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Author Hostetter, A.B.; Cantero, M.; Hopkins, W.D.
Title Differential use of vocal and gestural communication by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in response to the attentional status of a human (Homo sapiens) Type Journal Article
Year 2001 Publication Journal of Comparative Psychology Abbreviated Journal J. Comp. Psychol.
Volume 115 Issue 4 Pages 337-343
Keywords Animals; *Attention; *Communication Methods, Total; Female; *Gestures; Humans; Male; Motivation; Pan troglodytes/*psychology; Social Environment; Species Specificity; *Vocalization, Animal
Abstract This study examined the communicative behavior of 49 captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), particularly their use of vocalizations, manual gestures, and other auditory- or tactile-based behaviors as a means of gaining an inattentive audience's attention. A human (Homo sapiens) experimenter held a banana while oriented either toward or away from the chimpanzee. The chimpanzees' behavior was recorded for 60 s. Chimpanzees emitted vocalizations faster and were more likely to produce vocalizations as their 1st communicative behavior when a human was oriented away from them. Chimpanzees used manual gestures more frequently and faster when the human was oriented toward them. These results replicate the findings of earlier studies on chimpanzee gestural communication and provide new information about the intentional and functional use of their vocalizations.
Address (up) Department of Psychology, Berry College, USA
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0735-7036 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:11824896 Approved yes
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4970
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Author Owren, M.J.; Seyfarth, R.M.; Cheney, D.L.
Title The acoustic features of vowel-like grunt calls in chacma baboons (Papio cyncephalus ursinus): implications for production processes and functions Type Journal Article
Year 1997 Publication The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America Abbreviated Journal J Acoust Soc Am
Volume 101 Issue 5 Pt 1 Pages 2951-2963
Keywords Animals; Female; *Papio; Sound Spectrography; *Vocalization, Animal
Abstract The acoustic features of 216 baboon grunts were investigated through analysis of field-recorded calls produced by identified females in known contexts. Analyses addressed two distinct questions: whether the acoustic features of these tonal sounds could be characterized using a source-filter approach and whether the acoustic features of grunts varied by individual caller and social context. Converging evidence indicated that grunts were produced through a combination of periodic laryngeal vibration and a stable vocal tract filter. Their acoustic properties closely resembled those of prototypical human vowel sounds. In general, variation in the acoustic features of the grunts was more strongly related to caller identity than to the social contexts of calling. However, two acoustic parameters, second formant frequency and overall spectral tilt, did vary consistently depending on whether the caller was interacting with an infant or participating in a group move. Nonetheless, in accordance with the general view that identity cueing is a compelling function in animal communication, it can be concluded that much of the observed variability in grunt acoustics is likely to be related to this aspect of signaling. Further, cues related to vocal tract filtering appear particularly likely to play an important role in identifying individual calling animals.
Address (up) Department of Psychology, Reed College, Portland, Oregon 97202, USA. michael.owren@reed.edu
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0001-4966 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:9165741 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 698
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Author Mercado, E. 3rd; Herman, L.M.; Pack, A.A.
Title Song copying by humpback whales: themes and variations Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 8 Issue 2 Pages 93-102
Keywords Acoustics; Animals; *Imitative Behavior; *Learning; Male; Sound Spectrography; *Vocalization, Animal; Whales/*psychology
Abstract Male humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) produce long, structured sequences of sound underwater, commonly called “songs.” Humpbacks progressively modify their songs over time in ways that suggest that individuals are copying song elements that they hear being used by other singers. Little is known about the factors that determine how whales learn from their auditory experiences. Song learning in birds is better understood and appears to be constrained by stable core attributes such as species-specific sound repertoires and song syntax. To clarify whether similar constraints exist for song learning by humpbacks, we analyzed changes over 14 years in the sounds used by humpback whales singing in Hawaiian waters. We found that although the properties of individual sounds within songs are quite variable over time, the overall distribution of certain acoustic features within the repertoire appears to be stable. In particular, our findings suggest that species-specific constraints on temporal features of song sounds determine song form, whereas spectral variability allows whales to flexibly adapt song elements.
Address (up) Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Park Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA. emiii@buffalo.edu
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15490289 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2505
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Author Fischer, J.; Cheney, D.L.; Seyfarth, R.M.
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 (up) Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, 3815 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. fischerj@eva.mpg.de
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0962-8452 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:11413649 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 694
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Author Fischer, J.; Hammerschmidt, K.; Cheney, D.L.; Seyfarth, R.M.
