scholarly journals Exploring the Adaptive Significance of Five Types of Puma (Puma concolor) Vocalizations

2017 ◽  
Vol 130 (4) ◽  
pp. 289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximilian L Allen ◽  
Yiwei Wang ◽  
Christopher C Wilmers
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Puma Concolor ◽  
Scent Marking ◽  
Adaptive Significance ◽  
Alarm Calls ◽  
Central Component ◽  
Video Cameras ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Indirect Cues ◽  
Limit Detection

Communication is a central component of animal behaviour, yet communicative behaviours are poorly studied due to their complexity and varied functions. Pumas (Puma concolor) are wide-ranging, solitary felids that primarily use indirect cues (e.g., scent marking) for communication. Because these cryptic carnivores are rarely observed directly, little is known about their vocalizations in the wild. We recorded a variety of Puma vocalizations among females and family groups using motion-triggered video cameras and then attempted to understand the function of each vocalization. We found two categories of vocalizations: 1) attention-attracting (caterwauling and mewing), and 2) calls (contact, agitated, and alarm). Vocalizations to attract attention ranged across broad frequencies. Contact, agitated, and alarm calls are narrow-frequency vocalizations that varied in intensity and were used to communicate with nearby conspecifics. Vocal communication entails risk, and while some Puma vocalizations may provide benefits that outweigh their risk, others are structured to limit detection and risk. These observations highlight the importance of the structure of vocalizations used during different behaviours to understand their adaptive significance.

scholarly journals Social behaviour and vocalizations of the tent-roosting Honduran White Bat

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahana Aurora Fernandez ◽  
Christian Schmidt ◽  
Stefanie Schmidt ◽  
Bernal Rodríguez-Herrera ◽  
Mirjam Knörnschild
Keyword(s):  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Scent Marking ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
Group Stability ◽  
The Social ◽  
Interesting Candidate ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Contact Calls

Bats are highly gregarious animals, displaying a large spectrum of social systems with different organizational structures. One important factor shaping sociality is group stability. To maintain group cohesion and stability, bats often rely on social vocal communication. The Honduran white bat, Ectophylla alba exhibits an unusual social structure compared to other tent-roosting species. This small white-furred bat lives in perennial stable mixed-sex groups. Tent construction requires several individuals and, as the only tent roosting species so far, involves both sexes. The bats´ social system and ecology render this species an interesting candidate to study social behaviour and social vocal communication. In our study, we investigated the social behaviour and vocalizations of E. alba in the tent by observing two stable groups, including pups, in the wild. We documented 16 different behaviours, among others, play and fur chewing, a behaviour presumably used for scent-marking. Moreover, we found 10 distinct social call types in addition to echolocation calls, and, for seven call types, we were able to identify the corresponding behavioural context. Most of the social call types were affiliative, including two types of contact calls, maternal directives, pup isolation calls and a call type related to the fur-chewing behaviour. In sum, this study entails an ethogram and describes the first vocal repertoire of a tent-roosting phyllostomid bat, providing the basis for further in-depth studies about the sociality and vocal communication in E. alba .

scholarly journals Social behaviour and vocalizations of the tent-roosting Honduran white bat

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0248452
Author(s):  
Ahana Aurora Fernandez ◽  
Christian Schmidt ◽  
Stefanie Schmidt ◽  
Bernal Rodríguez-Herrera ◽  
Mirjam Knörnschild
Keyword(s):  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Scent Marking ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
Group Stability ◽  
The Social ◽  
Interesting Candidate ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Contact Calls

Bats are highly gregarious animals, displaying a large spectrum of social systems with different organizational structures. One important factor shaping sociality is group stability. To maintain group cohesion and stability, bats often rely on vocal communication. The Honduran white bat, Ectophylla alba, exhibits an unusual social structure compared to other tent-roosting species. This small white-furred bat lives in perennial stable mixed-sex groups. Tent construction requires several individuals and, as the only tent roosting species so far, involves both sexes. The bats´ social system and ecology render this species an interesting candidate to study social behaviour and vocal communication. In our study, we investigated the social behaviour and vocalizations of E. alba in the tent by observing two stable groups, including pups, in the wild. We documented 16 different behaviours, among others play and fur chewing, a behaviour presumably used for scent-marking. Moreover, we found 10 distinct social call types in addition to echolocation calls, and for seven call types we were able to identify the corresponding broad behavioural context. Most of the social call types were affiliative, including two types of contact calls, maternal directive calls, pup isolation calls and a call type related to the fur-chewing behaviour. In sum, this study entails an ethogram and describes the social vocalizations of a tent-roosting phyllostomid bat, providing the basis for further in-depth studies about the sociality and vocal communication in E. alba.

scholarly journals Scent marking in Sunda clouded leopards (Neofelis diardi): Novel observations close a key gap in understanding felid communication behaviours

