Abstract
Researchers have documented individual vocal recognition in several primate species but do not know whether the changes in acoustical parameters that might occur over distance influence the informational content of a call that relates to individuality. Accordingly, we performed playback experiments using male orangutan long-distance calls (long calls) and rerecorded them at increasing distances from the source. We aimed to determine 1) which acoustical parameters changed over distance and 2) whether the percentage of calls that a discriminant analyses would assign to the correct individual would change over distance. High-frequency harmonics were attenuated and lost with increasing distance, but other parameters did not change. The percentage of calls assigned to the correct individual did not change over distance, indicating that even though there are some acoustical changes over distance the opportunity for other individuals to recognize the caller remains similar until ≤300 m, which was the maximum distance at which we rerecorded calls. Extending similar experiments to other primate species and other taxa, while subsequently conducting experiments to assess whether individual discrimination by receivers is indeed based on relatively stable acoustical parameters, would forward our understanding of acoustic communication.
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Acknowledgments
We thank to the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) for authorization to carry out research in Indonesia, the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS) for permission to work at Mawas, and the Universitas Nasional (UNAS) for acting as a sponsor. The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon) and the Leonardo da Vinci Programme (University of Lisbon) financially supported A. Lameira during data analysis. The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), the Leakey Foundation, and the National Geographic Society financially supported S. A. Wich. We thank Madeleine Hardus, Han de Vries, and Adrian Jaeggi for help during various phases of the project. We thank Carel van Schaik for providing us the opportunity to conduct research in Tuanan. Two anonymous reviewers provided valuable suggestions on an earlier version of the manuscript.
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Lameira, A.R., Wich, S.A. Orangutan Long Call Degradation and Individuality Over Distance: A Playback Approach. Int J Primatol 29, 615–625 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-008-9253-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-008-9253-x