Sex Specific Responses To Vocal Convergence And Divergence Of Contact Calls In Orange-fronted Conures (Aratinga Canicularis)

Main Category: Veterinary
Also Included In: Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 04 Jun 2008 - 4:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

We investigated the signal function of vocal imitation in orange-fronted conures in Costa Rica.

During call exchanges, the similarity between the contact calls of different individuals may either increase (converge) or decrease (diverge).

We conducted an experiment in which we simulated convergent, divergent, and no-change interaction series with male and female contact calls.

This study demonstrate that orange-fronted conures can discriminate between male and female contact calls and that subtle changes in contact call structure during interactions have signal function.

The stronger overall response to convergent series suggests that convergence of contact calls is an affiliative signal.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Proceedings B is the Royal Society's flagship biological research journal, dedicated to the rapid publication and broad dissemination of high-quality research papers, reviews and comment and reply papers. The scope of journal is diverse and is especially strong in organismal biology.

www.publishing.royalsociety.org/proceedingsb

• Additional
• References
• Citations