Records |
Author |
Kitchen, D.; Bergman, T.; Cheney, D.; Nicholson, J.; Seyfarth, R. |
Title |
Comparing responses of four ungulate species to playbacks of baboon alarm calls |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2010 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
13 |
Issue |
6 |
Pages |
861-870 |
Keywords |
Biomedical and Life Sciences |
Abstract |
A growing body of evidence suggests that a wide range of animals can recognize and respond appropriately to calls produced by other species. Social learning has been implicated as a possible mechanism by which heterospecific call recognition might develop. To examine whether familiarity and/or shared vulnerability with the calling species might influence the ability of sympatric species to distinguish heterospecific alarm calls, we tested whether four ungulate species (impala: Aepyceros melampus; tsessebe: Damaliscus lunatus; zebra: Equus burchelli; wildebeest: Connochaetes taurinus) could distinguish baboon (Papio hamadryas ursinus) alarm calls from other loud baboon calls produced during intra-specific aggressive interactions (‘contest’ calls). Overall, subjects’ responses were stronger following playback of alarm calls than contest calls. Of the species tested, impala showed the strongest responses and the greatest difference in composite response scores, suggesting they were best able to differentiate call types. Compared with the other ungulate species, impala are the most frequent associates of baboons. Moreover, like baboons, they are susceptible to both lion and leopard attacks, whereas leopards rarely take the larger ungulates. Although it seems possible that high rates of association and/or shared vulnerability may influence impala’s greater ability to distinguish among baboon call types, our results point to a stronger influence of familiarity. Ours is the first study to compare such abilities among several community members with variable natural histories, and we discuss future experiments that would more systematically examine development of these skills in young ungulates. |
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Publisher |
Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |
Place of Publication |
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Original Title |
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Series Editor |
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Series Title |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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Series Volume |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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ISSN |
1435-9448 |
ISBN |
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Notes |
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Approved |
no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
5275 |
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Author |
Bergman, T.J.; Beehner, J.C.; Cheney, D.L.; Seyfarth, R.M. |
Title |
Hierarchical classification by rank and kinship in baboons |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Science (New York, N.Y.) |
Abbreviated Journal |
Science |
Volume |
302 |
Issue |
5648 |
Pages |
1234-1236 |
Keywords |
Animals; Animals, Wild; Botswana; *Cognition; Family; Female; *Hierarchy, Social; Language; *Papio/psychology; Social Dominance; Vocalization, Animal |
Abstract |
Humans routinely classify others according to both their individual attributes, such as social status or wealth, and membership in higher order groups, such as families or castes. They also recognize that people's individual attributes may be influenced and regulated by their group affiliations. It is not known whether such rule-governed, hierarchical classifications are specific to humans or might also occur in nonlinguistic species. Here we show that baboons recognize that a dominance hierarchy can be subdivided into family groups. In playback experiments, baboons respond more strongly to call sequences mimicking dominance rank reversals between families than within families, indicating that they classify others simultaneously according to both individual rank and kinship. The selective pressures imposed by complex societies may therefore have favored cognitive skills that constitute an evolutionary precursor to some components of human cognition. |
Address |
Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. thore@sas.upenn.edu |
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Place of Publication |
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Language |
English |
Summary Language |
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Original Title |
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Series Editor |
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Series Title |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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Series Volume |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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ISSN |
1095-9203 |
ISBN |
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Medium |
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Area |
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Expedition |
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Conference |
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Notes |
PMID:14615544 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
689 |
Permanent link to this record |
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Author |
Seyfarth, R.M.; Cheney, D.L.; Bergman, T.J. |
Title |
Primate social cognition and the origins of language |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Trends in Cognitive Sciences |
Abbreviated Journal |
Trends. Cognit. Sci. |
Volume |
9 |
Issue |
6 |
Pages |
264-266 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Cognition; Humans; *Language; Papio; Psychological Theory; Social Behavior; *Social Perception |
Abstract |
Are the cognitive mechanisms underlying language unique, or can similar mechanisms be found in other domains? Recent field experiments demonstrate that baboons' knowledge of their companions' social relationships is based on discrete-valued traits (identity, rank, kinship) that are combined to create a representation of social relations that is hierarchically structured, open-ended, rule-governed, and independent of sensory modality. The mechanisms underlying language might have evolved from the social knowledge of our pre-linguistic primate ancestors. |
Address |
Departments of Biology and Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. seyfarth@psych.upenn.edu |
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Publisher |
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Language |
English |
Summary Language |
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Original Title |
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Series Editor |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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Series Volume |
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Edition |
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ISSN |
1364-6613 |
ISBN |
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Medium |
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Area |
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Expedition |
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Conference |
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Notes |
PMID:15925802 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
343 |
Permanent link to this record |