Dr Benjamin Charlton

Biography

1995-1997: BSc Biology 1st Class Honours, University of Sussex, U.K.

2003-2006: DPhil Experimental Psychology, University of Sussex, U.K.          

Aug 2007 – Dec 2009: Postdoctoral researcher for Zoo Atlanta and San Diego Zoo, U.S.

Feb 2010– Feb 2012: Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Vienna, Austria.

Mar 2012– Present: Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Sussex, U.K.

My main line of research focuses on identifying which acoustic parameters of mammal vocal signals can provide listeners with direct information on physical and motivational attributes of the callers. I then use re-synthesis techniques and playback experiments to determine the perceptual and functional relevance of specific acoustic characteristics of mammal vocalisations. I am especially interested in the functions and adaptive value of vocal signals given in reproductive contexts, and have conducted several successful sets of analyses and playback experiments on deer, domestic cats and giant pandas.  I am currently researching koala vocal communication and investigating whether women’s musical preferences vary across their reproductive cycle.

Publications

Charlton, B. D., Whisson, D. A. & Reby, D. (2013) Free-ranging male koalas use size-related variation in formant frequencies to assess rival males. PLoS ONE. 8(7), e70279. 

Charlton, B. D., Taylor, A. M., & Reby, D. (2013) Are men better than women at acoustic size judgments? Biology Letters. 9.  Published online 29 May 2013.

Baotic, A., Stoeger, A. S., Li, D., C Tang & Charlton, B. D. (2013) The vocal repertoire of infant giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca).  Bioacoustics. Published online 22 May 2013.

Charlton, B. D. (2013) Experimental tests of mate choice in nonhuman mammals: the need for an integrative approach. Journal of Experimental Biology. 217(7), 1127-1130.

Charlton, B. D., Ellis, W. A. H., Brumm, J., Nilsson, K. & Fitch, W. T. (2012) Female koalas prefer bellows in which lower formants indicate larger males.  Animal Behaviour. 84(6), 1565-1571.

Stoeger, A. S., Heilmann, G., Zeppelzauer, M., Ganswindt, A., Hensman, S. & Charlton, B. D. (2012) Visualizing sound emission of elephant vocalizations: evidence for two rumble production types. PLoS ONE. e48907

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): e45420. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0045420.

Charlton, B. D., Ellis, W. A. H., Larkin, R. & Fitch, W. T. (2012) Perception of size-related formant information in male koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus).  Animal Cognition. 15(5), 999-1006.

Stoeger, A. S., Baotic, A., Li, D. & Charlton, B. D. (2012)  Acoustic features indicate arousal in infant giant panda vocalisations. Ethology. 118(9), 896-905.

Charlton, B. D., Swaisgood, R. R., Zhang, Z., Snyder, R. J. (2012) Giant pandas attend to androgen-related variation in male bleats. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 66(6), 969-974.

Charlton, B. D., Filippi, P., Fitch, W. T. (2012) Do women prefer more complex music around ovulation? PLoS ONE. 7(4). e35626. doi:10.1371/ journal.pone.0035626.

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

Charlton, B. D., Ellis, W. A. H., McKinnon, A. J., Cowin, G. J., Brumm, J., Fitch, W. T. (2011) Cues to body size in the formant spacing of male koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) bellows: honesty in an exaggerated trait. Journal of Experimental Biology. 214, 3414-3422.

Charlton, B. D. & Reby, D. (2011) Context-related acoustic variation in male fallow deer (Dama dama) groans. PLoS ONE, 6(6), e21066. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021066.

Charlton, B. D., Ellis, W. A. H., McKinnon, A. J., Brumm, J., Nilsson, K. & Fitch, W. T. (2011) Perception of male caller identity in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus): acoustic analysis and playback experiments. PLoS ONE, 6(5), e20329.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0020329.

Wyman, M. T., 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), e23296. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023296.

Charlton, B. D., Keating, J. L., Kersey, D., Rengui, L., Huang, Y. & Swaisgood, R. R. (2011) Vocal cues to male androgen levels in giant pandas. Biology Letters 7, 71-74.

Stoger, A. S., Charlton, B. D., Kratochvil, H. & Fitch W. T.(2011) Vocal cues indicate level of arousal in infant African elephant roars. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 130(3), 1700-1710.

Keating, J. L., Brown, T. K., Caine, N. G., Bowles, A. E., Charlton B. D. & Swaisgood R. R. (2011) Implications of vocalisations during giant panda breeding. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 130 (4). 2460.

Charlton, B. D., Zhang, Z. & Snyder, R. J. (2010) Giant pandas perceive and attend to formant frequency variation in male bleats. Animal Behaviour, 79, 1221-1227.

Reby, D.^§, Charlton, B. D.^§ Locatelli, Y. & McComb, K. (2010) Oestrous red deer hinds prefer high-pitched roars. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London - Series B, 277, 2747-2753 (^§joint first authors).

Charlton, B. D., Keating, J. L., Rengui, L., Huang, Y. & Swaisgood, R. R. (2010) Female giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) chirps advertise the caller’s fertile phase. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London - Series B. 277, 1101-1106.

Charlton, B. D., Zhang, Z., Snyder & R. J. (2009) Vocal cues to identity and relatedness in giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 126 (5), 2721-2732.

Charlton, B. D., Huang, Y. & Swaisgood, R. R. (2009) Vocal discrimination of potential mates by female giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Biology Letters, 5 (5), 597-599.

Charlton, B. D., Zhang, Z. & Snyder, R. J. (2009) The information content of giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, bleats: acoustic cues to sex, age and size. Animal Behaviour, 78, 893-898.

