Working hypotheses on the meaning of general alarm calls

Publication Type:Journal Article
Year of Publication:2018
Autoren:Dezecache, Berthet
Journal:Animal Behaviour
Volume:142
Pagination:113 - 118
Date Published:Jan-08-2018
ISSN:00033472
Schlüsselwörter:alarm call, context, functional referentiality, general alarm call, informativity principle, Meaning, semantics, vocalization
Zusammenfassung:

General calls are present in the vocal repertoire of a great number of animal species. Because of their lack of context specificity, they are typically argued to possess blurred meaning, or even no meaning at all. Although recent animal cognition studies have demonstrated a growing interest in these vocalizations, there is currently no clear definition of general calls, and their meaning is seldom discussed. Here, we propose a definition of general calls, and review various hypotheses regarding their meaning, focusing on alert contexts. We first discuss the hypothesis that general alarm calls have a general alert meaning. Second, we review an alternative view, that general calls in fact have a specific meaning. With this review, we encourage further research that could help delve into the mechanisms underlying vocal production and comprehension and would improve our understanding of general and specific calls in animals.

URL:https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0003347218301908https://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0003347218301908?httpAccept=text/xmlhttps://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0003347218301908?httpAccept=text/plain
DOI:10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.06.008
Short Title:Animal Behaviour
BioAcoustica ID: 
Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith