make such a sound.[1] [2] The resulting sound may also radiate more efficiently throughout the environment.[3]

The resonator may take the form of a hollow (a resonant space), a chamber (referred to as a resonating chamber), or an otherwise air-filled cavity (such as an air sac) which may be part of, or adjacent to, the animal's sound-producing organ, or it may be a structure entirely outside of the animal's body (part of the environment). Such structures use a similar principle to wind instruments, in that both utilize a resonator to amplify the soundwave that will ultimately be uttered.

Such structures are widespread throughout the animal kingdom, as sound production is important in the social lives of various animals. Arthropods developed their resonating devices from various parts of their anatomy; bony fish often utilize their swim bladders as a resonating chamber; various tetrapods developed resonating devices in parts of their respiratory tract, and evidence suggests that dinosaurs possessed them as well. Vocalizations produced through zoological resonating devices act as mating calls, territorial calls, and other communication calls.

In arthropods

Insects

Cicadas produce songs as part of their courtship display; the males of a number of species possess an abdomen that is largely hollow.[4] The sound producing organ, the tymbals, are connected to the abdomen, and as a consequence their calls are amplified significantly; cicadas have been recorded to emit sounds of around 100 decibels, which is enough to cause hearing loss after 15 minutes.[5] [6] [7] [8] A large australian species, Cyclochila australasiae, produces sounds of up to 120 decibels at close range.[9] [10] In contrast, the basal hairy cicadas (Tettigarcta) do not emit an audible, airborne sound; like related leafhoppers, they instead transmit their vibrations through their substrate, turning the plants they perch upon into resonators.[9] [11]

A species of aquatic bug, Micronecta scholtzi, has been recorded to produce sounds of 105 dB, the "highest ratio dB/body size". This sound is produced via stridulation of the paramere (genital appendage) on an abdominal ridge, and may be amplified by reflections and refractions within the layer of trapped air the bug uses as an air supply, though the use of the air bubble as such has not been proven.[12]

Tree crickets (specifically, Oecanthus henryi) were found to create baffles by selecting appropriately sized leaves, then chewing a hole near the centre that was about the size of their wings. By calling from inside of these baffles, they were able to prevent acoustic short-circuiting and effectively increasing the loudness of its calls.[13]

In osteichthyans

Bony fish possess an air-filled organ called the swim bladder that is primarily used to regulate buoyancy. However, a number of species have adapted their swimbladders to be a part of a sound-producing organ. The sound-producing apparatus consists of fast-contracting striated muscles that vibrate the swim bladder, either entirely attached to the swimbladder or also attaching to adjacent structures like the vertebral column or occipital bones.[14]

Other families of fish which have sound-generating mechanisms involving the swim bladder include:[14]

In amphibians

Frogs possess vocal sacs which serve to enhance their nuptial calls. To call, the frog closes its mouth, then expels air from its lungs, through its larynx, and into the vocal sac; the larynx's vibration causes the vocal sac to resonate.[18] [19] [20] Additionally, some frogs may call from inside structures that further amplify their calls; Metaphrynella sundana call from inside tree hollows with water pooling at the bottom, tuning their own calls to the resonant frequency of their specific tree hollow.[21] Mientien tree frogs (Kurixalus idiootocus) residing in urban areas utilize storm drains to improve their calls; frogs calling within the drains called louder and for longer periods.[22]

In amniotes

Mammals

Primates

The larynx is the primary vocal organ of mammals. In humans, it acts as a resonator only for high frequencies, due to its small volume; the pharynx, oral-, and nasal cavities, descending in order, are the most important resonators in humans.[23] [24] [25]

Several non-human primates are adapted to producing loud calls, and they often rely on resonance chambers to produce it. The howler monkeys possess extralaryngeal airsacs along with a pneumatized (hollow) hyoid bone; it is suggested that the hollow hyoid acts as a resonating chamber, allowing the howler monkey to produce its namesake call.[26] [27] Gibbons are also well known for their loud territorial calls;[28] [29] the siamang has a particularly well developed gular sac that acts as a resonating chamber.[30] Male orangutans also use their throat pouches for the purpose of enhancing their calls.[31] [32]

Male gorillas' airways have air sacs that penetrate into the soft tissue of the chest. These airsacs amplify the sound produced by his percussive chest-beating.