McComb K., & Taylor, A. M., Wilson, C. & Charlton, B. D. (2009) The cry embedded within the purr. Current Biology, 19, R507-508.

Charlton, B. D., McComb, K & Reby, D.  (2008) Free-ranging red deer hinds show greater attentiveness to roars with formant frequencies typical of young males. Ethology, 114, 1023-1031.

Charlton, B. D.  (2008) Female mate choice in nonhuman mammals. In: Animal Behavior: New Research. Eds Weber E.A. & Krause L.H., 35-56.

Charlton, B. D., Reby, D. & McComb, K. (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), 2936-2943.

Kidjo, N., Cargnelutti, B., Charlton, B. D., Wilson, C. & Reby, D. (2008) Vocal behaviour in the endangered Corsican deer, description and phylogenetic implications. Bioacoustics, 18 (2), 159-181.

Charlton, B. D., Reby, D. & McComb, K. (2007) Female red deer prefer the roars of larger callers. Biology letters, 3, 382-385.

Charlton, B. D., Reby, D. & McComb, K. (2007) Female perception of size-related formant shifts in red deer (Cervus elaphus). Animal Behaviour, 74, 707-714.

Stoeger, Angela S, Heilman, Gunnar, Zeppelzauer, Matthias, Ganswindt, André, Hensman, Sean and Charlton, Benjamin D (2012) Visualizing sound emission of elephant vocalizations: evidence for two rumble production types. PLoS ONE, 7 (11). e48907. 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

Charlton, Benjamin D, Ellis, William A H, Larkin, Rebecca and Fitch, W Tecumseh (2012) Perception of size-related formant information in male koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus). Animal Cognition, 15 (5). pp. 999-1006. ISSN 1435-9448

Charlton, Benjamin D, Swaisgood, Ronald R, Zhihe, Zhang and Snyder, Rebecca J (2012) Giant pandas attend to androgen-related variation in male bleats. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 66 (6). pp. 969-974. ISSN 0340-5443

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

Stoeger, Angela S, Baotic, Anton, Li, Desheng and Charlton, Benjamin D (2012) Acoustic features indicate arousal in infant giant panda vocalisations. Ethology, 118 (9). pp. 896-905. ISSN 0179-1613

Charlton, Benjamin D, Filippi, Piera and Fitch, W Tecumseh (2012) Do women prefer more complex music around ovulation? PLoS ONE, 7 (4). e35626. ISSN 1932-6203

Charlton, Benjamin D, Ellis, William A H, Brumm, Jacqui, Nilsson, Karen and Fitch, W Tecumseh (2012) Female koalas prefer bellows in which lower formants indicate larger males. Animal Behaviour, 84 (6). pp. 1565-1571. ISSN 0003-3472

Charlton, Benjamin D, Ellis, William A H, McKinnon, Allan J, Cowin, Gary J, Brumm, Jacqui, Nilsson, Karen and Fitch, W Tecumseh (2011) Cues to body size in the formant spacing of male koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) bellows: honesty in an exaggerated trait. Journal of Experimental Biology, 214 (20). pp. 3414-3422. ISSN 0022-0949

Keating, Jennifer L, Brown, Tracey K, Caine, Nancy G, Bowles, Anne E, Charlton, Benjamin D and Swaisgood, Ronald R (2011) Implications of vocalizations during giant panda breeding. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 130 (4). p. 2460. ISSN 0001-4966

Stoeger, Angela S, Charlton, Benjamin D, Kratochvil, Helmut and Fitch, W Tecumseh (2011) Vocal cues indicate level of arousal in infant African elephant roars. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 130 (3). pp. 1700-1710. ISSN 0001-4966

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

Charlton, Benjamin D, Keating, Jennifer L, Kersey, David, Rengui, Li, Huang, Yan and Swaisgood, Ronald R (2011) Vocal cues to male androgen levels in giant pandas. Biology Letters, 7 (1). pp. 71-74. ISSN 1744-9561

Charlton, Benjamin D, Ellis, William A H, McKinnon, Allan J, Brumm, Jacqui, Nilsson, Karen and Fitch, W Tecumseh (2011) Perception of male caller identity in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus): acoustic analysis and playback experiments. PLoS ONE, 6 (5). e20329. ISSN 1932-6203

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

Charlton, Benjamin D, Zhihe, Zhang and Snyder, Rebecca J (2010) Giant pandas perceive and attend to formant frequency variation in male bleats. Animal Behaviour, 79 (6). pp. 1221-1227. ISSN 0003-3472

Charlton, Benjamin D, Keating, Jennifer L, Rengui, Li, Huang, Yan and Swaisgood, Ronald R (2010) Female giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) chirps advertise the caller's fertile phase. Proceedings B: Biological Sciences, 277 (1684). pp. 1101-1106. ISSN 0962-8452

Charlton, Benjamin D, Zhihe, Zhang and Snyder, Rebecca J (2009) Vocal cues to identity and relatedness in giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 126 (5). pp. 2721-2732. ISSN 0001-4966

Charlton, Benjamin D, Huang, Yan and Swaisgood, Ronald R (2009) Vocal discrimination of potential mates by female giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Biology Letters, 5 (5). pp. 597-599. ISSN 1744-9561

Charlton, Benjamin D, Zhihe, Zhang and Snyder, Rebecca J (2009) The information content of giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, bleats: acoustic cues to sex, age and size. Animal Behaviour, 78 (4). pp. 893-898. ISSN 0003-3472

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

Charlton, Benjamin D (2008) Female mate choice in nonhuman mammals. In: Animal behavior : new research. Nova Science Publishers Inc, New York, pp. 35-56. ISBN 9781604567823