The Library
Wild dwarf mongooses produce general alert and predator-specific alarm calls
Tools
Tools
Tools
Collier, Katie, Radford, Andrew N., Townsend, Simon W. and Manser, Marta B. (2017) Wild dwarf mongooses produce general alert and predator-specific alarm calls. Behavioural Ecology, 28 (5). pp. 1293-1301.
|
PDF
WRAP-wild-dwarf-mongooses-produce-Townsend-2017.pdf - Accepted Version - Requires a PDF viewer. Download (1280Kb) | Preview |
Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arx091
Abstract
Many species produce alarm calls in response to predator threats. Whilst these can be general alert calls, some are urgency-based, indicating perceived threat level, some are predator-specific, indicating the predator type present, and some encode information about both urgency level and predator type. Predator-specific calls given to a narrow range of stimuli and which elicit a specific, adaptive, response from the receiver are termed functionally referential. Differing escape strategies, habitat structural complexity and sociality may favor the evolution of functionally referential calls. A study of one captive group of dwarf 3 mongooses (Helogale parvula) suggested their alarm calls could transmit information about species, distance and elevation of predators. Using recordings of natural predator encounters, predator presentations and audio playbacks, we investigated the alarm-call system in seven wild dwarf mongoose groups. We recorded 11 different alarm-call types given to nine stimulus categories. Of the five commonly emitted alarm-call types, three appeared to be non-specific and two predator-specific, given to aerial and terrestrial predators respectively. The remaining six call types were rarely produced. Furthermore, aerial alarms were given to a narrower range of stimuli than their terrestrial alarm calls, which were given to both visible terrestrial predators and secondary cues of predators. Unlike other mongoose species, dwarf mongoose seem to use the same alarm-call type for both physically present terrestrial predators and secondary cues of their presence. We argue that detailed knowledge of species’ alarm-call systems under natural conditions can shed light on the evolutionary emergence of different types of alarm calls.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects: | Q Science > QL Zoology | ||||||||||||
| Divisions: | Faculty of Science > Psychology | ||||||||||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Helogale -- Behavior, Animal calls | ||||||||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | Behavioural Ecology | ||||||||||||
| Publisher: | Oxford University Press | ||||||||||||
| ISSN: | 1045-2249 | ||||||||||||
| Official Date: | 1 September 2017 | ||||||||||||
| Dates: |
|
||||||||||||
| Volume: | 28 | ||||||||||||
| Number: | 5 | ||||||||||||
| Page Range: | pp. 1293-1301 | ||||||||||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||||||
| Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||||||||
| RIOXX Funder/Project Grant: |
|
Request changes or add full text files to a record
Repository staff actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
Downloads
Downloads per month over past year