Laurasiatheres

Horseshoe bats (of the family Rhinolophidae) are a bat genus that possess air pouches, or chambers, around their larynx which act as Helmholtz resonators. The male hammerhead bat has an extremely large larynx that extends through most of his thoracic cavity, displacing his other internal organs.[33] A pharyngeal air sac connects to a large sinus in the bat's snout; these structures act as resonating chambers to further amplify the bat's voice.[34] So specialized are these structures that scientists Herbert Lang and James Chapin remarked; "In no other mammal is everything so entirely subordinated to the organs of voice".[35]

Pinnipeds have been noted to employ this structure; the expanded nasal chambers of elephant and hooded seals act as resonant spaces that enhance their calls. The expanded laryngeal lumen of California sea lions, the pharyngeal pouch of walrus, and the tracheal sacs of various phocids may also function in a similar manner.[36]

Mysticetes, such as the blue whale, use their greatly expanded larynx as a resonant cavity. Even in juveniles, the larynx is bigger than either one of the whale's lungs. This organ, along with the nasal passages, act as resonant spaces that produce the signature drawn-out calls of the baleen whales.

Sauropsida

Crocodylians

The ghara of the indian gharial is a specialized organ that acts as a resonating chamber; as a result, the call of a mature male can be heard up to 75m (246feet) away.[37] [38]

Lambeosaurines

The crests of a number of lambeosaurine dinosaurs have been hypothesized to act as resonating chambers; reconstructed upper airways, specifically, the nasal passsages of Parasaurolophus, Lambeosaurus, Hypacrosaurus and Corythosaurus have been examined, and they were concluded to be able to enhance the vocalizations in life, and the different cranial crest shapes would have distinguished the sounds produced between genera.[39] [40] [41] [42]

Birds

The avian syrinx is the primary vocal organ in most birds,[43] with the trachea being the primary resonator in the system. In some birds, the trachea is grossly elongated, coiling or looping within the thorax; the trumpet manucode's trachea is 20 times longer than is predicted for birds of a comparable size. This condition of tracheal elongation (TE) is known in several orders of birds, and it seems to have been evolved independently a number of times. W. T. Fitch hypothesizes that the function of such elongated trachea in birds may be to "exaggerate its apparent [body] size", through the lowering of the frequency (Hz) of its calls; larger individuals are preferentially selected as mates, and thus a "deeper" voice is selected for. Additionally, lower frequency calls travel further, attracting mates from a wider area.[44]

Additionally, the air sac system, which is part of the respiratory system in birds, may be an important resonator in certain birds, as is the inflated crop of columbiform pigeons and doves.[45]

