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Sequential information in a great ape utterance

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Zuberbuehler_2016_SR_greatapeutterance_CC.pdf (1.283Mb)
Date
02/12/2016
Author
Fedurek, Pawel
Zuberbühler, Klaus
Dahl, Christoph D.
Keywords
BF Psychology
General
NDAS
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Abstract
Birdsong is a prime example of acoustically sophisticated vocal behaviour, but its complexity has evolved mainly through sexual selection to attract mates and repel sexual rivals. In contrast, non-human primate calls often mediate complex social interactions, but are generally regarded as acoustically simple. Here, we examine arguably the most complex call in great ape vocal communication, the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) ‘pant hoot’. This signal consists of four acoustically distinct phases: introduction, build-up, climax and let-down. We applied state-of-the-art Support Vector Machines (SVM) methodology to pant hoots produced by wild male chimpanzees of Budongo Forest, Uganda. We found that caller identity was apparent in all four phases, but most strongly in the low-amplitude introduction and high-amplitude climax phases. Age was mainly correlated with the low-amplitude introduction and build-up phases, dominance rank (i.e. social status) with the high-amplitude climax phase, and context (reflecting activity of the caller) with the low-amplitude let-down phase. We conclude that the complex acoustic structure of chimpanzee pant hoots is linked to a range of socially relevant information in the different phases of the call, reflecting the complex nature of chimpanzee social lives.
Citation
Fedurek , P , Zuberbühler , K & Dahl , C D 2016 , ' Sequential information in a great ape utterance ' , Scientific Reports , vol. 6 , 38226 . https://doi.org/10.1038/srep38226
Publication
Scientific Reports
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/srep38226
ISSN
2045-2322
Type
Journal article
Rights
© The Author(s) 2016. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Description
The study was funded by Swiss National Science Foundation (310030_143359) and European Research Council project grants awarded to KZ (PRILANG 283871) and the Swiss National Science Foundation grant (PZ00P3_154741) awarded to CDD.
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  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/10006

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