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Coding Strategies in Vertebrate Acoustic Communication pp 287–314Cite as

Interspecific Communication: Gaining Information from Heterospecific Alarm Calls

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Part of the book series: Animal Signals and Communication ((ANISIGCOM,volume 7))

Abstract

Many birds and mammals give alarm calls when they detect predators or other threats, and these calls have been used as classic models for understanding signal design. Here we consider signal design and usage, and how individuals acquire and use information from the alarm calls of other species. Alarm calls often encode detailed information on danger, such as the type of predator, its current behavior, size, or proximity. Alarm calls are sometimes very similar among species or can share generic acoustic features, and both help to explain recognition of heterospecific alarms. However, alarm calls can vary greatly among species, and taxonomically widespread eavesdropping also requires learning the association between calls and danger. Once heterospecifics eavesdrop on alarm calls, there is potentially selection on callers to modify their alarm calls or usage. If callers benefit from eavesdroppers’ responses to their alarm calls, they may be selected to enhance signal efficacy, leading to interspecific communication and mutual benefit. Alternatively, callers can be selected to manipulate eavesdroppers, using deceptive signaling, including mimicry, causing the eavesdropper to suffer a cost. If callers suffer a cost from eavesdroppers’ responses, their signaling can be modified to make eavesdropping harder, leading to cue denial. Overall, alarm signals provide an insight into the evolution of signal design, and the complex flow of information within and among species in natural communities.

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Acknowledgments

We thank all our collaborators in our work on communication and eavesdropping in Australian birds. In recent years these have included Lauren Ascah, Tom Bennett, Andrew Cockburn, Sean Cunningham, Francesca Dawson Pell, Anastasia Dalziell, Pam Fallow, Janet Gardner, Esteban Fernández Juricic, Jessica McLachlan, Trevor Murray, Helen Osmond, Dominique Potvin, Andy Radford, Chaminda Ratnayake, Tom Rowell, Natalie Tegtman, You Zhou, and others who have helped in various ways. We are also grateful for financial support from the Australian Research Council and the Research School of Biology, ANU, and to the Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme, Australian National Botanic Gardens, and ANU Ethics Committee permission to carry out the work.

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  1. Division of Ecology & Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

    Robert D. Magrath, Tonya M. Haff & Branislav Igic

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  1. Robert D. Magrath
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  2. Tonya M. Haff
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  3. Branislav Igic
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Correspondence to Robert D. Magrath .

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  1. Equipe Communications Acoustiques Neuro-PSI, CNRS UMR9197, University Paris-Saclay, Orsay, France

    Thierry Aubin

  2. Equipe de Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, ENES/CRNL, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM UMRS1028, University of Lyon, Saint-Etienne, France

    Nicolas Mathevon

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Magrath, R.D., Haff, T.M., Igic, B. (2020). Interspecific Communication: Gaining Information from Heterospecific Alarm Calls. In: Aubin, T., Mathevon, N. (eds) Coding Strategies in Vertebrate Acoustic Communication. Animal Signals and Communication, vol 7. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39200-0_12

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