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Do singing rock hyraxes exploit conspecific calls to gain attention?
Amiyaal Ilany1, Adi Barocas, Lee Koren
1Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. amiyaal@gmail.com
Plos One
|December 14, 2011
Summary
Rock hyrax males use pup screams as an external stimulus to enhance their songs, improving signal reception in noisy environments. This study reveals a novel strategy in animal communication, exploiting conspecific signals for better attention.
Area of Science:
- Animal behavior
- Bioacoustics
- Evolutionary biology
Background:
- Signal detection theory suggests signals need alerts for noisy environments.
- Animals may use external stimuli instead of alerts to gain attention.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate why male rock hyraxes sing.
- Determine if external stimuli enhance singing displays.
Main Methods:
- Observation of free-living rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis).
- Playback experiments using pup screams.
Main Results:
- Male rock hyraxes sing after hearing pup screams.
- Pup screams elicit strong responses from nearby hyraxes.
- Singing males appear to exploit pup screams to enhance their display.
Conclusions:
- Animals may enhance signal reception by exploiting conspecifics' signals.
- Utilizing external stimuli is a potential widespread adaptive strategy for communication in complex environments.
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