Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Referential labelling in Diana monkeys.

Zuberbühler1

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Animal Behaviour
|June 22, 2000
PubMed
Summary

Diana monkeys (Cercopithecus diana) use distinct alarm calls for different predator types, not just threat levels. Their calls convey specific information about the predator category, and possibly its distance.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Causal knowledge of predators' behaviour in wild Diana monkeys.

Animal behaviour·2000
See all related articles

Area of Science:

  • Ethology
  • Animal Communication
  • Primate Behavior

Background:

  • Animal semantic communication is studied for its relevance to human language.
  • Research on nonhuman primate alarm calls shows recipients understand call meaning, but call production mechanisms are less understood.
  • Some species' alarm calls reflect danger levels rather than specific predator types.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the mental mechanisms driving alarm call production in Diana monkeys.
  • To determine if Diana monkeys' alarm calls differentiate predators based on category, distance, or direction of attack.
  • To explore the semantic content of alarm calls in wild Diana monkeys (Cercopithecus diana).

Main Methods:

  • Playback experiments with altered stimuli and speaker positions were used.
  • Diana monkey alarm call behavior was analyzed in response to varying predator cues.
  • Acoustic properties of alarm calls were examined in relation to predator category, distance, and elevation.

Main Results:

  • Diana monkeys consistently used acoustically different alarm calls based on predator category (eagle vs. leopard).
  • Call responses were independent of immediate threat or direction of attack.
  • Data suggested alarm calls may also encode information about predator distance.

Conclusions:

  • Diana monkeys' alarm calls are primarily driven by predator category, not just perceived threat.
  • The findings contribute to understanding the evolution of semantic communication in primates.
  • Alarm calls in Diana monkeys demonstrate a sophisticated level of information encoding regarding predation events.

Related Experiment Videos