Acoustics and behavioral contexts of "gecker" vocalizations in young rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).
J Acoust Soc Am
; 121(1): 575-85, 2007 Jan.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-17297811
ABSTRACT
Loud, pulsed "gecker" vocalizations are commonly produced by young rhesus macaques in distressful circumstances. The acoustics, usage, and responses associated with these calls were examined using audio recordings and observational data from captive, socially living rhesus up to 24 months old. One-hundred-eleven gecker bouts were recorded from ten individuals (six males, four females), with most geckers produced during the first 6 months of age. A gecker call consisted of a bout of up to 28 pulses of spectrally structured noise with a single prominent frequency peak. Nine contexts of calling were identified, but little evidence of context-specific acoustic variation was found. While geckering often triggered responses by the vocalizer's mother, the most common outcome was the absence of any reaction. Females geckered longer and at higher rates than did males, while also showing acoustic evidence of greater vocal effort. Mothers nonetheless responded more often and more positively to males. Overall, results show that gecker acoustics vary somewhat with vocalizer sex, age, and likely arousal level, but do not reflect detailed aspects of behavioral context. Circumstances of production suggest that geckers function primarily to draw the attention of mothers, who in turn are selective in responding.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2007
Tipo de documento:
Article