Dr David Reby

Biography

PhD in Biology of Behaviour, Université Paul Sabatier (Toulouse, France) 1995 -1998.

Fyssen Postoctoral Fellow, University of Sussex, 1999-2000.

Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Sussex, 2000-2002.

Appointed Lecturer in Psychology in 2003 and promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2007.

Awarded Cozzarelli Prize (PNAS) in 2009.

Academic Editor for Plos ONE.

Sussex University: Psychology Home Page

My main research focuses on investigating the origin, structure and function of vocal signals in vertebrates, including humans.

I use an integrated, multilevel approach to address key questions on the function and evolution of vocal communication. I conduct and supervise observational and experimental studies on both captive and free-ranging species, such as deer, owls, herring gulls and domestic dogs. More recently I have started a research programme on the expression and perception of gender and related attributes in the human voice.

Using a combination of anatomical investigations, acoustic analyses and playback experiments, I have made the following contributions to the fields of animal communication and cognition:

• The discovery that male deer have a descended larynx, an anatomical innovation previously believed to be uniquely human and a prerequisite for the emergence of human speech (Fitch & Reby 2001)
• The demonstration that vocal tract resonances, the basis of phonetic diversity in human speech, play a key role in non-human mammal vocal communication as honest indicators of size in mammal vocal signals (Reby & McComb, 2003; Reby et al. 2005)
• The demonstration that anatomical constraints play an essential role in establishing honesty in signalling, and thereby influence the evolution of animal signals (Reby & McComb, 2003).
• The experimental demonstration that both male and female red deer use size-related variation in vocal tract resonances in mate competition and mate choice contexts (Reby et al. 2005, Charlton et al. 2007), and that dogs also use vocal tract resonances to assess body size in conspecifics (Taylor et al. 2010 & 2011).
• The demonstration that non-human mammals, like humans, can have individual “voices”, i.e. voice cues to identity that are present across the vocal repertoire rather than specific to individual call types (Reby et al. 2006)
• The demonstration that mammals, like humans, are capable of auditory and visual cross-modal recognition of their conspecifics (Proops et al. 2009).

By identifying animal precursors of key features of human speech and cognitive abilities, these studies have implications that provide essential background for studies of the origins of speech production and speech perception abilities in humans.

For details of my ongoing research projects and an up-to-date list of publications, please visit the Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research pages.

Latest Publications:

1. Passilongo D., Reby D, Carranza J. & Appolonio M., (2013). Roaring high and low: composition and possible functions of the Iberian stag's vocal repertoire PLoS ONE

2. Gustafsson E., Levrero F., Reby, D & Mathevon N. (2013). Fathers are just as good as mothers at recognizing the cries of their baby. Nature Communications. 10.1038/ncomms2713.

3. Wyman, M.T., Mooring M. S., McCowanc, B., Penedod, M. C. T.  Reby, D., &  L. A. Hart (2012). Acoustic cues to size and quality in the vocalizations of male North American bison, Bison bison Animal Behaviour.

4. Charlton B.D., Reby D., Ellis W.A.H., Brumm J., & Fitch W.T. (2012). Estimating the Active Space of Male Koala Bellows: Propagation of Cues to Size and Identity in a Eucalyptus Forest. PLoS ONE 7(9).

5. Cartei V., Cowles H.W. & Reby D. (2012). Spontaneous voice gender imitation abilities in adult speakers. PLoS ONE 7(2).

6.Reby D., & Charlton B. D. (2012). Attention grabbing in red deer sexual calls. Animal Cognition. 15, 265-270.

7. Wyman M., Charlton B.D., Locatelli Y. & Reby D. (2011). Variability of female responses to conspecific vs. heterospecific male mating calls in polygynous deer: an open door to hybridization? PLoS ONE.6(8).

8. Charlton B.D. & Reby D. (2011) Context-related acoustic variation in male fallow deer (Dama dama) groans. PLoS ONE. 6(6).

