I'm interested in communicative complexity in apes and monkeys. There seems to be a considerable redundancy (repetition) in the vocal communication of these species. What do you think could be the function of this repetition and redundancy. Could it be increased saliency? Do you know any relevant research? Assistance is very much appreciated!
There are several theories regarding this. But, my personal favorite is Hebets (2016; see reference below). They argue, just as you suggest that redundancy relates to salience or as they call it "robustness" (also worth noting that they have two other concepts: degeneracy and pluripotency ). Which, if you think in evolutionary terms (by evolutionary I am talking Darwinian) makes complete sense. Think of the environment that primates are often found in. The majority of primate species are arboreal and in dense forests. It is highly likely that a vocal signal could get lost in the din of the forest or blocked/deadened by the physical barriers. Therefore, if they call several times in the same manner it is more likely that others (within their group) may hear it. This raises the argument of intentional calling, which is a can of worms that I won't open here. You may also be interested in Klaus Zuberbühler's work on primate call sequences and the influence of sequence contents on meaning (here I refer to titi and diana monkeys - among others). I notice that you are at Warwick, Simon Townsend is an authority on this work, you may know him. He has recently moved to Switzerland though.
I hope that this helps. The Hebets paper is well worth a read!
Hebets, E. A., Barron, A. B., Balakrishnan, C. N., Hauber, M. E., Mason, P. H., & Hoke, K. L. (2016). A systems approach to animal communication. Proceedings. Biological Sciences / The Royal Society, 283(1826), 20152889-.
That is true. I was operating under the assumption that the calls were in fact the same. There are several statistical analyses that can confirm this.
Thank you Damien, I think that this was just the article I needed. I'm in the process of writing a PhD proposal to investigate this further with Zanna Clay in Durham. As a matter of fact I was taught by Simon as an Undergraduate; he is the reason for my interest in comparative psychology! I am currently working with Olga fehér on zebra finch syntax acquisition as part of my master's research. But my primary interest is still in apes.
Hi Tarandeep,
Zanna was my masters supervisor! What a small world! I am actually continuing some of my old work with her now.
Let me know how you get on with the application!
Best
Damien
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