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 (up) Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104, USA. fischer@eva.mpg.de
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0001-4966 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:11931324 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 691
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Author Kitchen, D.M.; Cheney, D.L.; Seyfarth, R.M.
Title Male chacma baboons (Papio hamadryas ursinus) discriminate loud call contests between rivals of different relative ranks Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Animal cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 8 Issue 1 Pages 1-6
Keywords Acoustic Stimulation; Animals; *Discrimination Learning; *Hierarchy, Social; Male; Papio hamadryas/*psychology; *Social Dominance; *Vocalization, Animal
Abstract Males in multi-male groups of chacma baboons (Papio hamadryas ursinus) in Botswana compete for positions in a linear dominance hierarchy. Previous research suggests that males treat different categories of rivals differently; competitive displays between males of similar rank are more frequent and intense than those between disparately ranked males. Here we test whether males also respond differently to male-male interactions in which they are not directly involved, using playbacks of the loud 'wahoo' calls exchanged between competing males in aggressive displays. We played paired sequences of vocal contests between two adjacently ranked and two disparately ranked males to ten subjects, half ranking below the signalers in the call sequences and half above. Subjects who ranked above the two signalers showed stronger responses than lower-ranking subjects. Higher-ranking subjects also responded more strongly to sequences involving disparately ranked, as opposed to adjacently ranked opponents, suggesting that they recognized those individuals' relative ranks. Strong responses to sequences between disparately ranked opponents might have occurred either because such contests typically involve resources of high fitness value (defense of meat, estrous females or infants vulnerable to infanticide) or because they indicate a sudden change in one contestant's condition. In contrast, subjects who ranked lower than the signalers responded equally strongly to both types of sequences. These subjects may have been able to distinguish between the two categories of opponents but did not respond differently to them because they had little to lose or gain by a rank reversal between males that already ranked higher than they did.
Address (up) Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. dkitchen@psych.upenn.edu
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15164259 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 687
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Author Seyfarth, R.M.; Cheney, D.L.
Title Signalers and receivers in animal communication Type Journal Article
Year 2003 Publication Annual review of psychology Abbreviated Journal Annu Rev Psychol
Volume 54 Issue Pages 145-173
Keywords Affect; *Animal Communication; Animals; Arousal; Auditory Perception; Motivation; *Social Behavior; Social Environment; Species Specificity; *Vocalization, Animal
Abstract In animal communication natural selection favors callers who vocalize to affect the behavior of listeners and listeners who acquire information from vocalizations, using this information to represent their environment. The acquisition of information in the wild is similar to the learning that occurs in laboratory conditioning experiments. It also has some parallels with language. The dichotomous view that animal signals must be either referential or emotional is false, because they can easily be both: The mechanisms that cause a signaler to vocalize do not limit a listener's ability to extract information from the call. The inability of most animals to recognize the mental states of others distinguishes animal communication most clearly from human language. Whereas signalers may vocalize to change a listener's behavior, they do not call to inform others. Listeners acquire information from signalers who do not, in the human sense, intend to provide it.
Address (up) Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. seyfarth@psych.upenn.edu
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0066-4308 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:12359915 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 690
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Author Rendall, D.; Cheney, D.L.; Seyfarth, R.M.
Title Proximate factors mediating “contact” calls in adult female baboons (Papio cynocephalus ursinus) and their infants Type Journal Article
Year 2000 Publication Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) Abbreviated Journal J Comp Psychol
Volume 114 Issue 1 Pages 36-46
Keywords Animals; Animals, Wild; Botswana; Female; *Maternal Behavior; Motivation; Orientation; Papio/*psychology; Social Environment; Sound Spectrography; *Vocalization, Animal
Abstract “Contact” calls are widespread in social mammals and birds, but the proximate factors that motivate call production and mediate their contact function remain poorly specified. Field study of chacma baboons (Papio cynocephalus ursinus) revealed that contact barks in adult females were motivated by separation both from the group at large and from their dependent infants. A variety of social and ecological factors affect the probability of separation from either one or both. Results of simultaneous observations and a playback experiment indicate that the contact function of calling between mothers and infants was mediated by occasional maternal retrieval rather than coordinated call exchange. Mothers recognized the contact barks of their own infants and often were strongly motivated to locate them. However, mothers did not produce contact barks in reply unless they themselves were at risk of becoming separated from the group.
