Context-dependent alarm responses in wild vervet monkeys.

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State: Public
Version: Final published version
License: CC BY 4.0
Serval ID
serval:BIB_6D3ED7332066
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Context-dependent alarm responses in wild vervet monkeys.
Journal
Animal cognition
Author(s)
Deshpande A., van de Waal E., Zuberbühler K.
ISSN
1435-9456 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
1435-9448
Publication state
Published
Issued date
07/2023
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
26
Number
4
Pages
1199-1208
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article
Publication Status: ppublish
Abstract
The alarm calls of nonhuman primates are occasionally cited as functionally equivalent to lexical word meaning in human language. Recently, however, it has become increasingly unlikely that one-to-one relations between alarm call structures and predator categories are the default, mainly because many call types are produced in multiple contexts, requiring more complex notions of meaning. For example, male vervet monkeys produce the same alarm calls during encounters with terrestrial predators and neighbouring groups, suggesting that recipients require additional information to attribute meaning to the calls. We empirically tested the hypothesis that vervet monkeys take contextual information into account when responding to each other's alarm calls. In playback experiments, we exposed subjects to recordings of male alarm barks during actual intergroup encounters (predator unlikely) or when there was no intergroup encounter (predator likely). Subjects responded more strongly in the no intergroup encounter situations, typically associated with discovering a hiding predator, measured in terms of startle responses, vigilance behaviour and gazing towards the presumed caller. We discuss the significance of using contextual information for meaning attribution in nonhuman primate communication.
Keywords
Evolution of language, Nonhuman primates, Vocal communication
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
24/03/2023 12:07
Last modification date
18/07/2023 6:11
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