首页|Peahens can differentiate between the antipredator calls of individual conspecifics

Peahens can differentiate between the antipredator calls of individual conspecifics

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Animals of many different species discriminate among individuals based on acoustic properties of vocalizations. These vocalizations are produced in different contexts, including territorial defence and parenteoffspring interactions. They are also produced in response to predators, but we know less about whether animals, especially birds, are able to discriminate among individuals based on antipredator calls. We therefore examined whether an avian species (peafowl, Pavo cristatus) is able to differentiate between the antipredator calls of different individuals. Using a habituation-discrimination playback paradigm, we habituated peahens to the antipredator calls of a given individual and then examined their responses to additional calls from that individual and to calls from a novel individual. We found that peahens responded more strongly to calls from the novel individual than from the original individual, demonstrating that they are able to differentiate between individuals based on the acoustic properties of antipredator calls. The ability to differentiate between individual callers may be useful to peahens in modifying their antipredator behaviour based on signaller reliability. (C) 2015 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

alarm vocalizationantipredator behaviourhabituation-discriminationindividual recognitionPavo cristatus

Nichols, Mark R.、Yorzinski, Jessica L.

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Univ N Carolina, Dept Biol, Chapel Hill, NC USA|N Carolina State Univ, Coll Vet Med, 1060 William Moore Dr, Raleigh, NC 27695 USA

Purdue Univ, Dept Anim Sci, W Lafayette, IN 47907 USA

2016

Animal behaviour

Animal behaviour

SCI
ISSN:0003-3472
年,卷(期):2016.112
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