Address (up) Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, USA. d.rendall@uleth.ca
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0735-7036 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:10739310 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 695
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Seyfarth, R.M.; Cheney, D.L.
Title Meaning and emotion in animal vocalizations Type Journal Article
Year 2003 Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Abbreviated Journal Ann N Y Acad Sci
Volume 1000 Issue Pages 32-55
Keywords Acoustics; *Affect; Animals; Behavior, Animal; *Intention; Posture; Sound Spectrography; *Vocalization, Animal
Abstract Historically, a dichotomy has been drawn between the semantic communication of human language and the apparently emotional calls of animals. Current research paints a more complicated picture. Just as scientists have identified elements of human speech that reflect a speaker's emotions, field experiments have shown that the calls of many animals provide listeners with information about objects and events in the environment. Like human speech, therefore, animal vocalizations simultaneously provide others with information that is both semantic and emotional. In support of this conclusion, we review the results of field experiments on the natural vocalizations of African vervet monkeys, diana monkeys, baboons, and suricates (a South African mongoose). Vervet and diana monkeys give acoustically distinct alarm calls in response to the presence of leopards, eagles, and snakes. Each alarm call type elicits a different, adaptive response from others nearby. Field experiments demonstrate that listeners compare these vocalizations not just according to their acoustic properties but also according to the information they convey. Like monkeys, suricates give acoustically distinct alarm calls in response to different predators. Within each predator class, the calls also differ acoustically according to the signaler's perception of urgency. Like speech, therefore, suricate alarm calls convey both semantic and emotional information. The vocalizations of baboons, like those of many birds and mammals, are individually distinctive. As a result, when one baboon hears a sequence of calls exchanged between two or more individuals, the listener acquires information about social events in its group. Baboons, moreover, are skilled “eavesdroppers:” their response to different call sequences provides evidence of the sophisticated information they acquire from other individuals' vocalizations. Baboon males give loud “wahoo” calls during competitive displays. Like other vocalizations, these highly emotional calls provide listeners with information about the caller's dominance rank, age, and competitive ability. Although animal vocalizations, like human speech, simultaneously encode both semantic and emotional information, they differ from language in at least one fundamental respect. Although listeners acquire rich information from a caller's vocalization, callers do not, in the human sense, intend to provide it. Listeners acquire information as an inadvertent consequence of signaler behavior.
Address (up) Departments of Psychology and Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. seyfarth@psych.upenn.edu
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0077-8923 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:14766619 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 688
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Parr, L.A.
Title Perceptual biases for multimodal cues in chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) affect recognition Type Journal Article
Year 2004 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 7 Issue 3 Pages 171-178
Keywords Acoustic Stimulation; *Animal Communication; Animals; Auditory Perception/physiology; Cues; Discrimination Learning/*physiology; Facial Expression; Female; Male; Pan troglodytes/*psychology; Perceptual Masking/*physiology; Photic Stimulation; Recognition (Psychology)/*physiology; Visual Perception/physiology; *Vocalization, Animal
Abstract The ability of organisms to discriminate social signals, such as affective displays, using different sensory modalities is important for social communication. However, a major problem for understanding the evolution and integration of multimodal signals is determining how humans and animals attend to different sensory modalities, and these different modalities contribute to the perception and categorization of social signals. Using a matching-to-sample procedure, chimpanzees discriminated videos of conspecifics' facial expressions that contained only auditory or only visual cues by selecting one of two facial expression photographs that matched the expression category represented by the sample. Other videos were edited to contain incongruent sensory cues, i.e., visual features of one expression but auditory features of another. In these cases, subjects were free to select the expression that matched either the auditory or visual modality, whichever was more salient for that expression type. Results showed that chimpanzees were able to discriminate facial expressions using only auditory or visual cues, and when these modalities were mixed. However, in these latter trials, depending on the expression category, clear preferences for either the visual or auditory modality emerged. Pant-hoots and play faces were discriminated preferentially using the auditory modality, while screams were discriminated preferentially using the visual modality. Therefore, depending on the type of expressive display, the auditory and visual modalities were differentially salient in ways that appear consistent with the ethological importance of that display's social function.
Address (up) Division of Psychobiology, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, 954 Gatewood Road, GA 30329, Atlanta, USA. parr@rmy.emory.edu
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:14997361 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2544
Permanent link to this record