2009-06-01T13:16:00.001-07:00

E-mail : e.briefer(‘at’ sign)qmul.ac.uk
Ph: +44 (0)20 7882 7420
Biological and Experimental Psychology Group
School of Biological and Chemical Sciences
Queen Mary University of London
Mile End Road
London E1 4NS

Research interests

My primary research interests are cognition and vocal communication in birds and mammals. The main aims of my research are understanding how animals use vocal signals to encode information about their identity (e.g. species, group, individual identity), their quality (e.g. body size, dominance status, age,...) and their affective states (emotions, mood), as well as the impact of such information on conspecifics.

Current position and research

I am an Advanced Postdoctoral Fellow at Queen Mary University of London, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. I am currently working with Dr Alan McElligott on the two following projects:

1) Goats (Capra hircus): mother-offspring vocal recognition

Mother-young relationships in ungulates are influenced by two main strategies for predator avoidance during early life. Follower young are mobile soon after birth and therefore rely on fleeing and maternal and group defence to avoid predation, whereas hider young spend most of their time hidden in vegetation to avoid detection by predators. These two widely divergent strategies have been hypothesized to affect the vocal recognition process between mothers and offspring. However, studies about mother-offspring recognition in ungulate are sparse and further investigations need to be extended and tested with ungulates that vary in their ecology, vocal repertoires and social complexity. I tested mother-offspring recognition in goats, a hider species particularly interesting since characterized by the development of exclusive bonding to the neonate. I examined both the coding of individual identity in mother and kid goat calls, i.e. which parameters of the calls give information about the individual identity of mothers and kids, and the recognition process, i.e. if mother and kid goat recognise each other acoustically. I also investigated age, sex and body size growth effects, as well as genetic and social influences on kid call development. I found that goat kid calls contain information about sex, age and body size (Briefer and McElligott 2011a). Mother and kid vocalisations are individualised. As a result, a mutual vocal recognition exists from at least one week postpartum (Briefer and McElligott 2011b). This research is carried out at the White Post Farm (Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire) and funded by a University of London Central Research Funds.

2) Using vocalizations and cognitive bias to assess affective states and welfare in domestic goats (Capra hircus)

The aim of my next research will be to develop convenient and non-invasive techniques to measure both negative and positive affective states (emotions and moods) in goats. Recently, public concern about positive animal welfare has increased. Positive welfare is not only the absence of negative emotions, but also the presence of positive emotions, such as pleasure and happiness. However, scientific techniques to assess positive emotions are lacking. Emotions are short-living affective reactions to an event, and can be defined using two dimensions: arousal (activating qualities) and valence (positive or negative); and four components: cognitive, behavioural, physiological and subjective components (which cannot yet be proven to occur in animals). I will first investigate the physiological and behavioural signs of negative and positive emotions. Then, long-term affective states ('mood') will be tested using a cognitive bias setup (the influence of mood on cognitive processes). This research will be carried out at Buttercups, Sanctuary for goats (Boughton Monchelsea, Kent), and is funded by a research grant from the Swiss Federal veterinary office.

Previous research

1) First postdoc (Queen Mary University of London, funded by a Swiss National Science Foundation fellowship for prospective researchers)

Fallow deer (Dama dama): sexually-selected vocal communication

Sexually selected vocalisations of males often provide accurate information about individual identity and quality. Age related morphological changes affecting sound production may also cause modifications of vocalisations, as for humans. Vocalisations can thus potentially be used by other males or by females to assess male body size, dominance status or even age. Fallow buck groans are produced for a short period each year during the breeding season. A question which has not yet been investigated is whether the vocal identity of individuals changes between years, because of changes in dominance status, age and the long period in between breeding seasons during which males are silent. To answer this question, I investigated the effect of changes in age and dominance status on the groans of fallow bucks recorded during consecutive years. My results show that the structure of groans conveys reliable indication about the age and dominance status, and that males produce individually distinctive calls each year. However, as some acoustic components of groans signal both identity and quality, the changes in male quality with age cause a modification of the identity of groans. Groans are thus faithful signals of male quality that change with age accordingly (Briefer et al. 2010a).

2) PhD (University Paris South, funded by a French Minister of Research and Technologies fellowship)

I carried out my PhD in the bioacoustics team of Paris South University, CNRS, with Dr Fanny Rybak and Dr Thierry Aubin. My research was on the coding of group and individual identities in a songbird with a complex song, the skylark Alauda arvensis.

Bird songs are among the most complex sounds produced by animals. Song complexity is thought to have evolved largely through intersexual selection. However, this complexity may hinder vocal recognition, which plays an important role in a variety of social contexts, including neighbour recognition during territory defence. I investigated the influence of song sharing and song complexity on neighbour recognition in a territorial songbird with a highly complex song, the skylark. I first carried out a detailed analysis of songs to describe song syntax (the organisation of sound units in sequences within songs) and to measure song complexity (Briefer et al. 2010b). I showed that skylark songs are among the most complex acoustic signals compared to other songbird species, and that geographical variation exists at the syntax level: in a given patch, males (neighbours) share several sequences of syllables in their songs, whereas males settled in different patches (strangers) have no sequences in common (Briefer et al. 2008a). These variations were linked to the habitat fragmentation, with enhanced song sharing in fragmented habitats compared to continuous ones (Briefer et al. 2010b). I then tested neighbour recognition using playbacks of natural and artificially modified songs. Playback experiments showed that shared sequences found in the songs of neighbouring birds constitute a group signature used by birds to discriminate neighbours from strangers, and that the syntax of these particular sequences is an important feature for the group identity coding. The ordering of syllables within songs is thus behaviourally salient and carries a particular meaning for the birds. This group signature may also be used for the recognition of distant and unfamiliar neighbours (Briefer et al. 2010c). Neighbour-stranger discrimination results in a reduced aggression by territorial birds towards neighbours compared to strangers (called ‘dear-enemy effect’) at the middle of the breeding season. Dear-enemy relationships between neighbours depend on social and ecological circumstances. They exist only when territory boundaries are stable and respected (Briefer et al. 2008b). I also showed that males spatially categorized the songs of their adjacent neighbours and that the individual signature is potentially coded in individual sequences of syllables (Briefer et al. 2009). Song components are thus used for both the neighbour-stranger and neighbour-neighbour discrimination. They serve as a basis for reduced aggression towards neighbours and thus ensure group cohesion.

CV

2009 - Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London (UK)
Funded by a Swiss National Science Foundation fellowship for prospective researchers (2009-2010) and for advanced researchers (2010-2012).

2005-2008 PhD in Behavioural Biology, University of Paris North (France)
Thesis: Coding of group and individual identities in a songbird with a complex song, the skylark Alauda arvensis.
Lab: NAMC, CNRS-UMR8620, University of Paris South
Supervisors: Dr T. Aubin and Dr F. Rybak
Funded by a French Minister of Research and Technologies fellowship

2004-2005 Masters in Behavioural Biology, University of Paris South (France)
Thesis: Microgeographic variations in the territorial song of the skylark (Alauda arvensis)
Lab: NAMC, CNRS-UMR8620, University of Paris South
Supervisors: Dr T. Aubin and Dr F. Rybak

Publications

Google Scholar

*Corresponding author(s)

11. Briefer E*, McElligott AG* In Press. Social effects on vocal ontogeny in an ungulate (Capra hircus). Animal Behaviour.

10. Briefer E*, McElligott AG* 2011a. Indicators of age, body size and sex in goat kid calls revealed using the source-filter theory. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 133, 175-185.

9. Briefer E*, McElligott AG 2011b. Mutual mother-offspring vocal recognition in an ungulate hider species (Capra hircus). Animal Cognition 14, 585-598.

8. Briefer E *, Rybak F, Aubin T. 2011. Microdialect and group signature in the song of the skylark Alauda arvensis. Bioacoustics, 20, 219-234.

7. Farrell ME, Briefer E*, McElligott AG* 2011. Assortative mating in fallow deer reduces the strength of sexual selection. PLoS ONE 6, e18533.

6. Briefer E, Vannoni E, McElligott AG* 2010a. Quality prevails over identity in the sexually selected vocalisations of an ageing mammal. BMC Biology 8, 35.

5. Briefer E *, Osiejuk TS, Rybak F, Aubin T 2010b. Are bird song complexity and song sharing shaped by the habitat structure? An information theory and statistical approach. Journal of Theoretical Biology , 262, 151-164.

4. Briefer E *, Rybak F, Aubin T 2010c. Are unfamiliar neighbours considered to be dear-enemies? PLoS ONE 5, e12428.

3. Briefer E *, Aubin T, Rybak F 2009. Response to displaced neighbours in a territorial songbird with a large repertoire. Naturwissenschaften, 96, 1067-1077.

