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»».\r-E 4 - I'LAINDKALER - WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15,1980 J \ n Or. Eug*n« S. Morton, a Smithsonian export on animal com­ munication, may bring hit work homo with him to Sovorna Park, Md., but ho't no Dr. Doolittlo. Though ho it fond of hi* rocidont gagglo of gooto, Morton Insist* that ho doos not "talk to tho animals." Howovor, ho has proposed a thoory that all animals, in­ cluding humans, sharo a similar approach to communication; thoy uso a low, harsh sound or "growl" in hostilo oncountors; a higher, tonoliko "whine" in friendly situations, and a "bark" to indicate in­ decision or attract attention. These three acoustical elements are shown for Carolina wrens in the sonogram (the vertical axis indicates rising frequency). whine An aggressive woodpecker and an angry African elephant might not appear to have much in common, but to Dr. Eugene S. Morton, a research zoologist at the Smithsonian's National- Zoological park, the two are literally "birds of a feather." What the woodpecker, elephant and a whole menagerie of birds and mammals - including hu­ mans -- share is a similar approach to communication, Morton says. After more than a decade studying sounds used by animals to "talk" to each other, Morton has developed a theory with enormous potential for understanding the evolution and meaning of all animal language. Simply stated, the theory proposes that there are three growl & major elements found in all animal language: a low harsh sound, or "growl," used in hostile or aggressive situations; a higher, tonelike sound, or "whine," used in ^ appeasing or friendly situations, and a sound that falls somewhere in between, a so-called "bark," which is used to indicate indecision or to attract attention. With these three elements and their variations, Morton says, animals can express a wide range of feelings or motivations. Most im­ portant, the actual physical or acoustical structure of the sounds directly reflects the animal's intention. Lastly, Morton's theory explaining why this system evolved is compatible with Darwin's theory of natural selection- that, because of more ef­ ficient reproduction, well- H1«ilBHKY Rome Mom* *t Jl American D'ta ?Hirni8hiHfl8 PRE-5ERSON "USE OUR LAYAWAY PLAN" Large Selection TABLE LAMPS Buy one at our Regular Low Price. Receive 2nd FREE 3 PC. BEDROOM SET WITH TWO MIRRORS REG. $1395.00 899 95 ROUND 7 PC. DINETTE SET Solid wood, maple/pine table, six chairs, two leaves VALUE $599.00 ALL SOLID OAK DINING ROOM SET BY AMERICAN DREW ONLY 2495 Suggested Price $3500 ALL WOOD CURIO CABINETS REG. $449.00 *299 95 & Up ALL WOOD WESTMINSTER GRANDFATHER CLOCKS 8 DAY WIND-UP, MOON DIAL *EG- STAA00J $899.95 NATIONALLY ADVERTISED BRAND 10 YR. 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It may seem strange to think of birds barking and growling and elephants whining, Morton admits. But if you've ever stood in a corn field and listened to a common crow attacking a rival, you'd recognize the crow's sound as a definite growl. "The Carolina wren barks, growls and whines," says Morton, an ornithologist by training who has studied the species in detail, "depending on whether it sees something alarming, is attacking a rival or is approaching its mate." The African elephant makes a deep, roaring, rumbling sound when it's charging and a high frequency sound when it is being "friendly." The common household dog often growls at an intruding mutt, but may well whine or whimper if it's trying to make friends or back off from a light. In short, from the rhinoceros to the chickadee, a wide variety of mammals and birds share these vocal elements. Morton originally came to this conclusion after studying the sounds that birds use in a variety of situations. He expanded his studies to mammals and found the same patterns, which have been confirmed by analyzing animal sounds with a sonagraph. A sonagraph is an in­ strument that converts sounds into a two dimen­ sional picture~a sonagram- showing frequency or pitch changes with time. When sonagrams of growls, barks and whines are examined, certain common pictorial features are obvious. The growl, whether from a pelican or pig, shows up as a thick, black band at low frequency; the whine becomes a thin line at higher frequency, and the bark or grunt is chevron-shaped. "The physical structure of sounds is not arbitrary," Morton says, "but has evolved in such a way as to signal motivation in cir­ cumstances that increase the reproductive success or fitness of the sender." He explains how this theory works in practice. A person observing a male and female bird chattering away at each other might imagine that the male is telling the female about a glorious worm he's caught and where to find onelike it or that the male is trying to court the female by telling her how pretty she is. Actually, the birds are doing neither of these _ things, Morton maintains, because animals don't "talk" to each other in the sense that people do. Instead, one of several things may really be hap­ pening. If the female is making high pitched "cooing" sounds, for in­ stance, she is probably signalling a friendly motivation and perhaps her willingness to mate. Mating is not only essential for survival of the female's genes through her offspring, 1 t in some species it may be essential to survival of the individual bird itself. Female Carolina wrens, for example, are unable to hold a territory alone; they are rapidly driven away by adjacent pairs of wrens. "The best words to describe what is happening when animals 'talk' to each other are 'vocal expression,' the same term used by Darwin more than 100 years ago," Morton says. Darwin's theory provides a framework for explaining how vocal expression evolved. The earliest land animals probably had no means of vocal com­ munication. In fact, primitive amphibians such as salamanders still do not make sounds. Animals lacking a means of vocal expression must literally fight off every intruder since they don't have a voice to signal their intention. Because larger animals