External Links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Wang . Archinlin . Stephenson . Henry . Ramdani . Syphax . Flynn . Zachary . Resonating Devices in Nature for Communication and Information Reception . bioengineering.hyperbook.mcgill.ca . 16 May 2023 . McGill University . 19 November 2024.
  2. Web site: Wang . Archinlin . Stephenson . Henry . Ramdani . Syphax . Flynn . Zachary . Mathematical Modeling of Resonating Devices in Animals for Communication and Information Reception . 13 May 2023 . McGill University . 19 November 2024.
  3. Jakobsen . Lasse . Christensen-Dalsgaard . Jakob . Juhl . Peter Møller . Elemans . Coen P. H. . How Loud Can you go? Physical and Physiological Constraints to Producing High Sound Pressures in Animal Vocalizations . Frontiers Ecology . 21 May 2021 . 9 . 10.3389/fevo.2021.657254 . free .
  4. Web site: Periodical Cicada Information Pages: Behavior . cicadas.uconn.edu . 16 February 2017 . University of Connecticut . 19 November 2024.
  5. Web site: Noise Myths Debunked – Fact and Fiction Behind all the Cicada Buzz . blogs.cdc.gov . 20 July 2021 . Center For Disease Control and Prevention . 19 November 2024.
  6. Web site: Secrets of the cicada's sound . sciencedaily.com . Acoustical Society of America . 19 November 2024.
  7. Web site: Langley . Liz . This Bug's Penis Is a Built-In Violin . nationalgeographic.com . 7 October 2017 . National Geographic Society . 19 November 2024.
  8. Book: 10.1007/978-1-4020-6359-6_36 . Acoustic Communication in Insects . Encyclopedia of Entomology . 2008 . Hangay . George . Gayubo . Severiano F. . Hoy . Marjorie A. . Goula . Marta . Sanborn . Allen . Morrill . Wendell. L. . Gäde . Gerd . Marco . Heather G. . Kabissa . Joe C. B. . Ellis . Jamie . Ellis . Amanda . Lord . Cynthia C. . Schabel . Hans G. . Heppner . John B. . Schabel . Hans G. . Heppner . John B. . Heppner . John B. . Heppner . John B. . Nadel . Hannah . Easton . Emmett R. . McSorley . Robert . Napper . Emma . Pickett . John A. . Nation . James L. . Stange . Lionel . Goettel . Mark S. . Capinera . John L. . Nation . James L. . Paulson . Gregory S. . Blum . Murray S. . 33–38 . 978-1-4020-6242-1 . 1 .
  9. Web site: Ennion . Jennifer . The deafening soundtracks of Australia's cicadas . australiangeographic.com.au . 17 January 2018 . Australian Geographic . 19 November 2024.
  10. Web site: Cicada - Superfamily Cicadoidea . australian.museum . Australian Museum . 19 November 2024.
  11. Claridge . Michael F. . Morgan . John C. . Moulds . Maxwell S. . Substrate-transmitted acoustic signals of the primitive cicada, Tettigarcta crinita Distant (Hemiptera Cicadoidea, Tettigarctidae) . Journal of Natural History . December 1999 . 33 . 12 . 1831–1834 . 10.1080/002229399299752 . 1999JNatH..33.1831C .
  12. Sueur . Jérôme . Mackie . David . Windmill . James F. C. . So Small, So Loud: Extremely High Sound Pressure Level from a Pygmy Aquatic Insect (Corixidae, Micronectinae) . PLOS ONE . 15 June 2011 . 6 . 6 . e21089 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0021089 . free . 21698252 . 3115974 . 2011PLoSO...621089S .
  13. Mhatre . Natasha . Malkin . Robert . Deb . Rittik . Balakrishnan . Rohini . Robert . Daniel . Tree crickets optimize the acoustics of baffles to exaggerate their mate-attraction signal . eLife . December 2017 . 10.7554/eLife.32763.001 . free . 20 November 2024.
  14. Ladich . Friedrich . Sound-generating and -detecting motor system in catfish: Design of swimbladder muscles in doradids and pimelodids . The Anatomical Record . July 2001 . 263 . 3 . 297–306 . 10.1002/ar.1105 . 11455539 .
  15. Book: Collin, Shaun. N. Justin Marshall . Sensory processing in aquatic environments. Springer-Verlag New York . 2003 . New York. 978-0-387-95527-8.
  16. News: McGrath . Matt . Gills Aloud? Tiny fish found making very big noise . 27 February 2024 . BBC News . 27 February 2024.
  17. Cook . Verity A. N. O. . Groneberg . Antonia H. . Hoffmann . Maximilian . Kadobianskyi . Mykola . Veith . Johannes . Schulze . Lisanne . Henninger . Jörg . Britz . Ralf . Judkewitz . Benjamin . 2024 . Ultrafast sound production mechanism in one of the smallest vertebrates . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 121 . 10 . e2314017121 . 10.1073/pnas.2314017121 . 38408231 . 10927587 . 2024PNAS..12114017C .
  18. Book: Tyler, M. J.. 1994. Australian Frogs A Natural History. Reed Books. 0-7301-0468-0.
  19. Web site: Anurans – Vocal. 2006-06-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20040822114000/http://cal.man.ac.uk/student_projects/2000/mnzo7cas/vocal.htm. 2004-08-22. dead.
  20. Web site: How can tiny frogs make so much noise? . cbc.ca . . 19 November 2024.
  21. Lardner . Björn . bin Lakim . Maklarin . Tree-hole frogs exploit resonance effects . Nature . December 2002 . 420 . 6915 . 475 . 10.1038/420475a . 12466831 .
