A new study by researchers from the University of Cambridge marks the largest study of howling in the "canid" family of species, which includes domestic dogs, wolves and jackals, and revealed that certain species and subspecies have unique, distinguished howls that can be used as "vocal fingerprints." These different types of howls are used with varying regularity depending on the canid species in question.
The team of researchers used computer algorithms to analyze the howls of 13 species, isolating over 2,000 different howls and categorizing them into 21 howl types based of the factors of pitch and fluctuation. After making these analyses, they found that the frequency with which the different types of howls are used can be linked to specific species of canid as well as to subspecies of wolf. For example, timber wolves possess a howling range that is heavy with low, flat howls, compared to the high, looping howls of the endangered red wolves.
The findings could be used to help identify and manage wild wolf populations more effectively as well as provide clues to the origins and evolution of our own language.
"Wolves may not be close to us taxonomically, but ecologically their behaviour in a social structure is remarkably close to that of humans. That's why we domesticated dogs - they are very similar to us," Arik Kershenbaum, lead researcher of the project, said in a press release.
"Understanding the communication of existing social species is essential to uncovering the evolutionary trajectories that led to more complex communication in the past, eventually leading to our own linguistic ability," he added.
Despite the differences in each species unique howling repertoire, the team noted that some showed close similarities, which could not only influence interbreeding but also threaten the survival of certain species.
The study is available online ahead of its March release in Behavioural Processes.
