This Sea Lion Has Better Rhythm Than Many People

The ability to sense rhythm isn’t unique to humans, but it’s relatively rare in the animal world. While chimpanzees can follow a beat, their rhythmic skills are quite limited compared to humans. Interestingly, one species of lemur is better.

“Mastering New Rhythms and Outperforming Humans”

A 16-year-old California sea lion named Ronan (Zalophus californianus) outshines them all — even outperforming some humans. A recent study reveals that her rhythmic abilities go beyond simply responding to familiar tempos; she can actually match her movements to new beats. This indicates that once she understood the task, she was able to adjust and stay in sync with a variety of rhythms.

“She’s remarkably precise, with only about a tenth of an eyeblink’s variation from one cycle to the next,” says comparative neuroscientist Peter Cook from the University of California Santa Cruz and New College of Florida.

“At times, she might be five milliseconds ahead of the beat, or ten milliseconds behind—but she’s consistently landing right on the rhythmic target again and again.”

“Ronan, residing at UC Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Laboratory, starred in a 2013 study showcasing her impressive sense of timing“. “As a three-year-old juvenile, she learned to nod her head in sync with a ticking metronome and later with music, adjusting her movements as the tempo changed.”

“Debate Emerges Over Ronan’s Rhythm Abilities: Variability and Training Concerns”

“Subsequent research questioned whether Ronan’s timing abilities truly matched those of humans, highlighting that her performance displayed slightly more variability than typically seen in human studies“. Additionally, some scientists questioned the intensity of the training Ronan received and whether her sense of timing arises from the same neurobiological processes that govern rhythm in humans.

Over the past 12 years, Cook and his team occasionally gave Ronan brief practice sessions—just 10 to 15 seconds each, sporadically—amounting to about 2,000 sessions in total.

“Cook confirms, ‘She definitely wasn’t overtrained. “In fact, if you added up all the rhythmic exposure Ronan has had since she’s been with us, it’s likely far less than what an average one-year-old child hears.”

“Surpassing Humans with Improved Beat-keeping Skills”

Now fully grown, Ronan’s beat-keeping skills have not only improved but even surpassed those of some humans. In a follow-up study, researchers assessed her ability to move in sync with a snare drum at tempos of 112, 120, and 128 beats per minute—two of which were new to her.

Next, they tested 10 university undergraduates with the same sounds, asking them to keep the beat by moving their forearms.

“We compared Ronan’s performance to that of the adults we tested,” the researchers explain, “offering the first direct comparison of rhythmic entrainment between humans and non-humans with confirmed beat-keeping abilities.”

“Perfecting Rhythm with Superior Precision and Timing”

In every test conducted, Ronan outperformed all human participants. Her timing, movement spacing, and synchronization with the beat—measured through tempo interval, movement interval, and phase-angle—were consistently more accurate than at least some humans in each trial. She was especially precise in maintaining rhythm at higher speeds.

At 112, 120, and 128 beats per minute, Ronan’s average tempos were 113.1, 121.6, and 129.0 beats per minute, respectively. For the same beats, the humans had average tempos of 112.4, 119.3, and 126.2 beats per minute.

These findings show that non-human animals can learn to maintain a rhythm when motivated. Although animals likely don’t need this skill in the wild, training in a controlled lab setting—where rewards like treats and praise are given—enables researchers to gain insights into animal intelligence and cognitive development, especially as they mature.”

“One of the key takeaways from this study is that maturation and experience play a significant role,” says animal behaviorist Colleen Reichmuth of UC Santa Cruz. “This isn’t just about testing rhythmic ability—it’s also about understanding cognitive behavior and how it evolves and improves over time.”

It’s worth mentioning that Ronan was generously rewarded for her involvement in the study: At the end of the test session, human participants were thanked and provided with additional information about the study. “Ronan, on the other hand, received a toy filled with fish and ice.”

Read the original article on: Sciencealert

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