will usually win in a fight with smaller animals, this system promotes survival of larger and larger animals. The dinosaurs may have evolved in part because of this selction factor. But then comes the Catch-22. Big animals also need a lot of food to survive; this means they have to spend more and more time fighting for food resources and, as Morton says, this makes the species prone to extinction. Nature's way of balancing larger body size versus limited food resources was pragmatic~the evolution of vocal expression to signal intent. The frequency of a sound depends on the ten­ sion, length and thickness of the vibrating membrane in an animal's voice box. Larger animals, because they have larger mem- SHOE SRLE Wednesday, Oct. 15 Monday, Oct. 20 OUR ENTIRE SELECTION OF Men's, Women's and Children's SHOES & BOOTS % OFF Hours L MThurs 9 5 3(1 Frida* 9 8 30 Sat 9 5 30 Sunday 9 1 00 b GLADSTONE CHARGE mSmm branes, are capable of making lower frequency sounds. Over the eons, the use of low frequency sounds came to signal the size and the aggressive intent of the sender to the recipient. As voices evolved, animals no longer needed to grow to enormous size to indicate their strength and fitness; they could use their voice to send a message. Small animals, like the chickadee and the mouse, could make low harsh sounds that made them seem larger. The low frequency sound also signalled an aggressive motivation; perhaps the recipient, understanding the intent of the message, might back off from the fight. On the other hand, high- pitched, tonelike sounds indicate a small size. Even if the animal isn't really small, that sound gives the right signal to the recipient, an animal making a high frequency "whine" indicates that it wants to appear "small" or meek. In practice, the whine also helps increase fitness. It could prevent an animal from being attacked and possibly killed or injured in a situation where another animal is being aggressive. The whine helps baby birds in a nest competing for food with siblings by giving an appeasing and, therefore, attracting message to its parents. Human infants act much the same way. People also share this evolutionary legacy of communication-it is found in the intonation of speech patterns. In virtually every human culture studied, Morton says, high, rising, tonelike sounds are used to indicate friendliness; rising and falling tones are used to ask a question or attract attention, and low frequency "growls" are common in aggressive or hostile en­ counters. Of course, in ad­ dition to this structure of sounds, humans also have words to help them define their motivation or feelings. "It's a relatively simple system, it's universal and it seems to work," says Morton, who is continuing to gain evidence for his theory , through detailed studies of Carolina wren sounds. And just to test it out, the next time your pet dog growls at you, try growling back. Political Corner Coffee For Candidates Representatives of the Woodstock-McHenry League of Women Voters and the Business and Professional Women's club will attend a coffee Thursday, Oct. 16, hosted by Mrs. Frank Gregory at her home at 3712 Young street, McHenry. Guests will have an op­ portunity to meet Kathryn S. Marshall, Democratic candidate for Circuit court judge, Lake and McHenry counties, and Jill Zwick, Republican candidate for state representative. Reduce Interest Rates For Farm Facility Loans Interest rates for farm facility loans made through the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be reduced by Vfe percent - to 12.5 per­ cent - effective for loans made on or before Sept. 29, according to Secretary of Agriculture Bob Bergland. Farm facility loans help farmers build needed farm storage and drying equip­ ment, Bergland said. The reduction is a result of a continual review of in­ terest rates charged far­ mers, Bergland said. The interest rate for farm storage facility and drying equipment loans is based on. the Commodity Credit Corporation's cost of borrowing money from the U.S. Treasury and was last changed on april 15 when it was set at 13.0 percent, he said. Survey On Education A sample of households in this area will be included in an annual survey on education to. be taken the week of Oct. 20-25, by ^he Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce. Stanley D. Moore, Director of the Bureau's Regional Office in Chicago, says that interviewers will visit homes to obtain in­ formation about current school enrollment from- nursery school through college. This information helps measure current trends in education and helps determine the need for additional or' expanded educational facilities. The questions on education will supplement those asked regularly in the monthly survey on employment and unemployment conducted nationwide by the Bureau for the U.S. Department of Labor. MEMORIAL FUND The Johnsburg Parent Teacher organization of School District 12 is establishing a memorial fund for Kyle Miscovic, 7- year-old boy who was killed in a traffic accident last week. Anyone wishing to contribute may contact the McHenry State bank or mail a check directly to the bank. MEETON RECREATON The meeting of the board of directors for the Northern Illinois Special Recreation association is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 27, at 2 p.m. The meeting will be held at the NISRA office at 7908 West Route 14; Crystal Lake. The public is invited to at­ tend. THE MAKKl MIT If you want to save minerals, vitamins, flavor and energy, stir-fry the vegetables for your next meal. This should add new interest to your old favorites, say spe­ cialists with N. C. Agriculture Service. To fix vegetables this quick and easy way, cut the vegetables in slices, shreds, slivers or on the bias. Heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil per four cups of vegetables: Pour in the vege­ tables and stir over high heat for a few seconds until they're well coated with oil. Add Vi cup liquid and stir a few seconds over high heat. Cover, lower the heat and sim­ mer 3 to 5 minutes. The vege­ tables will still have a crunchy texture.