ArticlePhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences2022
Flexible use of contact calls in a species with high fission-fusion dynamics.
Article in Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Call combination production is linked to the social environment in Western Australian magpies (Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2024Article
- Social uncertainty promotes signal complexity during approaches in wild chimpanzees (Royal Society open science · 2023Article
- Variation in communicative complexity in relation to social structure and organization in non-human primates.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2022Review
- Communicative roots of complex sociality and cognition: preface to the theme issue.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2022Article
- Flexible use of contact calls in a species with high fission-fusion dynamics.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 6 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The 'social complexity hypothesis' posits that complex social systems (which entail high uncertainty) require complex communicative systems (with high vocal flexibility). In species with fission-fusion dynamics, where the fluid composition of temporary subgroups increases the uncertainty with which group members must manage their social relationships, vocal communication must be particularly flexible. This study assessed whether contact call rates vary with caller and audience characteristics in free-living spider monkeys, as well as with fission and fusion events. Adult females and immature individuals called more when in small audience settings, while audience size did not influence adult males. Adults called more when in the presence of the opposite sex, whereas immatures vocalized more in subgroups composed only by females. Females also called more when with their mature sons. We found higher call rates in periods during which fission and fusion events took place than in periods with more stable compositions and when the composition after a fission or fusion event changed from one sex to two sexes. A flexible use of contact calls allows individuals to identify themselves when they join others, particularly if they are members of the opposite sex. This socio-spatial cohesion function reduces the uncertainty about subgroup composition. This article is part of the theme issue 'Cognition, communication and social bonds in primates'.
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