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Evolutionary Origins of Primate Vocal Communication: Diversity, Flexibility, and Complexity of Vocalizations in Basal Primates

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Primate Hearing and Communication

Part of the book series: Springer Handbook of Auditory Research ((SHAR,volume 63))

Abstract

This chapter explores the importance of vocalizations in basal primates for modeling the evolutionary origins of primate social communication. A rich diversity in acoustic structures and signals, extending into the ultrasonic range, is used to govern various ecological and social challenges in their networks with varying degrees of social cohesiveness. Vocalizations convey information on specific emotions and on species, population, group, kin, and individual identity. Comparisons within the same phylogenetic group put forth the notion that natural selection limits cross-taxa vocal flexibility and favors universals in acoustic structure, whereas sexual and kin selection drive divergence. Bioacoustic research on vocal ontogeny depicted a babbling period with high vocal plasticity and an unexpected capability in adults to adapt their vocalizations to fluctuating background noise. Using a comparative bioacoustic approach, this chapter illuminates extraordinary cross-taxa variation in the acoustic spaces open for signal evolution and reveals that predation risk specifically shapes the acoustic space used. Comparison of vocal repertoire size, taken as an indicator of vocal complexity, reveals wide cross-taxa variation in call types and a striking variation in both solitary-ranging nocturnal and group-living diurnal species. The phylogenetic hypothesis and the social complexity hypothesis cannot fully explain this variation. Altogether, basal primates exhibit unique diversity, complexity, and flexibility of vocalizations for social communication, providing promising new avenues to trace the evolutionary origins of primate communication.

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Acknowledgments

I thank Marissa Ramsier, Rolf Quam, and Art Popper for inviting me to contribute to this volume and for their constructive remarks. I further thank Sabine Schmidt, who commented on a previous version of this manuscript and helped to clarify some arguments, and Ute Radespiel and Marina Scheumann for their long-term collaboration. Sönke von den Berg and Tjard Bergmann are thanked for technical support. My research on acoustic communication in primates was supported by various resources (e.g., Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst [DAAD], Volkswagenstiftung [VW], Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [DFG], and private sponsors).

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Elke Zimmermann states that she has no conflicts of interest.

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  1. Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Bünteweg 17, Hannover, 30559, Germany

    Elke Zimmermann

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  1. Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University, Binghamton, New York, USA

    Rolf M. Quam

  2. Department of Anthropology, Humboldt State University, Arcata, California, USA

    Marissa A. Ramsier

  3. Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Richard R. Fay

  4. Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

    Arthur N. Popper

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Zimmermann, E. (2017). Evolutionary Origins of Primate Vocal Communication: Diversity, Flexibility, and Complexity of Vocalizations in Basal Primates. In: Quam, R., Ramsier, M., Fay, R., Popper, A. (eds) Primate Hearing and Communication. Springer Handbook of Auditory Research, vol 63. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59478-1_5

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