The Vocal Repertoire of the Bearded Capuchin (Cebidae: Sapajus libidinosus): Implications for Understanding the Complexity of Neotropical Primate Communication

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Carolina Almeida Lisboa ◽  
Francisco Dyonísio Cardoso Mendes ◽  
Maurício Silveira ◽  
Ludmilla Moura de Souza Aguiar
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Alarm Call ◽  
Vocal Repertoire ◽  
Primate Communication ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Central Brazil ◽  
Neotropical Primate ◽  
Sexual Display ◽  
Contact Calls ◽  
Aggressive Calls

Vocal communication is an essential aspect of primate social behaviour. The bearded capuchin <i>Sapajus libidinosus</i> is endemic to Brazil, and some studies have described specific vocalisation types for this species; however, there is still no complete description of its vocal repertoire. Thus, this study aimed to describe the vocal repertoire of a group of <i>S. libidinosus</i> living in the<i></i>Parque Nacional de Brasília, a protected area in the Cerrado area of Central Brazil. We carried out focal samplings and recording of vocalisations of members of an <i>S. libidinosus</i> troop in different behavioural contexts. The call analyses revealed 25 different types of vocalisations, and each call presented significant structural variation. We grouped these vocalisations according to the context of the emission or acoustic structure into the following categories: contact calls (contact note, infant babbling, trill, teeth- and lip-smacking, and sirena); foraging calls (chihui, grgr, and patinado); whistle series (food-associated, long-distance, and intergroup encounter); aggressive calls (aggressive contact note, ascending rapid staccato, cough cough, and pip); calls in response to aggression (scream, squeal, and pulsed scream), sexual display calls (chuck and raspy oestrous call), and stress-related calls (alarm call/bark, hiccup, hip, double hip, and wah wah). <i>S. libidinosus</i> presented a very rich vocal repertoire, revealing a pattern consistent with the repertoire of other capuchin monkey species. This is the first comprehensive description of the<i> S. libidinosus</i> vocal repertoire and highlights the complexity of neotropical primate communication.

scholarly journals Vocal repertoire of the New Zealand kea parrot Nestor notabilis

2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 727-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raoul Schwing ◽  
Stuart Parsons ◽  
Ximena J. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Communication System ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Vocal Repertoire ◽  
Contact Call ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Call Type ◽  
Cognitive Studies ◽  
Contact Calls

Abstract The unique alpine-living kea parrot Nestor notabilis has been the focus of numerous cognitive studies, but its communication system has so far been largely neglected. We examined 2,884 calls recorded in New Zealand’s Southern Alps. Based on audio and visual spectrographic differences, these calls were categorised into seven distinct call types: the non-oscillating ‘screech’ contact call and ‘mew’; and the oscillating ‘trill’, ‘chatter’, ‘warble’ and ‘whistle’; and a hybrid ‘screech-trill’. Most of these calls contained aspects that were individually unique, in addition to potentially encoding for an individual’s sex and age. Additionally, for each recording, the sender’s previous and next calls were noted, as well as any response given by conspecifics. We found that the previous and next calls made by the sender were most often of the same type, and that the next most likely preceding and/or following call type was the screech call, a contact call which sounds like the ‘kee-ah’ from which the bird’s name derives. As a social bird capable of covering large distances over visually obstructive terrain, long distance contact calls may be of considerable importance for social cohesion. Contact calls allow kea to locate conspecifics and congregate in temporary groups for social activities. The most likely response to any given call was a screech, usually followed by the same type of call as the initial call made by the sender, although responses differed depending on the age of the caller. The exception was the warble, the kea’s play call, to which the most likely response was another warble. Being the most common call type, as well as the default response to another call, it appears that the ‘contagious’ screech contact call plays a central role in kea vocal communication and social cohesion.

scholarly journals Cognitive Components of Vocal Communication: A Case Study

Animals ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Snowdon
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Brain Size ◽  
Food Preferences ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Call Structure ◽  
Cognitive Components ◽  
Pygmy Marmosets ◽  
Contact Calls

Communication among nonhuman animals is often presented as rigid and inflexible, reflecting emotional states rather than having any cognitive basis. Using the world’s smallest monkey, the pygmy marmoset (Cebuella pygmaea), with the smallest absolute brain size amongst simian primates as a case study, I review the role of cognition in the development and usage of vocalizations in pygmy marmosets and present new data on the instrumental use of babbling and of food associated vocalizations. Pygmy marmosets have several contact calls that differ in the psychoacoustic properties for sound localization as well as the distance at which they carry through the rainforest. Marmosets use these calls strategically based on distance from neighbors. Marmosets alter spectral and temporal aspects of call structure when exposed to new groups and when newly mated. They display population specific vocal dialects. Young pygmy marmosets engage in extensive babbling behavior rewarded by parents that helps the young develop adult vocal structures, but older monkeys also use babbling instrumentally in conflict situations. Specific food referential calls generally relate to food preferences, but food calls are suppressed in the presence of animate prey. Unmated animals systematically combine a long distance call with food calls as though advertising for mates. Taken together, these examples show that even small brained primates use their vocal signals flexibly and strategically in response to a variety of environmental and social conditions.

