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Primates of Gashaka pp 437–468Cite as

Not Words but Meanings? Alarm Calling Behaviour in a Forest Guenon

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Part of the book series: Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects ((DIPR,volume 35))

Abstract

Vervet monkey alarm call behaviour has long been the paradigmatic example of how primates use vocalisations to protect themselves from predators. In these primates, there is a close link between different types of vocalisations and different types of predators. More recent work has shown that there are alternative ways in which primates use vocalisations to cope with predation, suggesting that the one-call / one-predator type alarm calling system may not be universal among primates. Here, we [COMP1]describe studies on the alarm call system of putty-nosed monkeys at Gashaka Gumti National Park / Nigeria. We found that the adult males regularly produce two acoustically distinct alarm call types but neither is given exclusively to one predator. There are striking regularities in how calls are ordered into more complex combinations, one of which, the pyow-hack sequence, is tightly linked to subsequent behaviour and apparently functions to initiate group movements. The remainder are each associated with a range of contexts and so appear to provide information which differs from the alarm calls of other guenon species studied to date. Our research focuses on understanding whether the different call series might encode information at different levels, such as predator type, degree of threat or urgency, or the callers imminent behaviour. More broadly, our aim is to characterise the cognitive mechanisms underlying primate communication from which human language has evolved.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, KY16 9JP, Scotland, UK

    Klaus Zuberbühler

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  1. Kate Arnold
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  2. Yvonne Pohlner
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  3. Klaus Zuberbühler
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Correspondence to Klaus Zuberbühler .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fac. Arts, Dept. Anthropology, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom

    Volker Sommer

  2. School of Human & Life Sciences, Roehampton University, Holybourne Ave., London, SW15 4JD, United Kingdom

    Caroline Ross

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Arnold, K., Pohlner, Y., Zuberbühler, K. (2011). Not Words but Meanings? Alarm Calling Behaviour in a Forest Guenon. In: Sommer, V., Ross, C. (eds) Primates of Gashaka. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects, vol 35. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7403-7_11

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