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A frequency scaling rule in mammalian vocalization

Neville H. Fletcher*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

    10 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The main biological purpose of mammalian vocalization is communication with other members of the same species, and it is generally beneficial to maximize the distance over which this can be done, though in some instances short-range confidential communication is desired. Considering the anatomical and acoustical parameters involved, a scaling rule for maximized communication distance is predicted, with frequency proportional to body-mass to a power of about −0.4, and this agrees well with observation over a very large size range. The communication distance varies about as body mass to the power 0.6.

    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationHandbook of Behavioral Neuroscience
    Pages51-56
    Number of pages6
    EditionC
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2010

    Publication series

    NameHandbook of Behavioral Neuroscience
    NumberC
    Volume19
    ISSN (Print)1569-7339

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