| dc.contributor.author | Notman, Hugh | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2008-12-05T23:56:38Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2008-12-05T23:56:38Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2008-12-05T23:56:38Z | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/2149 /1739 | |
| dc.description | I attended the 45th annual meeting of the Animal Behavior Society in Snowbird, Utah, from 16-20 August 2008. The meetings included 4 plenary speakers, a symposium on evolutionary polyphenisms, contributed talks and posters. As is typical of ABS meetings, presentations covered a broad range of research topics on a variety of taxa, but all presenters converged on themes that are topical and cutting edge in the field of animal behaviour. As a primatologist, I have found attending meetings with a broad taxonomic focus invaluable for gaining insights into comparative approaches to studying different domains of behaviour in primates.
My contributions consisted of a paper on my work in chimpanzee communication, of which I was first author and presenter, as well as a paper on structural-function relationships in baboon vocalizations, on which I was second author (the first author was presenter). Both papers were well received and they generated positive commentary from attendees, particularly those involved in the field of animal communication. I was encouraged to continue to apply my theoretical approach to the study of animal vocalizations.
At present, I am starting a new primate research program on New World monkeys in Belize, CA. In future meetings I hope to present data generated by this endeavour, as soon as they become available. International meetings such as those hosted by ABS offer excellent opportunities for Athabasca University to showcase the work of its faculty and to build the university’s reputation as a leader in innovative research. | en |
| dc.description.abstract | There have been several previous studies of the loud, long-distance calls of chimpanzees, termed ‘pant hoots’. Some have explored the possibility that there are acoustically distinct subtypes of pant hoots that communicate to distant listeners different information about the caller’s behaviour, or ecological and social circumstances. However, research aimed at assessing the degree to which pant hoots constitute ‘referential’ animal signals have thus far been either inconclusive or conflicting. To help resolve these issues, we undertook research on pant hoots produced by wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schwienfurthii) living in the Budongo Forest, Uganda. In this paper, we report the results of acoustic analysis of 201 pant hoot series produced by seven adult males. Our results show that individual variation exceeds those differences observed between production contexts. In addition, what contextual variation we did observe occurred in acoustic features that are expected to vary with arousal and/or as by-products of physical activities associated with call production. We propose that pant hoots function primarily to transmit information about caller identity to dispersed group members, and that receivers might infer the situational context of the caller via associated auditory cues, such as caller location, direction of travel and social circumstance, that are independent of call structure. | en |
| dc.description.sponsorship | Academic & Professional Development Fund (A&PDF) | en |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.relation.ispartofseries | 92.927.G1073; | |
| dc.subject | Chimpanzee Pant Hoots | en |
| dc.subject | Referential Communication | en |
| dc.title | Lost in Transmission: Contextual Variation in Chimpanzee Pant Hoots and its Implications for Referential Communication presented at the Animal Behaviour Society 45th Annual Meeting in Snowbird Resort, UT, August 16-20, 2008 | en |
| dc.type | Presentation | en |
