Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Communication01:03

Communication

Communication between two animals occurs when one animal transmits an information signal that causes a change in the animal that receives the information. Organisms communicate with one another in a host of different ways. Signals can be auditory, chemical, visual, tactile, or a combination of these. Communication is a critical behavioral adaptation that promotes survival, growth, and reproduction.
Convergent Evolution01:54

Convergent Evolution

Evolution shapes the features of organisms over time, ensuring that they are suited for the environments in which they live. Sometimes, selection pressure leads to the rise of similar but unrelated adaptations in organisms with no recent common ancestors, a process known as convergent evolution.
Barriers to Effective Communication II01:21

Barriers to Effective Communication II

The barriers to effective communication also include cultural barriers, semantic barriers, gender barriers, and time constraints.
Cultural barriers:
Differences in values, beliefs, religion, knowledge, and tradition can significantly impact communication. Awareness of nonverbal cues is critical, especially when conversing with a patient from a different culture. What appears appropriate in one culture may be inappropriate in another.
Semantic barriers:
As a result of their tendency to use...
Levels of Communication II: Organizational, Public, and Group Dynamics01:27

Levels of Communication II: Organizational, Public, and Group Dynamics

Effective communication is the foundation of a good organization. Communication is the lifeblood of an organization that connects the group with messages. In an organization, communication occurs in upward, downward, and horizontal lines. Downward communication travels from the administrative and senior levels to the staff through official channels such as manuals, rules and regulations, and organizational charts. Staff members initiate upward communication, which is addressed to executives and...
Neuronal Communication01:28

Neuronal Communication

Neurons, the fundamental units of the brain and nervous system, communicate through complex electrochemical signals that underpin all cognitive and bodily functions. This communication is primarily facilitated by a process involving the generation and propagation of an action potential along the axon of the neuron. When the internal electrical charge of a neuron surpasses a certain threshold, an action potential is triggered. This rapid change in voltage travels swiftly along the axon to the...
Evolution of New Traits in Microbes01:24

Evolution of New Traits in Microbes

Microorganisms evolve rapidly due to their large population sizes and short generation times, often exhibiting measurable changes within days under laboratory conditions. Natural selection acts on standing genetic variation, enabling the retention and amplification of beneficial traits that confer fitness advantages in changing environments.Adaptive Pigment Regulation in RhodobacterIn Rhodobacter, a genus of purple non-sulfur bacteria, light-harvesting pigments such as bacteriochlorophyll and...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Introduction to the Special Issue on climate change: How the sound of the planet reflects the health of the planet.

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·2026
Same author

Small canopy species drive information highways about predators in an Amazonian rainforest.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same author

Longevity is heritable and negatively genetically correlated between the sexes in yellow-bellied marmots.

Evolution letters·2026
Same author

Buffering effects of shelter and palatable foods mitigate fear responses in foraging wild mice.

Scientific reports·2026
Same author

Wolves fear humans but learn quickly about us.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

Behavioral convergence under urbanization: An overlooked dimension of biotic homogenization.

PLoS biology·2026
Same journal

The microlandscapes of tree trunks: the effect of lichen and tree-level characteristics on arthropod communities.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2026
Same journal

Centimetre-scale landscapes to assess the motion behaviour and cognition of gastropods and bivalves.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2026
Same journal

Intertidal microcosms of wave-swept rocky shores: ecological and physiological insights from a uniquely stressful environment.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2026
Same journal

Temporal and spatial variation in temperature and oxygen at the microscale: key niche axes for aquatic life.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2026
Same journal

Natural microcosms in ecology: fulfilling the promise of model systems?

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2026
Same journal

Microbe-induced galls and plant defence: metabolite crosstalk in a co-evolutionary battle.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 21, 2026

Recording Mouse Ultrasonic Vocalizations to Evaluate Social Communication
10:28

Recording Mouse Ultrasonic Vocalizations to Evaluate Social Communication

Published on: June 5, 2016

Evolving communicative complexity: insights from rodents and beyond.

Kimberly A Pollard1, Daniel T Blumstein

  • 1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. kpollard@ucla.edu

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
|May 30, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Complex social behavior and communication evolve together. Different aspects of social complexity, like group size and roles, influence distinct features of animal communication systems, such as call repertoire and individuality.

More Related Videos

A Complex Diving-For-Food Task to Investigate Social Organization and Interactions in Rats
10:29

A Complex Diving-For-Food Task to Investigate Social Organization and Interactions in Rats

Published on: May 8, 2021

A Fully Automated Rodent Conditioning Protocol for Sensorimotor Integration and Cognitive Control Experiments
09:43

A Fully Automated Rodent Conditioning Protocol for Sensorimotor Integration and Cognitive Control Experiments

Published on: April 15, 2014

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 21, 2026

Recording Mouse Ultrasonic Vocalizations to Evaluate Social Communication
10:28

Recording Mouse Ultrasonic Vocalizations to Evaluate Social Communication

Published on: June 5, 2016

A Complex Diving-For-Food Task to Investigate Social Organization and Interactions in Rats
10:29

A Complex Diving-For-Food Task to Investigate Social Organization and Interactions in Rats

Published on: May 8, 2021

A Fully Automated Rodent Conditioning Protocol for Sensorimotor Integration and Cognitive Control Experiments
09:43

A Fully Automated Rodent Conditioning Protocol for Sensorimotor Integration and Cognitive Control Experiments

Published on: April 15, 2014

Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Animal Communication

Background:

  • Social living necessitates communication, but the relationship between social and communicative complexity is intricate.
  • Attributes of social complexity include group size, social roles, and interaction networks.
  • Attributes of communicative complexity encompass repertoire size, individual signatures, and acoustic properties of calls.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the co-evolutionary relationships between different attributes of social and communicative complexity.
  • To utilize sciurid rodents as a model system to explore these evolutionary dynamics.
  • To identify specific links between social attributes and communication characteristics.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of social and communication systems across different sciurid species.
  • Correlating measures of social complexity (e.g., group size, social roles) with measures of communicative complexity (e.g., repertoire size, call individuality).
  • Leveraging existing research on sciurid rodents and other taxa.

Main Results:

  • Demographic role complexity was found to predict alarm call repertoire size in sciurids.
  • Social group size was found to predict alarm call individuality in sciurids.
  • Evidence suggests that distinct attributes of sociality are linked to distinct attributes of communication.

Conclusions:

  • The study highlights that different facets of social complexity are associated with different aspects of communication.
  • Sciurid rodents serve as a valuable model for dissecting the evolutionary pathways of sociality and communication.
  • A nuanced approach, breaking down complexity into attributes, is crucial for understanding the evolution of social communication.