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
ML Allen ◽  
Heiko Wittmer ◽  
E Setiawan ◽  
S Jaffe ◽  
AJ Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Scent Marking ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Behavioural Ecology ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Basic Information ◽  
Video Cameras ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Intraspecific Communication ◽  
Communication Behaviours ◽  
Felid Species

© 2016 Author(s). Intraspecific communication is integral to the behavioural ecology of solitary carnivores, but observing and quantifying their communication behaviours in natural environments is difficult. Our systematic literature review found that basic information on scent marking is completely lacking for 23% of all felid species, and information on 21% of other felid species comes solely from one study of captive animals. Here we present results of the first systematic investigation of the scent marking behaviours of Sunda clouded leopards in the wild. Our observations using motion-triggered video cameras in Indonesian Borneo are novel for clouded leopards, and contrary to previous descriptions of their behaviour. We found that clouded leopards displayed 10 distinct communication behaviours, with olfaction, scraping, and cheek rubbing the most frequently recorded. We also showed that males make repeated visits to areas they previously used for marking and that multiple males advertise and receive information at the same sites, potentially enhancing our ability to document and monitor clouded leopard populations. The behaviours we recorded are remarkably similar to those described in other solitary felids, despite tremendous variation in the environments they inhabit, and close a key gap in understanding and interpreting communication behaviours of clouded leopards and other solitary felids.

Puma communication behaviours: understanding functional use and variation among sex and age classes

Behaviour ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 151 (6) ◽  
pp. 819-840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximilian L. Allen ◽  
Heiko U. Wittmer ◽  
Christopher C. Wilmers
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Strategy ◽  
Mate Selection ◽  
Puma Concolor ◽  
Scent Marking ◽  
Territorial Defence ◽  
Video Cameras ◽  
Intraspecific Communication ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Experimental Treatments ◽  
Communication Behaviours

Intraspecific communication for mate selection sometimes varies between sexes based on different evolutionary life history patterns. Solitary felids use communication for territorial defence and location of mates, for which they use scent-marking behaviours including scraping, urine spraying, body rubbing, caterwauling, cheek rubbing, and the flehmen response, but these behaviours are not well understood in pumas (Puma concolor). We used motion-triggered video cameras to document the use of communication behaviours by male and female pumas, and used a series of experimental treatments to determine the mechanisms and importance of visual and olfactory cues in puma scrapes. We found that pumas use the physical scrape to locate communications, and then use urine to convey and interpret the communication itself. We also found significant differences among puma age and sex classes in the proportion of use and duration of time behaviours were displayed. Mature males spent significantly longer durations () on producing behaviours (scraping, body rubbing, and caterwauling behaviours) than mature females (), and males used scraping (78.5%) and body rubbing (12.4%) behaviours at a higher proportion of visits than females (13.6 and 2.7%, respectively). Mature females spent significantly longer durations () on consuming behaviours (investigating and flehmen response behaviours) than mature males (), and females used flehmen response (30.6%) and caterwauling (9.3%) behaviours at a higher proportion of visits than mature males (6.5% flehmen and 0.4% caterwauling). Male reproductive strategy appears based on advertisement for possible mates, while female reproductive strategy appears based on assessment of possible mates. The use of communication behaviours also appears to develop with age, as immature pumas rarely visited and acted as non-participants in communication behaviours.

scholarly journals Scent marking in Sunda clouded leopards (Neofelis diardi): Novel observations close a key gap in understanding felid communication behaviours

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
ML Allen ◽  
Heiko Wittmer ◽  
E Setiawan ◽  
S Jaffe ◽  
AJ Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Scent Marking ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Behavioural Ecology ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Basic Information ◽  
Video Cameras ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Intraspecific Communication ◽  
Communication Behaviours ◽  
Felid Species

© 2016 Author(s). Intraspecific communication is integral to the behavioural ecology of solitary carnivores, but observing and quantifying their communication behaviours in natural environments is difficult. Our systematic literature review found that basic information on scent marking is completely lacking for 23% of all felid species, and information on 21% of other felid species comes solely from one study of captive animals. Here we present results of the first systematic investigation of the scent marking behaviours of Sunda clouded leopards in the wild. Our observations using motion-triggered video cameras in Indonesian Borneo are novel for clouded leopards, and contrary to previous descriptions of their behaviour. We found that clouded leopards displayed 10 distinct communication behaviours, with olfaction, scraping, and cheek rubbing the most frequently recorded. We also showed that males make repeated visits to areas they previously used for marking and that multiple males advertise and receive information at the same sites, potentially enhancing our ability to document and monitor clouded leopard populations. The behaviours we recorded are remarkably similar to those described in other solitary felids, despite tremendous variation in the environments they inhabit, and close a key gap in understanding and interpreting communication behaviours of clouded leopards and other solitary felids.

