Fourth Daniel C. Baker, Jr. memorial lecture. Energy and the larynx

Review of the logistics of energy supply in animals indicates that the advent of the larynx was part of a response to an earlier energy crisis. It permitted a major increase in the flow of energy available to the organism and became the mechanical control point and rate-limiting factor of the increased inflow. Phylogenetically, a succession of structural innovations steadily enhanced the flow capacity of the larynx and rendered the mechanism more versatile, most recently with the accrual of phonation (in mammals), pressurized closure (in primates and odontocetes), and vocal formants and efficiency (in man). The larynx is thus a marker of the animal's capabilities for energy intake, energy utilization and information emmission and, apparently, of the size and complexity of the brain. Today's energy crises appear to continue those of the past.