2. Briefer E*, Aubin T, Lehongre K, Rybak F 2008a. How to identify dear-enemies: the group signature in the complex song of the skylark Alauda arvensis. Journal of Experimental Biology 211, 317-326.

1. Briefer E*, Rybak F, Aubin T 2008b. When to be a dear-enemy: flexible acoustic relationships of neighbouring skylarks Alauda arvensis. Animal Behaviour 76, 1319-1325.

Book Review:

Briefer E, McElligott AG 2010. The question of animal culture or of human uniqueness? Journal of Evolutionary Psychology 8, 275-280.

Press coverage

"Are you my mother?"

"Goats recognise their kids' voices"

"Mother and kid goat vocals strike a chord"

"Female deer confirm bigger is not always better when choosing a mate"

"Countryfile, Autumn Special", BBC1 (31/10/2010);
"2010 highlights of the year, Countryfile special", BBC1 (26/12/2010)
"At this time of year, woodlands echo to the roar of rutting deer - but what is behind these calls of the wild?"

"Honest deer every year"

"Curtain twitching' skylarks keep track of strangers through their songs"

Journal reviewer: Animal Behaviour, Animal Cognition, The American Naturalist, The Auk, Behaviour, Behavioral Ecology, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, Current Zoology, Ethology, Ethology Ecology & Evolution, Journal of Experimental Biology, Journal of Ornithology, Journal of Theoretical Biology, PLoS ONE, Naturwissenschaften.

Editorial board member: Journal of Zoology

Conferences and seminars

Farrell, ME, Briefer, EF, McElligott, AG 2011. Assortative mating and polyandry in a large, polygynous deer species. Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour Winter Meeting, London.

Briefer, EF, McElligott, AG 2011. Fallow buck groans: A robust example of honest signals. 23rd International BioAcoustics Council meeting, La Rochelle, France.

Briefer, EF, McElligott, AG 2011. Social and genetic influences on goat kid calls during development. Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour Summer Conference, St Andrews.

Padilla-De La Torre, M, Ochocki, B, Briefer, E, Reader, T, McElligott, AG 2011. Vocal communication in cattle (Bos taurus): mother-offspring recognition. 45th Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology, Indianapolis, USA.

Padilla-De La Torre, M, Ochocki, B, Briefer, E, Reader, T, McElligott, AG 2011. Vocal communication in cattle (Bos taurus): mother-offspring recognition. Animal Behavior Society and International Ethological Conference, Bloomington, USA.

Briefer, E 2011. Using vocalisations to measure emotions and assess animal welfare. Federal Veterinary Office, Agroscope Reckenholz-Taenikon Research Station ART, Taenikon, Switzerland.

Padilla-De La Torre, M, Ochocki, B, Briefer, E, Reader, T, McElligott, AG 2011. Vocal communication in cattle (Bos taurus): mother-offspring recognition. Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour Easter Conference, Cambridge.

Briefer, E, McElligott, AG 2010. Social influence on goat kid calls during development. Machine Listening Workshop 2010, Queen Mary University of London.

Aubin T, Briefer E, Rybak F 2010. Territorial songs in birds: a multi-level coding process. 20th International Congress on Acoustics, Sydney, Australia.

Briefer E, McElligott AG 2010. The ontogeny of mother-young acoustic recognition in goats. 44th Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology, Uppsala, Sweden.

McElligott AG, Vannoni E, Briefer E 2010. Quality prevails over identity in the sexually selected vocalizations of an ageing mammal. 44th Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology, Uppsala, Sweden.

Briefer E, McElligott AG 2010. Mother-young acoustic recognition in goats: a unidirectional or mutual process? University Federation for Animal Welfare Conference, York.

Briefer S, Von Niederhäusern R, Linard M, Briefer E 2010. Mise en troupeau de 5 étalons reproducteurs domestiqués. 5ème réunion annuelle du Réseau de recherche équine en Suisse, Avenches, CH.

Briefer E, Vannoni E, McElligott AG 2010. Quality prevails over identity in sexually-selected fallow buck groans. SET for BRITAIN, House of Commons, London.

Briefer E, Vannoni E, McElligott AG 2010. Fallow buck groans and ageing: do signals of identity compete with those of quality? Integrating genetic and cultural evolutionary approaches to language evolution, Queen Mary University of London.

Briefer E, Rybak F, Aubin T 2010. Group signature in a songbird with a complex song. Integrating genetic and cultural evolutionary approaches to language evolution, Queen Mary University of London.

