Acoustic context and dynamics of nonlinear phenomena in mammalian calls: the case of puppy whines

Nonlinear phenomena (NLP) are often associated with high arousal and function to grab attention and/or signal urgency in vocalizations such as distress calls. Although biomechanical models and <i>in vivo</i>/<i>ex vivo</i> experiments suggest that their occurrence reflects the destabilization of vocal fold vibration under intense subglottal pressure and muscle tension, comprehensive descriptions of the dynamics of NLP occurrence in natural vocal signals are critically lacking. Here, to plug this gap, we report the timing, type, extent and acoustic context of NLP in 12 011 whines produced by Beagle puppies (<i>Canis familiaris</i>) during a brief separation from their mothers. Within bouts of whines, we show that both the proportion of time vocalizing and the number of whines containing NLP, especially those with chaos, increase with time since separation, presumably reflecting heightened arousal. Within whines, we show that NLP are typically produced during the first half of the call, following the steepest rises in pitch (fundamental frequency, <i>f</i>_o) and amplitude. While our study reinforces the notion that NLP arise in calls due to instabilities in vocal production during high arousal, it also provides novel and efficient analytical tools for quantifying nonlinear acoustics in ecologically relevant mammal vocal communication contexts.This article is part of the theme issue 'Nonlinear phenomena in vertebrate vocalizations: mechanisms and communicative functions'.