Vocal Communication in Raccoons (Procyon Lotor)

Behaviour ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 90 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 80-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Otto J. Sieber
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Procyon Lotor ◽  
Vocal Repertoire ◽  
Mixed Group ◽  
Wide Spread ◽  
Mixed Structure ◽  
Body Contact ◽  
Structural Rules ◽  
Distress Calls ◽  
Contact Calls

AbstractThe study describes structure, ontogeny and contexts of raccoon (Procyon lotor) vocalizations and investigates whether structure and motivation interplay in the way predicted by general motivation-structural rules (MORTON, 1977, 1982). Observations during a full reproductive cycle in a mixed group of captive raccoons indicate that they use an elaborate vocal repertoire including 13 calls (Table 1). Two calls are tonal (whistle, squeal), three noisy (snort, bark, growl); four have a mixed structure (cry, screech, gecker, grunt) and four have pulsed syllables (chitter 1, chitter 2, churr, purr). Though some calls grade into one another, the repertoire is largely discrete. Three calls are present at birth and form the nestling repertoire. The adult repertoire gradually develops through the time of weaning (Fig. 2). Several calls are characteristic for the sexual and parental phase. Most calls are associated with one or a few contexts (Table 2). Four calls are utilized by animals while distressed and have an attracting effect on others. Four calls express hostile motivation and repel other animals. Five calls are used by animals approaching another or having body contact; they serve in promoting or maintaining contact. Calls used in similar contexts show remarkable structural similarities. Distress calls are tonal or mixed, hostile calls noisy in accordance with motivation-structural rules. Contact calls deviate in being noisy and low in basic frequency. Possible reasons are discussed. A comparison of the vocalizations in other carnivores reveals that the structure-motivational pattern found in raccoons is a wide-spread phenomenon in carnivores.

Vocal Communication in a Neotropical Treefrog, Hyla Ebraccata: Responses of Females To Advertisement and Aggressive Calls

Behaviour ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 101 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 200-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen M. Bard ◽  
Kentwood D. Wells
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Total Duration ◽  
Vocal Repertoire ◽  
Spatial Relationships ◽  
Absolute Rate ◽  
Playback Experiments ◽  
Advertisement Calls ◽  
Close Range ◽  
Aggressive Calls ◽  
Do So

AbstractWe investigated the functions of different elements of the complex vocal repertoire of the Panamanian treefrog Hyla ebraccata by testing the responses of females to synthetic advertisement and aggressive calls in two-choice playback experiments. In tests of single-note advertisement calls presented at different rates, females preferred faster calling rates, regardless of the absolute rate of the stimuli. In tests of single-note advertisement and aggressive calls, females preferred advertisement calls. Addition of secondary click notes to aggressive calls made the calls more attractive to females, but multi-note advertisement calls were preferred over multi-note aggressive calls. When females were given a choice of multi-note advertisement calls and single-note calls of the same total duration, they showed no preference. This suggests that multi-note calls are preferred over normal single-note calls because of their longer total duration. When the same experiment was performed with aggressive calls, females showed a strong preference for multi-note calls. This indicates that long aggressive calls, such as those given by males in close-range encounters, may entail some cost to the male in reduced attractiveness to females. Males apparently reduce the costs of aggressive calling by adding click notes to aggressive calls, by giving aggressive calls only when nearby males do so, and by establishing spatial relationships in the chorus before females begin to choose mates.