Briefer E, Rybak F, Aubin T 2009. Vocal communication in groups of neighbouring skylarks: song complexity and song sharing. University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Invited speaker

Briefer E, Rybak F, Aubin T 2009. Vocal communication in groups of neighbouring skylarks: importance of song syntax. Research Seminars, School of Psychology, University of East London. Invited speaker

Briefer E, Rybak F, Aubin T 2009. Group signature in a songbird with a complex song. 22nd International BioAcoustics Council meeting, Lisbon, Portugal.

Briefer E, Vannoni E, McElligott AG 2009. How do ageing and dominance changes affect the acoustic structure of fallow buck groans? 22nd International BioAcoustics Council meeting, Lisbon, Portugal.

Briefer E, Vannoni E, McElligott AG 2009. Fallow buck groans and ageing: do signals of identity compete with those of quality? Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour Summer Conference, Oxford.

Farrell ME, Briefer E, McElligott AG 2009. Young females buck the trend and mate with subordinate males. Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour Summer Conference, Oxford.

Briefer E, Rybak F, Aubin T 2009. Vocal communication in groups of neighbouring skylarks: importance of song syntax. Neurobiology and Behaviour Seminars, Queen Mary University of London. Invited speaker

Briefer E, Aubin T, Rybak, F 2009. Vocal communication in groups of neighbouring skylarks: importance of song syntax. Psychology Seminars, University of Sussex, Brighton.

Briefer, E., Aubin, T., Rybak, F. 2009. How and when to be dear-enemies: the function of song sharing in the skylark. Evolutionary Discussion Group, University of Nottingham, Nottingham. Invited speaker

Briefer E, Rybak F, Aubin T 2009. The influence of habitat fragmentation on song sharing and song complexity in the skylark. Science for Conservation Seminars, Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London. Invited speaker

Briefer E, Rybak F, Aubin T 2008. Vocal communication in groups of neighbouring skylarks: syntax always matters? 20th International Congress of Zoology, Paris, France. Organisation Committee, awarded prize for best poster

Briefer E, Rybak F, Aubin T 2008. Vocal communication in groups of neighbouring skylarks: syntax always matters? Acoustic Communication by Animals, Oregon State University, USA. Student travel grant from Oregon State University

Rybak F, Briefer E, Aubin T 2008. Vocal relationships in the neighbourhood: neighbour-stranger discrimination and spatial categorisation of neighbours in a song bird species. Vocal Communication in Birds and Mammals, St Andrew, Scotland.

Briefer E, Rybak F, Aubin T 2007. The group signature in the complex song of a song bird, the skylark Alauda arvensis. 21st International BioAcoustics Council, Pavia, Italy.

Briefer E, Rybak F, Aubin T 2007. How and when to be dear-enemies? The case of the skylark Alauda arvensis. 30th International Ethological Conference, Halifax, Canada.

Briefer E, Rybak F, Aubin T 2007. Song micro-dialects as a basis for the dear-enemy effect in a territorial songbird, the skylark. 3rd Meeting in Ecology and Behaviour, Montpellier, France.

Briefer, E., Rybak, F., Aubin, T. 2007. Codage et décodage de l’identité de groupe et de l’identité individuelle dans le chant complexe d’un oiseau chanteur, l’alouette des champs : Alauda arvensis. 5èmes Journées du GDR d’Ethologie, University of Paris North, France.

Aubin T, Briefer E, Rybak F 2007. Group signature and dear enemy effect in a territorial songbird, the skylark (Alauda arvensis). Max Planck Institute Seminars, Ethology Centre of Seewiesen, Munich, Germany.

Rybak F, Briefer E, Aubin T 2006. Les micro-dialectes et le « dear-enemy effect » dans le chant territorial de l’alouette Alauda arvensis. 4èmes Journées du GDR Ethologie, Seix, France.

Briefer E, Rybak F, Aubin T 2006. Microgeographic variations in the skylark (Alauda arvensis) territorial song. Department of Behavioural Ecology, Adam Mickiewicz University Poznan, Poland.

Briefer, E., Rybak, F, Aubin, T. 2006. Song micro-dialects as a basis for the dear-enemy effect in a territorial songbird, the skylark. 3rd European Conference on Behavioural Biology, Belfast, Ireland.

Links

Bioacoustics Team

Buttercups, Sanctuary for goats

Dr Alan McElligott

Journal of Zoology (Editorial Board member)

School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London

White Post Farm

Dr Elodie Briefer