9. Taylor A. M., Reby D., & McComb K. (2011). Cross Modal Perception of Body Size in Domestic Dogs (Canis familiaris). PloS ONE. 6(2).

10. Reby D., Charlton B., Locatelli Y. & McComb K. (2010). Oestrous red deer hinds prefer male roars with higher fundamental frequencies. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 1695, 2747-2753.

I give lectures on:

- mammal vocal communication and language evolution (Psychology of Childhood and adolescence - year 1, Human Speech - year 3).

- human speech production and perception (Cognitive Psychology 2 - year 2, Human Vocal Communication - year 3, Voice Analysis and Resynthesis, Masters level).

I organise the second year Cognitive Psychology module.

I supervise final year projects on human and animal vocal communication.

Student Consultation

Mondays and Tuesdays, 11-12

Gustafsson, Erik, Levréro, Florence, Reby, David and Mathevon, Nicolas (2013) Fathers are just as good as mothers at recognizing the cries of their baby. Nature Communications, 4 (1698). ISSN 2041-1723

Passilongo, Daniela, Reby, David, Carranza, Juan and Apollonio, Marco (2013) Roaring high and low: composition and possible functions of the Iberian stag's vocal repertoire. PLoS ONE, 8 (5). e63841. ISSN 1932-6203

Charlton, Benjamin D, Reby, David, Ellis, William A H, Brumm, Jacqui and Fitch, W Tecumseh (2012) Estimating the active space of male koala bellows: propagation of cues to size and identity in a Eucalyptus forest. PLoS ONE, 7 (9). e45420. ISSN 1932-6203

Reby, David and Charlton, Benjamin D (2012) Attention grabbing in red deer sexual calls. Animal Cognition, 15 (2). pp. 265-270. ISSN 1435-9448

Cartei, Valentina and Reby, David (2012) Acting gay: male actors shift the frequency components of their voices towards female values when playing homosexual characters. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 36 (1). pp. 79-93. ISSN 0191-5886

Cartei, Valentina, Wind Cowles, Heidi and Reby, David (2012) Spontaneous voice gender imitation abilities in adult speakers. PloS ONE, 7 (2). e31353. ISSN 1932-6203

Fernay, Louise, Reby, David and Ward, Jamie (2012) Visualised voices: A case study of audio-visual synaesthesia. Neurocase, Jun 27. ISSN 1355-4794

Wyman, Megan T, Charlton, Benjamin D, Locatelli, Yann and Reby, David (2011) Variability of female responses to conspecific vs. heterospecific male mating calls in polygynous deer: an open door to hybridization? PLoS ONE, 6 (8). e23296. ISSN 1932-6203

Charlton, Benjamin D and Reby, David (2011) Context-related acoustic variation in male fallow deer (Dama dama) groans. PLoS ONE, 6 (6). pp. 1-5. ISSN 1932-6203

McComb, Karen, Reby, David and Moss, Cynthia J (2011) Vocal communication and social knowledge in African Elephants. In: The Amboseli Elephants A Long Term Perspective on a Long-lived Mammal. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226542232

Taylor, Anna M, Reby, David and McComb, Karen (2011) Cross modal perception of body size in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). PLoS ONE, 6 (2). e17069. ISSN 1932-6203

Taylor, Anna M, Reby, David and McComb, Karen (2010) Why Do Large Dogs Sound More Aggressive to Human Listeners: Acoustic Bases of Motivational Misattributions. Ethology, 116 (12). pp. 1155-1162. ISSN 0179-1613

Reby, David, Charlton, Benjamin D, Locatelli, Yann and McComb, Karen (2010) Oestrous red deer hinds prefer male roars with higher fundamental frequencies. Proceedings B: Biological Sciences, 277 (1695). pp. 2747-2753. ISSN 0962-8452

