Can intrinsic vowel F be explained by source/tract coupling?

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Abstract
Extensive evidence indicates that in the same phonetic environment the voice fundamental frequency (F0) of vowels varies directly with vowel height. This F0 difference between vowels could be caused by acoustic interaction between the 1st vowel formant and the vibrating vocal folds. Since higher vowels have lower 1st formants than low vowels, the acoustic interaction should be greatest for high vowels whose 1st formant frequencies are closer in frequency to F0. Ten [human] speakers were used to see if acoustic interaction could cause the F0 differences. The consonant [m] was recorded in the utterances [umu] and [ama]. Although the formant structure of [m] in [umu] and [ama] should not differ significantly, the F0 of each [m] allophone was significantly different. The F0 of each [m] allophone did not differ significantly from the F0 of the following vowel. The F0 variation of [m] apparently was not from acoustic interaction but may be caused by coarticulatory anticipation of the tongue and jaw for the following vowel. A 2nd experiment investigated the physical causes of intrinsic vowel F0. F0 lowering was found at the beginning of vowels following Arabic pharyngeal approximants. The F0 of pharyngeal constricting vowels, e.g., [ae] and [a], apparently is lowered as a result of similar articulatory movements, from tongue compression and active pharyngeal constriction.

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