How Animals Produce Rhythm: An Overview of Ethological Mechanisms for Rhythmic Communication

Abstract Animals communicate with a staggering diversity of rhythmic signals, yet behind all this diversity lies a small number of ethological mechanisms. In this chapter, we provide a brief review of how animals produce rhythmic signals based on these mechanisms, which span tremulation, percussion, bodily displays, stridulation, tymbalation, aerodynamic sound production (including vocalization), as well as the production of luminescent, chromogenic, and electric rhythms. We point out that these ethological mechanisms which underlie the production of communicative rhythms appear to be derived from rhythmic ‘praxic’ behaviors that initially evolved to implement vital functions such as breathing, feeding, locomotion, defense, or procreation. Based on the findings reviewed by the chapter, we identify three important areas for future research for advancing our understanding of the evolution of rhythmic communication. First, there is a massive research gap when it comes to quantifying how rhythmic signals unfold and interact across perceptual and behavioral modalities. Second, there is a need to understand how behavioral rhythms relate to—and are constrained by—their underlying neuromuscular substrates. Third, very little is known about the relationship between communicative rhythms and the praxic behaviors in which they putatively originated.