The evolution of functionally referential alarm communication

1999 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T. Blumstein
Keyword(s):  
Alarm Call ◽  
Referential Communication ◽  
Alarm Calls ◽  
Repertoire Size ◽  
Motor Abilities ◽  
Antipredator Responses ◽  
Tight Association ◽  
Functionally Referential ◽  
Alarm Communication ◽  
Call Repertoire

Many species produce specific alarm vocalizations when they encounter predators. There is considerable interest in the degree to which bird, ground-dwelling sciurid rodent, and primate alarm calls denote the species or type of predator that elicited the vocalization. When there is a tight association between the type or species of predator eliciting an alarm call, and when a played-back alarm call elicits antipredator responses qualitatively similar to those seen when individuals personally encounter a predator, the alarm calls are said to be functionally referential. In this essay I aim to make two simple points about the evolution of functionally referential alarm communication. Firstly, functionally referential communication is likely to be present only when a species produces acoustically distinct alarm vocalizations. Thus, to understand its evolution we must study factors that influence the evolution of alarm call repertoire size. Secondly, and potentially decoupled from the ability to produce acoustically distinctive alarm vocalizations, species must have the perceptual and motor abilities to respond differently to acoustically-distinct alarm vocalizations. Thus, to understand the evolution of functionally referential communication we also must study factors that influence the evolution of context-independent perception. While some factors may select for functionally referential alarm communication, constraints on production or perception may prevent its evolution.

Are the alarm calls of North American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) functionally referential?

Behaviour ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 147 (9) ◽  
pp. 1201-1218
Author(s):  
Shannon Digweed ◽  
Drew Rendall
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Alarm Call ◽  
Alarm Calls ◽  
Tamiasciurus Hudsonicus ◽  
Red Squirrels ◽  
Call Production ◽  
Solitary Living ◽  
North American Red Squirrels ◽  
Functionally Referential ◽  
Necessary And Sufficient

AbstractNorth American red squirrels are a small-bodied and solitary-living species that faces a diversity of predators and produces two different variants of alarm calls in response to them. Recent studies have yielded conflicting interpretations of the predator-specific and functionally referential nature of these alarm call variants. We undertook a systematic set of playback experiments to quantify the responses of red squirrels to alarm calls produced by other squirrels during encounters with different predators. The experiment was designed to test a core requirement of functionally referential alarm calls, namely that different alarm call types induce distinct and functionally appropriate escape responses in listeners. Results indicated that squirrels registered and responded to alarm calls produced by others; however, their responses were not differentiated according to the type of alarm call they heard and, thus, did not provide evidence that the different alarm call variants hold any predator-specific, referential value. These outcomes are discussed in light of complementary work on alarm call production in red squirrels and broader aspects of this species' life history in an effort to better understand the necessary and sufficient pressures promoting the evolution of referential call systems in animals.

scholarly journals A Cause for Alarm: Increasing Translocation Success of Captive Individuals Through Alarm Communication

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Morris ◽  
Benjamin James Pitcher ◽  
Anthony Chariton
Keyword(s):  
Communication Systems ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Alarm Call ◽  
Alarm Calls ◽  
Communication Behavior ◽  
Developmental History ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Alarm Communication ◽  
Predator Behavior

Translocation programmes implying the movement of animals from one place to another aim to sustain endangered populations in the wild. However, their success varies greatly, with predation being a major contributing factor. This is particularly prevalent in released captive-raised individuals which have a reduced or lost awareness of predators. Alarm calls are an immediate response made toward a predator, mostly studied in highly predated, social vertebrates. These warning vocalizations are a vital part of a prey species' anti-predator behavior, enhancing the individuals' and surrounding listeners' survival. To date, most translocation programmes have not considered this behavior for release success. Here we review the literature summarizing alarm communication systems of wild and captive vertebrates, aiming to establish recommendations and actions which could encourage alarm communication behavior in captive vertebrate species. Observations of wild animals show that alarm-call understanding is gained through the experience of predation pressure from a young age, amongst conspecific and heterospecific social groups, which captive individuals can lack. This information, combined with consideration of a programme's accessible resources and captive individual's developmental history, is pivotal to efficiently guide appropriate actions. Focusing on preserving behaviors in captivity, we provide a list of recommendations and actions to guide the reinforcement of alarm communication throughout the translocation process. Ensuring predator awareness and the maintenance of alarm communication in translocated individuals may greatly improve the likelihood of release success.

scholarly journals Evolving communicative complexity: insights from rodents and beyond