Primate Vocal Communication and the Evolution of Speech

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-60
Author(s):  
Julia Fischer
Keyword(s):  
Nonhuman Primate ◽  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Internal State ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Primate Communication ◽  
Evolution Of Speech ◽  
Primate Vocal Communication ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Shed Light

Studies of nonhuman primate communication are often motivated by the desire to shed light on the evolution of speech. In contrast to human speech, the vocal repertoires of nonhuman primates are evolutionarily highly conserved. Within species-specific constraints, calls may vary in relation to the internal state of the caller or social experience. Receivers can use signalers’ calls to predict upcoming events or behavioral dispositions. Yet nonhuman primates do not appear to express or comprehend communicative or informative intent. Signalers are sensitive to the relation between their own actions and receivers’ responses, and thus, signaling behavior can be conceived as goal directed. Receivers’ ability to integrate information from multiple sources renders the system flexible and powerful. Researchers who take a linguistic or biological perspective on nonhuman primate communication should be aware of the strengths and limitations of their approaches. Both benefit from a focus on the mechanisms that underpin signaling and responses to signals.

scholarly journals Field Propagation Experiments of Male African Savanna Elephant Rumbles: A Focus on the Transmission of Formant Frequencies

Animals ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anton Baotic ◽  
Maxime Garcia ◽  
Markus Boeckle ◽  
Angela Stoeger
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Transmission Efficiency ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
African Savanna ◽  
Formant Frequencies ◽  
Resonance Frequencies

African savanna elephants live in dynamic fission–fusion societies and exhibit a sophisticated vocal communication system. Their most frequent call-type is the ‘rumble’, with a fundamental frequency (which refers to the lowest vocal fold vibration rate when producing a vocalization) near or in the infrasonic range. Rumbles are used in a wide variety of behavioral contexts, for short- and long-distance communication, and convey contextual and physical information. For example, maturity (age and size) is encoded in male rumbles by formant frequencies (the resonance frequencies of the vocal tract), having the most informative power. As sound propagates, however, its spectral and temporal structures degrade progressively. Our study used manipulated and resynthesized male social rumbles to simulate large and small individuals (based on different formant values) to quantify whether this phenotypic information efficiently transmits over long distances. To examine transmission efficiency and the potential influences of ecological factors, we broadcasted and re-recorded rumbles at distances of up to 1.5 km in two different habitats at the Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa. Our results show that rumbles were affected by spectral–temporal degradation over distance. Interestingly and unlike previous findings, the transmission of formants was better than that of the fundamental frequency. Our findings demonstrate the importance of formant frequencies for the efficiency of rumble propagation and the transmission of information content in a savanna elephant’s natural habitat.

scholarly journals Testing the maintenance of natural responses to survival-relevant calls in the conservation breeding population of a critically endangered corvid (Corvus hawaiiensis)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne C Sabol ◽  
Alison L Greggor ◽  
Bryce Masuda ◽  
Ronald R Swaisgood
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Alarm Call ◽  
Breeding Population ◽  
Vocal Behavior ◽  
Vocal Response ◽  
Human Care ◽  
Territorial Intrusion ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Individual Consistency ◽  
Conservation Breeding

Vocal communication serves an important role in driving animals' social interactions and ultimately their survival. However, natural vocal behavior can erode in human care. Determining if animals in conservation breeding programs exhibit and respond appropriately to species-specific vocalizations is therefore important for ensuring their survival post-release. We tested whether endangered 'alala (Corvus hawaiiensis), which are extinct in nature, have retained their natural responses to survival-relevant vocal calls. We conducted our studies on breeding populations derived from a small number of founding 'alala maintained in human care since their extinction in the wild in 2002. We presented pairs of 'alala with alarm, territorial intrusion, and two types of control playback calls (a non-threatening territorial maintenance call and a novel heterospecific call). 'Alala were significantly more likely to approach the speaker following alarm call playback than other call types, and were more likely to respond to territorial intrusion calls with the same aggressive territorial calls. Males were more likely to make these aggressive calls than females, mirroring their roles in territory defense. We also found individual consistency in the level of vocal behavior response across all call types, indicating that some individuals are more vocal than others. These results are encouraging, showing that 'alala exhibit relevant, species-specific behaviors despite generations under human care. It does illustrate, however, that all individuals do not respond uniformly, so vocal response may be an important factor to consider in determining the release suitability of individuals.

scholarly journals Coevolution of vocal communication and sociality in primates

2005 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 381-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen McComb ◽  
Stuart Semple
Keyword(s):  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Comparative Method ◽  
Social Bonding ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Vocal Repertoire ◽  
Evolutionary Time ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
Essential Prerequisite ◽  
Human Primate

Understanding the rules that link communication and social behaviour is an essential prerequisite for discerning how a communication system as complex as human language might have evolved. The comparative method offers a powerful tool for investigating the nature of these rules, since it provides a means to examine relationships between changes in communication abilities and changes in key aspects of social behaviour over evolutionary time. Here we present empirical evidence from phylogenetically controlled analyses indicating that evolutionary increases in the size of the vocal repertoire among non-human primate species were associated with increases in both group size and time spent grooming (our measure of extent of social bonding).

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