Male monkeys remember which group members have given alarm calls

Wich, Serge A.; Vries, Han de

doi:10.1098/rspb.2005.3320

Cited by 84 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…ANOVA of the scores for number of birds per group, at the time of testing, with the factor stimulus revealed a significant effect (F (4,40) =3.106, p=0.026) and post hoc LSD tests located the difference to larger groups size being recorded during presentation of the little eagle in the semirural locations (mean, 5.9+0.5 birds/group) compared to group size for the other stimuli presented in the semi-rural locations (wedge-tailed eagle, 3.4+0.6 birds/group; lizard, 3.6+0.6 birds/group) and the stimuli presented in the rural localities (wedge-tailed eagle 4.4±0.8 birds/group; lizard 3.0+0.4 birds/group). Fig.…”

Section: General Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They may provide information to others (usually conspecifics) about the presence and kind of predator [1], indicate levels of arousal (imminence of danger) and, more often than hitherto thought, also provide information about the age or sex of the sender [2][3][4]. In American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchus) individuals can be identified by alarm call structure alone, which may be adaptive if vigilance and approach urgency depend on the reliability or family membership of the alarm signaller [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Alarm Calls of the Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen): Predators Elicit Complex Vocal Responses and Mobbing Behaviour

Kaplan¹,

Johnson²,

Koboroff³

et al. 2009

TOOENIJ

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Mobbing calls are produced by many avian species as part of a defence strategy against predators. However, as most studies have described small prey species, little is known of mobbing by species large enough to inflict harm on the predator when working cooperatively. We investigated the mobbing calls of the Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen tibicen), a large, territorial songbird known to be exceptionally vigilant and to attack predators. We were particularly interested in this species because it has a very large vocal repertoire. Magpie groups (N=45) in semi-rural and rural localities were presented with taxidermic specimens of three predators, two species of eagle and a monitor lizard, the latter known to be a risk to their eggs and nestlings. We identified five distinct types of alarm calls, one of which (a complex, tonal call of more than two syllables) was elicited almost exclusively by the eagles in environments where they are known to be a threat to magpies. This alarm call usually preceded intense swooping attacks of the eagle models and often continued during the attacks. A harsh and noisy call of one syllable was the most frequently produced call and appeared to indicate level of arousal. The lizard did not elicit the multi-syllable call or any swooping attacks but it did elicit the harsh call. Some other call types showed less stimulus specificity although a two-syllable call was elicited more commonly by the eagles than lizard. Hence, this species has an acoustically complex, multi-syllable alarm call to signal the presence of an aerial predator in contexts of genuine threat, and this call is markedly different from the harsh single-syllable call, which indicates arousal level and is used most frequently when mobbing a monitor lizard.

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Section: General Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alarm Calls of the Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen): Predators Elicit Complex Vocal Responses and Mobbing Behaviour

Kaplan¹,

Johnson²,

Koboroff³

et al. 2009

TOOENIJ

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“…Several recent studies have documented psychological skills in nonhuman primates, such as sensitivity to the presence of an audience or an awareness of the directedness of a vocalization, that may well have been precursors of intentional signalling during the course of human evolution (e.g. Engh et al 2006;Wich & deVries 2006). It would be impossible to formulate hypotheses about the evolution of language if one started with the premise that testing for language-like attributes in animal communication is off-limits.…”

Section: Using 'Information' In Animal Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The central importance of information in studies of animal communication

et al. 2010

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Keywords:animal communication animal signal information information transmission language meaningThe concept of information plays a central role in studies of animal communication. Animals' responses to the calls of different individuals, to food calls, alarm calls, and to signals that predict behaviour, all suggest that recipients acquire information from signals and that this information affects their response. Some scientists, however, want to replace the concept of information with one based on the 'manipulation' of recipients by signallers through the induction of nervous-system responses. Here we review both theory and data that argue against hypotheses based exclusively on manipulation or on a fixed, obligatory link between a signal's physical features and the responses it elicits. Results from dozens of studies indicate that calls with 'arousing' or 'aversive' features may also contain information that affects receivers' responses; that acoustically similar calls can elicit different responses; acoustically different calls can elicit similar responses; and 'eavesdropping' animals respond to the relationship instantiated by signal sequences. Animal signals encode a surprisingly rich amount of information. The content of this information can be studied scientifically.

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“…In other primates, it has been found that functionally referential signals exist even in lower primates, such as tamarins, Saguinus fuscicollis and Saguinus mystax (Kirchhof, Hammerschmidt 2006), and in alarm calls of sifaka, Propithecus verreauxi (Fichtel, van Schaik 2006). Recently it was demonstrated that langur monkeys can remember which group member had given alarm calls based on auditory cues alone (Wich, de Vries 2006). These findings may have little to do with music but they have to do with memory and auditory perception and both are vital preconditions for musical ability and perception of music.…”

Section: Sound Distortionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animals and music: Between cultural definitions and sensory evidence

Kaplan¹

2009

SSS

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Abstract. It was once thought that solely humans were capable of complex cognition but research has produced substantial evidence to the contrary. Art and music, however, are largely seen as unique to humans and the evidence seems to be overwhelming, or is it? Art indicates the creation of something novel, not naturally occurring in the environment. To prove its presence or absence in animals is difficult. Moreover, connections between music and language at a neuroscientific as well as a behavioural level are not fully explored to date. Even more problematic is the notion of an aesthetic sense. Music, so it is said, can be mimetic, whereas birdsong is not commonly thought of as being mimetic but as either imitation or mimicry and, in the latter case, as a 'mindless' act (parrots parroting). This paper will present a number of examples in which animals show signs of responsiveness to music and even engage in musical activity and this will be discussed from an ethological perspective. A growing body of research now reports that auditory memory and auditory mechanisms in animals are not as simplistic as once thought and evidence suggests, in some cases, the presence of musical abilities in animals.

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Male monkeys remember which group members have given alarm calls

Cited by 84 publications

References 25 publications

Alarm Calls of the Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen): Predators Elicit Complex Vocal Responses and Mobbing Behaviour

Alarm Calls of the Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen): Predators Elicit Complex Vocal Responses and Mobbing Behaviour

The central importance of information in studies of animal communication

Animals and music: Between cultural definitions and sensory evidence

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