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Call concatenation in wild meerkats

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Collier, Katie, Townsend, Simon W. and Manser, Marta B. (2017) Call concatenation in wild meerkats. Animal Behaviour, 134 . pp. 257-269. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.12.014 ISSN 0003-3472.

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.12.014

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Abstract

Repertoire size, frequently determined by the number of discrete call types, has been used to assess vocal complexity in animals. However, species can also increase their communicative complexity by using graded signals or by combining individual calls. Animal call sequences can be divided into two main categories, each subdivided into two classes: repetitions, with either an unlimited or finite number of iterations of the same call type, and mixed call combinations, composed of two or more graded or discrete call types. Social contexts involve a wide range of behaviours and, unlike predation contexts, can be associated with both positive and negative emotions. Therefore, interactions linked to social contexts may place additional demands on an animal's communicative system and lead to the use of call combinations. We systematically documented call combinations produced by wild meerkats, Suricata suricatta, a highly social carnivore, in social contexts in their natural habitat. We observed 12 distinct call combinations belonging to all four classes of combination, produced in all the observed behavioural contexts. Four combinations were each produced in a specific context whereas the remaining eight were produced in several contexts, albeit in different proportions. The broad use of combinations suggests that they represent a non-negligible part of meerkat social communication and that they can be used in flexible ways across various behavioural contexts. Comparison with combinations produced in predation contexts indicated that social call combinations are more varied in number of classes and structural complexity than the former, perhaps due to the greater variety of social contexts. However, in meerkats, combinations of functionally referential calls have been documented in predation but not social contexts, suggesting that both social and predation pressures may play a role in the evolution of combinatoriality in animal communication.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: Q Science > QL Zoology
Divisions: Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Psychology
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Meerkat -- Vocalization, Animal sounds
Journal or Publication Title: Animal Behaviour
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd.
ISSN: 0003-3472
Official Date: December 2017
Dates:
DateEvent
December 2017Published
15 February 2017Available
21 November 2016Accepted
Volume: 134
Page Range: pp. 257-269
DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.12.014
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Access rights to Published version: Restricted or Subscription Access
Date of first compliant deposit: 20 January 2017
Date of first compliant Open Access: 15 January 2018
RIOXX Funder/Project Grant:
Project/Grant IDRIOXX Funder NameFunder ID
UNSPECIFIEDUniversität Zürichhttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100006447
UNSPECIFIEDUniversity of Cambridgehttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000735
UNSPECIFIEDEarthwatch Institutehttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100001089
Grant No 294494H2020 European Research Councilhttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100010663
UNSPECIFIEDUniversity of Pretoriahttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001343
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