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Recording Mouse Ultrasonic Vocalizations to Evaluate Social Communication
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Titi monkey call sequences vary with predator location and type.

Cristiane Cäsar1, Klaus Zuberbühler, Robert J Young

  • 1School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.

Biology Letters
|September 6, 2013
PubMed
Summary

Black-fronted titi monkeys use alarm call sequences to communicate predator type and location. This study reveals a sophisticated, sequence-based alarm call system in a New World primate.

Keywords:
New World monkeysalarm callspredator modelssequences

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Area of Science:

  • Primate communication
  • Bioacoustics
  • Animal behavior

Background:

  • Animal alarm calls convey critical information about predators.
  • Non-human primate alarm calls often signal broad disturbance classes or specific predators.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the information encoded in the alarm call system of the black-fronted titi monkey (Callicebus nigrifrons).
  • To determine if alarm calls convey specific details about predator type and location.

Main Methods:

  • Field experiment involving black-fronted titi monkeys.
  • Analysis of alarm call sequences produced by adult monkeys in response to simulated threats.
  • Categorization of calls based on predator type (mammalian carnivore vs. raptor) and location (tree vs. ground).

Main Results:

  • Adult titi monkeys produced alarm call sequences composed of two main call types.
  • Sequence composition varied significantly based on predator type and location.
  • This demonstrates a capacity to encode both predator type and location within alarm calls.

Conclusions:

  • The black-fronted titi monkey exhibits a sophisticated, sequence-based alarm call system.
  • This is the first documented instance of such a system in a non-human animal, encoding both predator type and location.
  • Findings advance our understanding of the complexity of primate communication.