Browse
Submit Data
Databases
API
Help

Dataset Information

35 Views

0 Connections

0 Citations

0 Reanalyses

0 Downloads

Omics score: 0

Personal information about danger trumps social information from avian alarm calls.

ABSTRACT: Information about predators can mean the difference between life and death, but prey face the challenge of integrating personal information about predators with social information from the alarm calls of others. This challenge might even affect the structure of interspecific information networks: species vary in response to alarm calls, potentially because different foraging ecologies constrain the acquisition of personal information. However, the hypothesis that constrained personal information explains a greater response to alarm calls has not been experimentally tested. We used a within-species test to compare the antipredator responses of New Holland honeyeaters, Phylidonyris novaehollandiae, during contrasting foraging behaviour. Compared with perched birds, which hawk for insects and have a broad view, those foraging on flowers were slower to spot gliding model predators, showing that foraging behaviour can affect predator detection. Furthermore, nectar-foraging birds were more likely to flee to alarm call playbacks. Birds also assessed social information relevance: more distant calls, and those from another species, prompted fewer flights and slower reaction times. Overall, birds made flexible decisions about danger by integrating personal and social information, while weighing information relevance. These findings support the idea that a strategic balance of personal and social information could affect community function.

SUBMITTER: McLachlan JR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6452073 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Json Xml

Similar Datasets

Speedy revelations: how alarm calls can convey rapid, reliable information about urgent danger.

Project description:In the perpetual struggle between high-speed predators and their prey, individuals need to react in the blink of an eye to avoid capture. Alarm calls that warn of danger therefore need to do so sufficiently rapidly that listeners can escape in time. Paradoxically, many species produce more elements in their alarm calls when signalling about more immediate danger, thereby increasing the reliability of transmission of critical information but taking longer to convey the urgent message. We found that New Holland honeyeaters, Phylidonyris novaehollandiae, incorporated more elements in alarm calls given to more dangerous predators, but video analysis revealed that listeners responded in 100 ms, after only the first element. Consistent with this rapid response, the acoustic structure of the first element varied according to the danger, and playbacks confirmed that birds need hear only the first element to assess risk. However, birds hid for longer and were more likely to flee, after calls with more elements. The dual mechanisms of varying both element structure and number may provide a widespread solution to signalling rapidly and reliably about immediate danger.

| S-EPMC7062026 | biostudies-literature

Neurocognitive processing efficiency for discriminating human non-alarm rather than alarm scream calls.

Project description:Across many species, scream calls signal the affective significance of events to other agents. Scream calls were often thought to be of generic alarming and fearful nature, to signal potential threats, with instantaneous, involuntary, and accurate recognition by perceivers. However, scream calls are more diverse in their affective signaling nature than being limited to fearfully alarming a threat, and thus the broader sociobiological relevance of various scream types is unclear. Here we used 4 different psychoacoustic, perceptual decision-making, and neuroimaging experiments in humans to demonstrate the existence of at least 6 psychoacoustically distinctive types of scream calls of both alarming and non-alarming nature, rather than there being only screams caused by fear or aggression. Second, based on perceptual and processing sensitivity measures for decision-making during scream recognition, we found that alarm screams (with some exceptions) were overall discriminated the worst, were responded to the slowest, and were associated with a lower perceptual sensitivity for their recognition compared with non-alarm screams. Third, the neural processing of alarm compared with non-alarm screams during an implicit processing task elicited only minimal neural signal and connectivity in perceivers, contrary to the frequent assumption of a threat processing bias of the primate neural system. These findings show that scream calls are more diverse in their signaling and communicative nature in humans than previously assumed, and, in contrast to a commonly observed threat processing bias in perceptual discriminations and neural processes, we found that especially non-alarm screams, and positive screams in particular, seem to have higher efficiency in speeded discriminations and the implicit neural processing of various scream types in humans.

| S-EPMC8043411 | biostudies-literature

Female putty-nosed monkeys use experimentally altered contextual information to disambiguate the cause of male alarm calls.

Project description:Many animal vocal signals are given in a wide range of contexts which can sometimes have little in common. Yet, to respond adaptively, listeners must find ways to identify the cause of a signal, or at least rule out alternatives. Here, we investigate the nature of this process in putty-nosed monkeys, a forest primate. In this species, adult males have a very restricted repertoire of vocalizations which are given in response to a wide variety of events occurring under conditions of limited visibility. We carried out a series of field playback experiments on females (N = 6) in a habituated group in Gashaka Gumti National Park, Nigeria, in which male alarm/loud calls were presented either alone, or following acoustic information that simulated the occurrence of natural disturbances. We demonstrate that listeners appear to integrate contextual information in order to distinguish among possible causes of calls. We conclude that, in many cases, pragmatic aspects of communication play a crucial role in call interpretation and place a premium on listeners' abilities to integrate information from different sources.

| S-EPMC3673958 | biostudies-other

Discriminating between similar alarm calls of contrasting function.

