Influence of maternal deprivation on vocal development in the Japanese quail (Coturnix c. japonica)

Social influences on vocal development have been extensively studied in bird species. In vocal production learners, such as oscine songbirds, the structure vocalizations produced by the chicks can be influenced by conspecifics, often adults, sometimes the mother. In contrast, studies performed on Galliforms, generally conclude that their vocal development is not influenced by the social environment, and that the structure of their calls exhibit a strong genetic determinism. In the present study, we investigated the roles of social influences, and more particularly maternal influences, on vocal development in juvenile japanese quails (Coturnix c. japonica). We applied a method of maternal deprivation to compare the vocal development of mothered and non-mothered chicks. Vocalizations were daily recorded in social isolation during the mothering period and during the first week of emancipation. First results reveal differences between the two groups for some temporal and spectral parameters. Future analyzes will confirm the existence of plasticity during vocal development in the Japanese quail, a species traditionally considered to be a non-vocal production learner.