2012 ◽  
Vol 367 (1597) ◽  
pp. 1869-1878 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly A. Pollard ◽  
Daniel T. Blumstein
Keyword(s):  
Group Size ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Alarm Call ◽  
Ground Squirrels ◽  
Prairie Dogs ◽  
Behavioural Ecology ◽  
Simple Complex ◽  
Repertoire Size ◽  
Comprehensive Theory ◽  
Call Repertoire

Social living goes hand in hand with communication, but the details of this relationship are rarely simple. Complex communication may be described by attributes as diverse as a species' entire repertoire, signallers' individualistic signatures, or complex acoustic phenomena within single calls. Similarly, attributes of social complexity are diverse and may include group size, social role diversity, or networks of interactions and relationships. How these different attributes of social and communicative complexity co-evolve is an active question in behavioural ecology. Sciurid rodents (ground squirrels, prairie dogs and marmots) provide an excellent model system for studying these questions. Sciurid studies have found that demographic role complexity predicts alarm call repertoire size, while social group size predicts alarm call individuality. Along with other taxa, sciurids reveal an important insight: different attributes of sociality are linked to different attributes of communication. By breaking social and communicative complexity down to different attributes, focused studies can better untangle the underlying evolutionary relationships and move us closer to a comprehensive theory of how sociality and communication evolve.

Vocalize to localize

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta B. Manser ◽  
Lindsay B. Fletcher
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cues ◽  
Gaze Direction ◽  
Alarm Calls ◽  
General Behaviour ◽  
Acoustic Structure ◽  
Suricata Suricatta ◽  
High Urgency ◽  
High Stimulus ◽  
Functionally Referential ◽  
Stimulus Specificity

In this study of the functionally referential alarm calls in the meerkats (Suricata suricatta), we tested the hypothesis that the ability to refer to a specific location was an important factor in the evolution of discrete vocalizations. We investigated what information receivers gained about the location of the predator from alarm calls with high stimulus specificity compared to alarm calls with low stimulus specificity. Furthermore, we studied whether visual cues about the localization of the predator may be available from the posture of the caller. We described the general behaviour of the caller, the caller’s posture, and in particular its gaze direction. We then observed receivers responding to the different call types, to determine whether the acoustic structure of the calls was enough for them to respond in the appropriate way, or whether they used additional visual cues from the caller. We tested this with specific manipulation experiments, using three set ups of playback experiments: (1) no caller visible; (2) model guard with specific gaze direction; and (3) live sentinel. Natural observations and experiments confirmed that in high urgency situations the meerkats have enough information from the acoustic structure of the call to respond appropriately. When hearing low urgency calls that are less stimuli specific, meerkats used visual cues as an additional source of information in a few cases. This may indicate that functionally referential calls evolved to denote the location of the predator, rather than the predator type or its velocity of approach. However, when discussing this result in comparison to other functionally referential calls, such as the food associated calls and recruitment calls, this localization hypothesis does not appear to apply to the functionally referential calls in general.

THE EFFECT OF CHANGING CALL DURATION AND CALLING BOUTS ON VIGILANCE IN BRANTS' WHISTLING RAT, PAROTOMYS BRANTSII

Behaviour ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 138 (10) ◽  
pp. 1287-1302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aliza Le Roux ◽  
Michael Cherry ◽  
Tim Jackson
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Low Risk ◽  
Alarm Calls ◽  
Playback Experiments ◽  
Call Duration ◽  
Alarm Calling ◽  
Functionally Referential ◽  
Long Calls

AbstractThe function of variation in single call duration and alarm calling bouts was investigated in Brants' whistling rat, Parotomys brantsii, by means of playback experiments and video analyses of the vigilance displayed. Short calls are produced in high-risk situations, and long calls in low-risk encounters, but these calls apparently do not communicate this variance in risk to conspecifics. Both short and long single calls induced heightened vigilance in receivers, but rats did not respond differentially to the two call types, and it was concluded that P.brantsii alarm calls are not functionally referential. Multiple calls maintained a state of increased alertness in receivers for a longer period than single calls, even after the bouts had ended, but long bouts (duration: 64 s) did not lead to longer periods of vigilance than short bouts (29 s). Thus the tonic communication hypothesis is only partially supported by our study.

scholarly journals Heterospecific alarm-call recognition in two warbler hosts of common cuckoos

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 1149-1157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiangping Yu ◽  
Hailin Lu ◽  
Wei Sun ◽  
Wei Liang ◽  
Haitao Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alarm Call ◽  
Alarm Calls ◽  
Reed Warbler ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Playback Experiments ◽  
Call Recognition ◽  
Accipiter Nisus ◽  
Main Host ◽  
The Common

