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Author (up) Fischer, J.; Cheney, D.L.; Seyfarth, R.M. doi  openurl
  Title Development of infant baboons' responses to graded bark variants Type Journal Article
  Year 2000 Publication Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society Abbreviated Journal Proc Biol Sci  
  Volume 267 Issue 1459 Pages 2317-2321  
  Keywords *Animal Communication; Animals; Behavior, Animal; Female; Male; Models, Psychological; Papio/growth & development/*physiology; *Vocalization, Animal  
  Abstract We studied the development of infant baboons' (Papio cynocephalus ursinus) responses to conspecific 'barks' in a free-ranging population in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. These barks grade from tonal, harmonically rich calls into calls with a more noisy, harsh structure. Typically, tonal variants are given when the signaller is at risk of losing contact with the group or a particular individual ('contact barks'), whereas harsh variants are given in response to predators ('alarm barks'). We conducted focal observations and playback experiments in which we presented variants of barks recorded from resident adult females. By six months of age, infants reliably discriminated between typical alarm and contact barks and they responded more strongly to intermediate alarm calls than to typical contact barks. Infants of six months and older also recognized their mothers by voice. The ability to discriminate between different call variants developed with increasing age. At two and a half months of age, infants failed to respond at all, whereas at four months they responded irrespective of the call type that was presented. At six months, infants showed adult-like responses by responding strongly to alarm barks but ignoring contact barks. We concluded that infants gradually learn to attach the appropriate meaning to alarm and contact barks.  
  Address Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, 3815 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. fischerj@eva.mpg.de  
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  ISSN 0962-8452 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes PMID:11413649 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 694  
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Author (up) Fischer, J.; Hammerschmidt, K. doi  openurl
  Title Functional referents and acoustic similarity revisited: the case of Barbary macaque alarm calls Type Journal Article
  Year 2001 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 4 Issue 1 Pages 29-35  
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  Abstract Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) utter “shrill barks” in response to disturbances in their surroundings. In some cases, the majority of group members react by running away or climbing up a tree. In many other instances, however, group members show no overt reaction to these calls. We conducted a series of playback experiments to identify the factors underlying subjects' responses. We presented calls given in response to dogs that had elicited escape responses and calls that had failed to do so. We also presented calls given in response to snakes and to the observer approaching the sleeping-trees at night. An acoustic analysis of the calls presented in the playback experiments (electronic supplementary material, audioclip S1) revealed significant differences among calls given in response to dogs, the observer approaching at night, and snakes. However, the analysis did not detect any differences between calls given in response to dogs that were related to whether or not they had elicited escape responses in the first place. Correspondingly, after playback of calls given in response to dogs, we observed no difference in subjects' responses in relation to whether or not the calls had initially elicited escape responses. Subjects showed startle or escape responses significantly more often after playbacks of calls given in response to dogs than after calls given in response to observers. Playbacks of calls given in response to snakes failed to elicit specific responses such as standing bipedally or scanning the grass. Although these findings may imply that responses depend on the external referent, they also indicate that there is no clear-cut relationship between the information available to the listeners and their subsequent responses. This insight forces us to extend current approaches to identifying the meaning of animal signals.  
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  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3369  
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Author (up) Fischer, J.; Hammerschmidt, K.; Cheney, D.L.; Seyfarth, R.M. openurl 
  Title Acoustic features of male baboon loud calls: influences of context, age, and individuality Type Journal Article
  Year 2002 Publication The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America Abbreviated Journal J Acoust Soc Am  
  Volume 111 Issue 3 Pages 1465-1474  
  Keywords Age Factors; Animal Communication; Animals; Individuality; Male; *Papio; *Social Environment; *Sound Spectrography; *Vocalization, Animal  
  Abstract The acoustic structure of loud calls (“wahoos”) recorded from free-ranging male baboons (Papio cynocephalus ursinus) in the Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana, was examined for differences between and within contexts, using calls given in response to predators (alarm wahoos), during male contests (contest wahoos), and when a male had become separated from the group (contact wahoos). Calls were recorded from adolescent, subadult, and adult males. In addition, male alarm calls were compared with those recorded from females. Despite their superficial acoustic similarity, the analysis revealed a number of significant differences between alarm, contest, and contact wahoos. Contest wahoos are given at a much higher rate, exhibit lower frequency characteristics, have a longer “hoo” duration, and a relatively louder “hoo” portion than alarm wahoos. Contact wahoos are acoustically similar to contest wahoos, but are given at a much lower rate. Both alarm and contest wahoos also exhibit significant differences among individuals. Some of the acoustic features that vary in relation to age and sex presumably reflect differences in body size, whereas others are possibly related to male stamina and endurance. The finding that calls serving markedly different functions constitute variants of the same general call type suggests that the vocal production in nonhuman primates is evolutionarily constrained.  
  Address Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104, USA. fischer@eva.mpg.de  
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  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0001-4966 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes PMID:11931324 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 691  
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Author (up) Kaminski, J.; Call, J.; Fischer, J. url  doi
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  Title Word Learning in a Domestic Dog: Evidence for “Fast Mapping” Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Science Abbreviated Journal Science  
  Volume 304 Issue 5677 Pages 1682-1683  
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  Abstract During speech acquisition, children form quick and rough hypotheses about the meaning of a new word after only a single exposure--a process dubbed “fast mapping.” Here we provide evidence that a border collie, Rico, is able to fast map. Rico knew the labels of over 200 different items. He inferred the names of novel items by exclusion learning and correctly retrieved those items right away as well as 4 weeks after the initial exposure. Fast mapping thus appears to be mediated by general learning and memory mechanisms also found in other animals and not by a language acquisition device that is special to humans.  
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  Notes 10.1126/science.1097859 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4678  
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