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Dryad

Data from: Titi monkey call sequences vary with predator location and type

Cite this dataset

Cäsar, Cristiane; Zuberbuhler, Klaus; Young, Robert J.; Byrne, Richard W. (2013). Data from: Titi monkey call sequences vary with predator location and type [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.sd1sr

Abstract

Animal alarm calls can encode information about a predator’s category, size, distance or threat level. In non-human primates, alarm calls typically refer to broad classes of disturbances, in some instances to specific predators. Here, we present the results of a field experiment with a New World primate, the black-fronted titi monkey, designed to explore the information conveyed by their alarm call system. Adults produced sequences consisting of two main alarm call types that conveyed, in different parts of the utterance, information about a predator’s type and location. In particular, sequence compositions differed depending on whether the predator was a mammalian carnivore or a raptor, and whether it was detected in a tree or on the ground. This is the first demonstration of a sequence-based alarm call system in a non-human animal that has the capacity to encode both location and type of predatory threat.

Usage notes

Location

Minas Gerais
Brazil