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Acoustic models of orangutan hand-assisted alarm calls
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de Boer, Bart, Wich, Serge A., Hardus, Madeleine A. and Lameira, Adriano R. (2015) Acoustic models of orangutan hand-assisted alarm calls. Journal of Experimental Biology, 218 (6). pp. 907-914. doi:10.1242/jeb.110577 ISSN 0022-0949.
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.110577
Abstract
Orangutans produce alarm calls called kiss-squeaks, which they sometimes modify by putting a hand in front of their mouth. Through theoretical models and observational evidence, we show that using the hand when making a kiss-squeak alters the acoustics of the production in such a way that more formants per kilohertz are produced. Our theoretical models suggest that cylindrical wave propagation is created with the use of the hand and face as they act as a cylindrical extension of the lips. The use of cylindrical wave propagation in animal calls appears to be extremely rare, but is an effective way to lengthen the acoustic system; it causes the number of resonances per kilohertz to increase. This increase is associated with larger animals, and thus using the hand in kiss-squeak production may be effective in exaggerating the size of the producer. Using the hand appears to be a culturally learned behavior, and therefore orangutans may be able to associate the acoustic effect of using the hand with potentially more effective deterrence of predators.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||
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Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Psychology | ||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Journal of Experimental Biology | ||||||
Publisher: | Company of Biologists Ltd | ||||||
ISSN: | 0022-0949 | ||||||
Official Date: | 18 March 2015 | ||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 218 | ||||||
Number: | 6 | ||||||
Page Range: | pp. 907-914 | ||||||
DOI: | 10.1242/jeb.110577 | ||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||
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