  22. Moskvitch . Katia . Urban frogs use drains as mating megaphones . Nature . 4 June 2014 . 10.1038/nature.2014.15362 .
  23. Book: Vennard, William. Singing: the Mechanism and the Technic. 4th. 1967. New York. Carl Fischer. 1011087. 978-0-8258-0055-9.
  24. Sundberg, Johan(1989). The Science of the Singing Voice, Northern Illinois University Press,
  25. Web site: Understanding Resonance And How It Shapes The Voice . torontospeechtherapy.com . 9 October 2024 . Well Said Toronto Speech Therapy . 19 November 2024.
  26. Web site: Miller . Jacqueline . Vital Sounds . rom.on.ca . Royal Ontario Museum . 19 November 2024.
  27. Book: 10.1007/978-1-4939-1957-4_6 . Morphology of Howler Monkeys: A Review and Quantitative Analyses . Howler Monkeys . 2015 . Youlatos . Dionisios . Couette . Sébastien . Halenar . Lauren B. . 133–176 . 978-1-4939-1956-7 .
  28. Clarke E, Reichard UH, Zuberbühler K . The Syntax and Meaning of Wild Gibbon Songs . PLOS ONE . 1 . 1. e73 . 2006 . 17183705 . 1762393 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0000073 . Emery . Nathan. 2006PLoSO...1...73C . free .
  29. Glover, Hilary. Recognizing gibbons from their regional accents, BioMed Central, EurekAlert.org, 6 February 2011.
  30. Koda . Hiroki . Nishimura . Takeshi . Tokuda . Isao T. . Oyakawa . Chisako . Nihonmatsu . Toshikuni . Masataka . Nobuo . 2012 . Soprano singing in gibbons . American Journal of Physical Anthropology . 149 . 3 . 347–355 . 10.1002/ajpa.22124 . 22926979 .
  31. Utami . S. S. . Goossens . B. . Bruford . M. W. . de Ruiter . J. R. . van Hooff . J. A. R. A. M. . Jan van Hooff . 2002 . Male bimaturism and reproductive success in Sumatran orangutans . Behavioral Ecology . 13 . 5. 643–52 . 10.1093/beheco/13.5.643. free .
  32. Book: Payne, J . Prundente, C . 2008. Orangutans: Behaviour, Ecology and Conservation. 14. New Holland Publishers. 978-0-262-16253-1.
  33. Langevin . P. . R. . Barclay . 1990 . Hypsignathus monstrosus . Mammalian Species . 357. 1–4 . 10.2307/3504110. 3504110 . free .
  34. Book: Kingdon. J.. Happold. D.. Butynski. T.. Hoffmann. M.. Happold. M.. Kalina. J.. Happold. M.. 2013. Mammals of Africa. 4. A&C Black. 259–262. 9781408189962.
  35. Book: Nowak, M., R.. Walker's Bats of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press. 1999. 0-8018-5789-9. 278–279.
  36. Book: 10.1016/B978-0-12-374593-4.00041-3 . Generation of sound in marine mammals . Handbook of Mammalian Vocalization - an Integrative Neuroscience Approach . Handbook of Behavioral Neuroscience . 2010 . Reidenberg . Joy S. . Laitman . Jeffrey T. . 19 . 451–465 . 978-0-12-374593-4 .
  37. Biswas, S. . Acharjyo, L. N. . Mohapatra, S. . amp . 1977 . A note on the protuberance or knob on the snout of male gharial, Gavialis gangeticus (Gmelin) . Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society . 74 . 3 . 536–537 .
  38. Brazaitis, P. . 1973 . Family Gavialidae Gavialis gangeticus Gmelin . Zoologica . 3 . 80−81 .
  39. Web site: Sandia National Laboratories. December 5, 1997. Scientists Use Digital Paleontology to Produce Voice of Parasaurolophus Dinosaur. Sandia National Laboratories. . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140817000057/http://www.sandia.gov/media/dinosaur.htm. August 17, 2014.
  40. Weishampel. D.B.. 1997. Dinosaurian Cacophony: Inferring function in extinct organisms. BioScience. 47. 3. 150–155. 1313034. 10.2307/1313034. free.
  41. Dodson, Peter & Britt, Brooks & Carpenter, Kenneth & Forster, Catherine A. & Gillette, David D. & Norell, Mark A. & Olshevsky, George & Parrish, J. Michael & Weishampel, David B. (1994). The Age of Dinosaurs. Publications International, LTD. p. 137. .
  42. Book: Norman, David B. . David B. Norman . The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: An Original and Compelling Insight into Life in the Dinosaur Kingdom. Hadrosaurids II . 1985 . Crescent Books . New York. 122–127 . 978-0-517-46890-6 .
  43. Riede. T.. 2019. The evolution of the syrinx: an acoustic theory. PLOS ONE. 17. 2. e2006507. 10.1371/journal.pbio.2006507. 30730882. 6366696 . free .
  44. Fitch . W. T. . Acoustic exaggeration of size in birds via tracheal elongation: comparative and theoretical analyses . Zoological Society of London . 1999 . 248 . 248 . 31–48 . 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1999.tb01020.x . https://web.archive.org/web/20110605221541/http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~wtsf/downloads/Fitch1999Trachea.pdf . 19 November 2024. 2011-06-05 .
  45. Beckers . G. J. L. . Suthers . R. A. . ten Cate . C. . 2003 . Pure-tone birdsong by resonance filtering of harmonic overtones . PNAS . 100 . 12 . 7372–7376 . 10.1073/pnas.1232227100 . 12764226 . 165882 . 2003PNAS..100.7372B . free .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Resonating device".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.