Data from: Titi monkey call sequences vary with predator location and type

Animal alarm calls can encode information about a predator's category, size, distance or threat level. In non-human primates, alarm calls typically refer to broad classes of disturbances, in some instances to specific predators. Here, we present the results of a field experiment with a New World primate, the black-fronted titi monkey, designed to explore the information conveyed by their alarm call system. Adults produced sequences consisting of two main alarm call types that conveyed, in different parts of the utterance, information about a predator's type and location. In particular, sequence compositions differed depending on whether the predator was a mammalian carnivore or a raptor, and whether it was detected in a tree or on the ground. This is the first demonstration of a sequence-based alarm call system in a non-human animal that has the capacity to encode both location and type of predatory threat.

动物的警戒叫声可编码有关捕食者类别、体型、距离或威胁等级的信息。在非人灵长类动物中，警戒叫声通常指向宽泛类别的干扰事件，部分情况下也可指代特定捕食者。本研究针对一种新大陆灵长类动物——黑额伶猴开展野外实验，旨在探究其警戒叫声系统所传递的信息，现将实验结果呈现如下。成年个体发出的叫声序列包含两种主要的警戒叫声类型，在发声的不同区段分别传递捕食者类型与位置的相关信息。尤为关键的是，叫声序列的组成结构会根据捕食者为哺乳类食肉动物还是猛禽，以及捕食者被发现于树上还是地面而存在差异。本研究首次证实，非人动物中存在一套基于序列的警戒叫声系统，其具备同时编码捕食性威胁的位置与类型信息的能力。