Taylor, Anna M and Reby, David (2010) The contribution of source filter theory to mammal vocal communication research. Journal of Zoology, 280 (3). pp. 221-236. ISSN 0952-8369

Taylor, Anna, Reby, David and McComb, Karen (2010) Size Communication in domestic dog (Canis familiaris) growls. Animal Behaviour, 79 (1). pp. 205-210. ISSN 0003-3472

Hardouin, Loïc A, Bretagnolle, V, Tabel, P, Bavoux, C, Burneleau, G and Reby, D (2009) Acoustic cues to reproductive success in male owl hoots. Animal Behaviour, 78 (4). pp. 907-913. ISSN 0003-3472

Taylor, Anna M, Reby, David and McComb, Karen (2009) Context-related variation in the vocal growling behaviour of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris). Ethology, 115 (10). pp. 905-915. ISSN 0179-1613

McComb, Karen and Reby, David (2009) Communication in terrestrial animals. In: Encyclopedia of Neuroscience. Elsevier, Acad. Press, pp. 1167-1171. ISBN 978-0-08-045046-9

Cap, Henri, Deleporte, Pierre, Joachim, Jean and Reby, David (2008) Male vocal behavior and phylogeny in deer. Cladistics, 24 (6). pp. 917-931. ISSN 0748-3007

Kidjo, Nicolas, Cargnelutti, Bruno, Charlton, Benjamin D, Wilson, Christian and Reby, David (2008) Vocal behaviour in the endangered corsican deer: description and phylogenetic implications. Bioacoustics, 18 (2). pp. 159-181. ISSN 0952-4622

Charlton, Benjamin D, McComb, Karen and Reby, David (2008) Free-ranging red deer hinds show greater attentiveness to roars with formant frequencies typical of young males. Ethology, 114 (10). pp. 1023-1031. ISSN 0179-1613

Taylor, Anna, Reby, David and McComb, Karen (2008) Human listeners attend to size information in domestic dog growls. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 123 (5). pp. 2903-2909. ISSN 0001-4966

Charlton, Benjamin D., Reby, David and McComb, Karen (2008) Effect of combined source (F0) and filter (formant) variation on red deer hind responses to male roars. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 123 (5). pp. 2936-2943. ISSN 0001-4966

Charlton, Benjamin D, Reby, David and McComb, Karen (2007) Female perception of size-related formant shifts in red deer, Cervus elaphus. Animal Behaviour, 74 (4). pp. 707-714. ISSN 0003-3472

Hardouin, Loïc A, Reby, David, Bavoux, Christian, Burneleau, Guy and Bretagnolle, Vincent (2007) Communication of male quality in owl hoots. American Naturalist, 169 (4). pp. 552-562. ISSN 0003-0147

Reby, David and McComb, Karen (2003) Anatomical constraints generate honesty: acoustic cues to age and weight in the roars of red deer stags. Animal Behaviour, 65 (3). pp. 519-530. ISSN 0003-3472

Cargnelutti, Bruno, Reby, David, Desneux, Lionel, Angibault, Jean-Marc, Joachim, Jean and Hewison, AJM (2002) Space use by roe deer in a fragmented landscape some preliminary results. Revue d'Ecologie - la terre et la vie, 57 (1). pp. 29-37.

Fitch, W Tecumseh and Reby, David (2001) The descended larynx is not uniquely human. Proceedings B: Biological Sciences, 268. pp. 1669-1675. ISSN 0962-8436

Pépin, Dominique, Cargnelutti, Bruno, Gonzalez, Georges, Joachim, Jean and Reby, David (2001) Diurnal and seasonal variations of roaring activity of farmed red deer stags. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 74 (3). pp. 233-239. ISSN 0168-1591

Reby, David, Hewison, Mark, Izquierdo, Marta and Pépin, Dominique (2001) Red deer (Cervus elaphus) hinds discriminate between the roars of their current harem holder stag and those of neighbouring stags. Ethology, 107. pp. 951-959.