Scientists report that the Universe has its own musical rhythm

Scientists have discovered that the rhythmic communication signals of a wide variety of animals may fall within the same range. Researchers from Northwestern University in the United States initially noticed that in the mangrove forests of Thailand, Pteroptyx malaccae fireflies and nearby crickets were producing signals at nearly the same frequency — about 2.4 hertz, or 145 beats per minute. The results of the study were published in the journal PLOS Biology.

The scientists then analyzed animal communication studies and discovered a broader common range — approximately 0.5 to 4 hertz, or 30 to 240 beats per minute. Such rhythms are found in animals that differ greatly in size and body structure: from fireflies and fiddler crabs to fish, birds, great apes, and humans. An additional analysis of 124 recordings from the Xeno-Canto wildlife sound archive identified 50 species with regular rhythmic signals. These also predominantly fell within this range, with the most common frequency being around 180 beats per minute.

The researchers suggested that the reason may be related to how animals' nervous systems perceive signals. Neurons do not respond to incoming information instantaneously: their activity can be influenced by signals received over the preceding several hundred milliseconds. Therefore, neural circuits may be particularly effective at processing information arriving at a certain rate.

A computer model supported this hypothesis. Simple neural circuits tuned to an internal tempo of about 120 beats per minute responded best to signals at a similar frequency. Henkjan Honing, a music perception researcher at the University of Amsterdam who was not involved in the study, called the possible existence of a shared rhythm among such different species intriguing and noted that most popular Western music also falls within this range — around 120 beats per minute.

The observation is consistent with research on human rhythm perception. According to cognitive scientist Nori Jacoby of Cornell University, people are capable of synchronizing with a wide range of rhythms, but the perception and reproduction of beat are typically most effective at approximately 85–120 beats per minute.

At the same time, scientists do not yet consider neural processing to be the sole explanation. In Honing's view, the tempo of communication may also be influenced by other biological rhythms — such as body movements or breathing. Why such different species independently use similar signal transmission rates remains to be determined.