scholarly journals Alarm calls evoke a visual search image of a predator in birds

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (7) ◽  
pp. 1541-1545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshitaka N. Suzuki
Keyword(s):  
Visual Search ◽  
Communication Systems ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Visual Image ◽  
Alarm Calls ◽  
Mental Images ◽  
Search Image ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Parus Minor

One of the core features of human speech is that words cause listeners to retrieve corresponding visual mental images. However, whether vocalizations similarly evoke mental images in animal communication systems is surprisingly unknown. Japanese tits (Parus minor) produce specific alarm calls when and only when encountering a predatory snake. Here, I show that simply hearing these calls causes tits to become more visually perceptive to objects resembling snakes. During playback of snake-specific alarm calls, tits approach a wooden stick being moved in a snake-like fashion. However, tits do not respond to the same stick when hearing other call types or if the stick’s movement is dissimilar to that of a snake. Thus, before detecting a real snake, tits retrieve its visual image from snake-specific alarm calls and use this to search out snakes. This study provides evidence for a call-evoked visual search image in a nonhuman animal, offering a paradigm to explore the cognitive basis for animal vocal communication in the wild.

scholarly journals Previously unknown behavior in parasitic cuckoo females: male-like vocalization during migratory activity

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Swetlana G. Meshcheryagina ◽  
Alexey Opaev
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Harmonic Spectrum ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Neck Extension ◽  
Migratory Activity ◽  
Call Production ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Combined Features ◽  
Female Call

Abstract Background In the last decade, enigmatic male-like cuckoo calls have been reported several times in East Asia. These calls exhibited a combination of vocal traits of both Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus) and Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) advertising calls, and some authors therefore suggested that the enigmatic calls were produced by either Common × Oriental Cuckoo male hybrids or Common Cuckoo males having a gene mutation. However, the exact identity of calling birds are still unknown. Methods We recorded previously unknown male-like calls from three captive Oriental Cuckoo females, and compared these calls with enigmatic vocalizations recorded in the wild as well as with advertising vocalizations of Common and Oriental Cuckoo males. To achieve this, we measured calls automatically. Besides, we video-recorded captive female emitting male-like calls, and compared these recordings with the YouTube recordings of calling males of both Common and Oriental Cuckoos to get insight into the mechanism of call production. Results The analysis showed that female male-like calls recorded in captivity were similar to enigmatic calls recorded in the wild. Therefore, Oriental Cuckoo females might produce the latter calls. Two features of these female calls appeared to be unusual among birds. First, females produced male-like calls at the time of spring and autumn migratory activity and on migration in the wild. Because of this, functional significance of this call remained puzzling. Secondly, the male-like female call unexpectedly combined features of both closed-mouth (closed beak and simultaneous inflation of the ‘throat sac’) and open-mouth (prominent harmonic spectrum and the maximum neck extension observed at the beginning of a sound) vocal behaviors. Conclusions The Cuculus vocalizations outside the reproductive season remain poorly understood. Here, we found for the first time that Oriental Cuckoo females can produce male-like calls in that time. Because of its rarity, this call might be an atavism. Indeed, female male-like vocalizations are still known in non-parasitic tropical and apparently more basal cuckoos only. Therefore, our findings may shed light on the evolution of vocal communication in avian brood parasites.

scholarly journals The Role of Scent Marking in Mate Selection by Female Pumas (Puma concolor)

PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. e0139087 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximilian L. Allen ◽  
Heiko U. Wittmer ◽  
Paul Houghtaling ◽  
Justine Smith ◽  
L. Mark Elbroch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mate Selection ◽  
Puma Concolor ◽  
Scent Marking

How Birds Behave

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenfei Tong
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Alarm Calls ◽  
Private Lives ◽  
Territory Defence ◽  
The World ◽  
Evolutionary Context ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Nest Design ◽  
The Many

Birds are intelligent, sociable creatures that exhibit a wide array of behaviours – from mobbing and mimicking to mating and joint nesting. Why do they behave as they do? Bringing to light the remarkable actions of birds through examples from species around the world, How Birds Behave presents engaging vignettes about the private lives of birds, all explained in an evolutionary context. We discover how birds find food, relying on foraging techniques, tools and thievery. We learn about the courtship rituals through which birds choose, compete for, woo and win mates; the familial conflicts that crop up among parents, offspring and siblings; and the stresses and strains of nesting, including territory defence, nepotism and relationship sabotage. We see how birds respond to threats and danger – through such unique practices as murmurations, specific alarm calls, distraction displays and antipredator nest design. We also read about how birds change certain behaviours – preening, migration, breeding and huddling – based on climate. Richly illustrated, this book explores the increasing focus on how individual birds differ in personality and how big data and citizen scientists are helping to add to what we know about them. Drawing on classic examples and the latest research, How Birds Behave offers a close-up look at the many ways birds conduct themselves in the wild.

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