Project description:In a pioneering study of signal design, Marler (Marler 1955 Nature 176, 6-8. (doi:10.1038/176006a0); Marler 1957 Behaviour 11, 13-37. (doi:10.1163/156853956X00066)) argued that the contrasting acoustic design of hawk (seet) and mobbing alarm calls of European passerines reflected their contrasting function. Hawk alarms were high-frequency tones, warning conspecifics to flee but making localization difficult for predators, while mobbing calls were broadband and harsh, allowing easy localization and approach. Contrasting signal features are also consistent with signal detection theory. Discriminating these calls quickly is critical for survival, because hawk alarms require immediate escape. These signals should therefore be selected to be easy to discriminate, reducing the trade-off between immediate fleeing to hawk alarms and unnecessary fleeing to mobbing alarms. Despite these expectations, hawk and mobbing alarm calls of superb fairy-wrens, Malurus cyaneus, are surprisingly similar, raising the question of discriminability without contextual cues. We synthesized these calls on computer, made intermediates and used playbacks to test whether calls can be discriminated acoustically, and if so by what features. We found that birds used multiple acoustic features when discriminating calls, allowing fast discrimination despite overlap in individual parameters. We speculate that the similarity of fairy-wren alarm calls could enhance detectability of both signals, while multiple subtle acoustic differences reduce a trade-off with discriminability. This article is part of the theme issue 'Signal detection theory in recognition systems: from evolving models to experimental tests'.

| S-EPMC7331020 | biostudies-literature

Titi monkeys combine alarm calls to create probabilistic meaning.

Project description:Previous work suggested that titi monkeys Callicebus nigrifrons combine two alarm calls, the A- and B-calls, to communicate about predator type and location. To explore how listeners process these sequences, we recorded alarm call sequences of six free-ranging groups exposed to terrestrial and aerial predator models, placed on the ground or in the canopy, and used multimodel inference to assess the information encoded in the sequences. We then carried out playback experiments to identify the features used by listeners to react to the available information. Results indicated that information about predator type and location were encoded by the proportion of B-call pairs relative to all call pairs of the sequence (i.e., proportion of BB-grams). The results suggest that the meaning of the sequence is not conveyed in a categorical but probabilistic manner. We discuss the implications of these findings for current theories of animal communication and language evolution.

| S-EPMC6527438 | biostudies-literature

Dwarf mongoose alarm calls: investigating a complex non-human animal call.

Project description:Communication plays a vital role in the social lives of many species and varies greatly in complexity. One possible way to increase communicative complexity is by combining signals into longer sequences, which has been proposed as a mechanism allowing species with a limited repertoire to increase their communicative output. In mammals, most studies on combinatoriality have focused on vocal communication in non-human primates. Here, we investigated a potential combination of alarm calls in the dwarf mongoose (Helogale parvula), a non-primate mammal. Acoustic analyses and playback experiments with a wild population suggest: (i) that dwarf mongooses produce a complex call type (T3) which, at least at the surface level, seems to comprise units that are not functionally different to two meaningful alarm calls (aerial and terrestrial); and (ii) that this T3 call functions as a general alarm, produced in response to a wide range of threats. Using a novel approach, we further explored multiple interpretations of the T3 call based on the information content of the apparent comprising calls and how they are combined. We also considered an alternative, non-combinatorial interpretation that frames T3 as the origin, rather than the product, of the individual alarm calls. This study complements previous knowledge of vocal combinatoriality in non-primate mammals and introduces an approach that could facilitate comparisons between different animal and human communication systems.

| S-EPMC7542821 | biostudies-literature

Is the propensity to emit alarm calls associated with health status?