Abstract Species facing similar selection pressures should recognize heterospecific alarm signals. However, no study has so far examined heterospecific alarm-call recognition in response to parasitism by cuckoos. In this study, we tested whether two sympatric host species of the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus, Oriental reed warbler Acrocephalus orientalis (ORW, main host), and black-browed reed warbler Acrocephalus bistrigiceps (BRW, rare host), could recognize each other’s alarm calls in response to cuckoos. Dummies of common cuckoo (parasite) and Eurasian sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus (predator) were used to induce and record alarm calls of the two warbler species, respectively. In the conspecific alarm-call playback experiments, ORW responded more strongly to cuckoo alarm calls than to sparrowhawk alarm calls, while BRW responded less strongly to cuckoo alarm calls than to sparrowhawk alarm calls. In the heterospecific alarm-call playback experiments, both ORW and BRW responded less strongly to cuckoo alarm calls than sparrowhawk alarm calls. BRW seemed to learn the association between parasite-related alarm calls of the ORW and the cuckoo by observing the process of ORW attacking cuckoos. In contrast, alarm calls of BRW to cuckoos were rarely recorded in most cases. BRW with low parasite pressure still developed recognition of heterospecific parasite-related alarm call. Unintended receivers in the same community should recognize heterospecific alarm calls precisely to extract valuable information.

scholarly journals Specific responses of cuckoo hosts to different alarm signals according to breeding stage: a test of the offspring value hypothesis

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 649-655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiaojiao Wang ◽  
Canchao Yang
Keyword(s):  
Alarm Call ◽  
Host Responses ◽  
Alarm Calls ◽  
Attack Behavior ◽  
Brood Parasite ◽  
Reed Warbler ◽  
Defense Strategies ◽  
Breeding Stage ◽  
Accipiter Nisus ◽  
Streptopelia Orientalis

Abstract The selective pressure exerted by avian brood parasites forces their hosts to evolve specific defense strategies. When subject to brood parasite attack, avian hosts will often emit alarm calls. To date, few studies have examined whether and how host responses to different alarm calls indicative of different enemies vary with the host’s breeding stage. We carried out alarm call playback experiments during both the egg and nestling stages of the oriental reed warbler Acrocephalus orientalis, a host of the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus. The playback exemplars were selected from recorded alarm calls of the warbler to the presence of common cuckoos, sparrowhawks Accipiter nisus, and oriental turtle doves Streptopelia orientalis, which represented brood parasite, predator, and harmless control, respectively. The results showed that the oriental reed warblers did not discriminate alarm calls issued to different intruder types, but the intensity of the response was significantly higher in the nestling stage than in the egg stage. Attack behavior related to sparrowhawk alarm calls was absent in the egg stage, but aggressive behavior increased dramatically and exceeded the attack frequency in response to the cuckoo alarm call in the nestling stage, implying a shift in the tradeoff between the parents’ own survival and the loss of offspring. Alarm calls attracted a larger number of conspecifics than members of other species. In general, the oriental reed warbler had consistently stronger responses to different alarm calls in the nestling stage than in the egg stage, supporting the offspring value hypothesis.

Vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) alarm calls to leopards (Panthera pardus) function as a predator deterrent

Behaviour ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 153 (5) ◽  
pp. 591-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynne A. Isbell ◽  
Laura R. Bidner
Keyword(s):  
Alarm Call ◽  
Vervet Monkey ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Alarm Calls ◽  
Gps Data ◽  
Vervet Monkeys ◽  
Panthera Pardus ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Gps Collars ◽  
Chlorocebus Pygerythrus

Behavioural predator–prey interactions are difficult to study, especially when predators avoid humans. To gain greater understanding of their dynamism, we conducted a 14-month field study in which we minimized human presence by employing acoustic recorders and camera traps, along with GPS collars deployed on vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) and leopards (Panthera pardus) in Laikipia, Kenya. Recordings at the vervets’ sleeping site revealed that they gave ‘leopard’ alarm calls most frequently near dusk and dawn, whereas photographs showed that leopards approached vervets more closely at night, when the monkeys alarm-called less often. GPS data showed that after vervets alarm-called, leopards within 200 m quickly moved away, changing direction, but when vervets did not alarm-call, leopards continued moving forward. These results reveal that vervets’ leopard alarm calls function as a predator deterrent in addition to a conspecific warning call.

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