Project description:The production and structure of animal signals may depend on an individual's health status and may provide more than one type of information to receivers. While alarm calls are not typically viewed as health condition dependent, recent studies have suggested that their structure, and possibly their propensity to be emitted, depends on an individual's health condition and state. We asked whether the propensity of yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventer) to emit calls is influenced by their immunological or parasite status, by quantifying both trap-elicited and natural calling rates as a function of their neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (NL) ratio, the presence of a blood borne trypanosome, and the presence of several intestinal parasites (Eimeria sp., Entamoeba sp., and Ascaris sp.). We fitted mixed effects models to determine if the health measures we collected were associated with the probability of calling in a trap and with annual rates of natural alarm calling. Marmots infected with a blood-borne trypanosome were marginally more likely to call naturally and when trapped, while those infected with the intestinal parasite Ascaris were less likely to call when trapped. NL ratio was not directly associated with in-trap calling probability, but males were more likely to call when they had higher NL ratios. Thus, health conditions, such as parasite infection and immune system activation, can modulate the production of alarm signals and potentially provide information to both predators and prey about the caller's condition. Playback experiments are required to confirm if receivers use such information.

| S-EPMC7769573 | biostudies-literature

Alarm calls evoke a visual search image of a predator in birds.

Project description:One of the core features of human speech is that words cause listeners to retrieve corresponding visual mental images. However, whether vocalizations similarly evoke mental images in animal communication systems is surprisingly unknown. Japanese tits (Parus minor) produce specific alarm calls when and only when encountering a predatory snake. Here, I show that simply hearing these calls causes tits to become more visually perceptive to objects resembling snakes. During playback of snake-specific alarm calls, tits approach a wooden stick being moved in a snake-like fashion. However, tits do not respond to the same stick when hearing other call types or if the stick's movement is dissimilar to that of a snake. Thus, before detecting a real snake, tits retrieve its visual image from snake-specific alarm calls and use this to search out snakes. This study provides evidence for a call-evoked visual search image in a nonhuman animal, offering a paradigm to explore the cognitive basis for animal vocal communication in the wild.

| S-EPMC5816198 | biostudies-literature

Alarming features: birds use specific acoustic properties to identify heterospecific alarm calls.

Project description:Vertebrates that eavesdrop on heterospecific alarm calls must distinguish alarms from sounds that can safely be ignored, but the mechanisms for identifying heterospecific alarm calls are poorly understood. While vertebrates learn to identify heterospecific alarms through experience, some can also respond to unfamiliar alarm calls that are acoustically similar to conspecific alarm calls. We used synthetic calls to test the role of specific acoustic properties in alarm call identification by superb fairy-wrens, Malurus cyaneus. Individuals fled more often in response to synthetic calls with peak frequencies closer to those of conspecific calls, even if other acoustic features were dissimilar to that of fairy-wren calls. Further, they then spent more time in cover following calls that had both peak frequencies and frequency modulation rates closer to natural fairy-wren means. Thus, fairy-wrens use similarity in specific acoustic properties to identify alarms and adjust a two-stage antipredator response. Our study reveals how birds respond to heterospecific alarm calls without experience, and, together with previous work using playback of natural calls, shows that both acoustic similarity and learning are important for interspecific eavesdropping. More generally, this study reconciles contrasting views on the importance of alarm signal structure and learning in recognition of heterospecific alarms.

| S-EPMC3574322 | biostudies-literature

Small Is Big: Interactive Trumps Passive Information in Breaking Information Barriers and Impacting Behavioral Antecedents.

Project description:The wealth of information available on seemingly every topic creates a considerable challenge both for information providers trying to rise above the noise and discerning individuals trying to find relevant, trustworthy information. We approach this information problem by investigating how passive versus interactive information interventions can impact the antecedents of behavior change using the context of solar energy adoption, where persistent information gaps are known to reduce market potential. We use two experiments to investigate the impact of both passive and interactive approaches to information delivery on the antecedents (attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control in the Theory of Planned Behavior) of intentions and behavior, as well as their effect on intentions and behavior directly. The passive information randomized control trial delivered via Amazon Mechanical Turk tests the effectiveness of delivering the same content in a single message versus multiple shorter messages. The interactive information delivery uses an online (mobile and PC) trivia-style gamification platform. Both experiments use the same content and are carried out over a two-week time period. Our findings suggest that interactive, gamified information has greater impact than passive information, and that shorter multiple messages of passive information are more effective than a single passive message.

| S-EPMC5242502 | biostudies-literature

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

OmicsDI is an Elixir interoperability service. Learn more ›

Tweets

OmicsDI Databases

PRIDE
PeptideAtlas
MassIVE
JPOST Repository
Physiome Model Repository

EGA
EVA
ENA
LINCS
PAXDB
Cell Collective

MetaboLights
Metabolomics Workbench
MetabolomeExpress
GNPS
BioModels
FAIRDOMHub

ArrayExpress
dbGaP
ExpressionAtlas
GEO
NODE

Information

Databases
Help
API
Contact us
Code on GitHub
Terms of use
Submit Data