02336nas a2200157 4500008004100000022001300041245005600054210005500110260001600165520166900181100002001850700003101870700002201901700002201923856023301945 2018 eng d a0960982200aVocal Turn-Taking in Meerkat Group Calling Sessions0 aVocal TurnTaking in Meerkat Group Calling Sessions cJan-11-20183 a

Coordination is a fundamental aspect of social living, underlying processes ranging from the maintenance of group cohesion to the avoidance of competition. Coordination can manifest as synchronization, where individuals perform the same action at the same time but can also take the form of anti-synchronization or turn-taking. Turn-taking has mainly been studied in the context of the development of language [1] due to the fact that it is a universal feature in all languages and has been found to appear early in infancy [2, 3]. Recently, turn-taking has received attention in animal communication research [4, 5, 6, 7] as a potential foundation on which social communication was formed [1, 3]. In this study, we describe turn-taking in group-wide vocal interactions of meerkats (Suricata suricatta) during low-conflict sunning behavior, which is accompanied by the production of specific “sunning calls.” We show that sunning-call production is socially stimulated and that at the group level, meerkats avoid overlap, thus fulfilling a key principle of turn-taking [8]. Through observational data and playback experiments, we show that these group-level patterns arise from two individual-level rules: call inhibition over short timescales, which prevents mutual interference, and call excitation over longer timescales, which stimulates further group calling. These simple rules suggest that hierarchy formation and turn allocation are not required for achieving group-wide coordination of communication. We also suggest that the potential bonding function of turn-taking shown in humans might have similar effects in animal interactions.

1 aDemartsev, Vlad1 aStrandburg-Peshkin, Ariana1 aRuffner, Michaela1 aManser, Marta, B. uhttps://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0960982218312910https://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0960982218312910?httpAccept=text/xmlhttps://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0960982218312910?httpAccept=text/plain02579nas a2200265 4500008004100000022001400041245009500055210006900150260001600219520172900235653002501964653001101989653002802000653002502028653002402053100002402077700002002101700001902121700001702140700001902157700002002176700001602196700001502212856008602227 2018 eng d a1045-224900aAcoustic stability in hyrax snorts: vocal tightrope-walkers or wrathful verbal assailants?0 aAcoustic stability in hyrax snorts vocal tightropewalkers or wra cOct-10-20193 a

The source-filter theory proposes that information on caller properties is communicated through acoustic qualities, as physical state and performance ability are reflected in the voice. Vocal stability, manifested through harshness, is especially intriguing and has rarely been explored although harsh sounds are prevalent in nature. Male rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis) produce loud complex calls that we term songs. Only the calls of older, socially dominant males include a harsh sound termed snort. As snorts are the rarest element in songs, we hypothesized that high-quality snorts are difficult to produce, and that their quality consists in the ability to maintain smoothness throughout this low-pitched, harsh call. We quantified harshness by measuring periodicity deviations and expected to find a link between social parameters (residence, rank, and weight) and the ability to produce longer, smoother snorts. In addition, we presumed that if calls are used as vocal contests, conspecifics would avoid answering songs that exhibit a higher acoustic ability than their own songs. We found that in wild hyrax songs, snort harshness was associated with both weight and social rank, but in opposite directions. Heavier males produced smoother snorts and higher-ranked individuals produced harsher snorts, possibly indicating aggressiveness. Playback experiments showed that longer and harsher synthetic snorts, inserted into natural songs, reduced conspecific answer rates. Snorts may communicate complex information on hyrax weight and dominance by means of element length and harshness. Our present results provide a stimulating insight into the understanding of acoustics in mammalian vocal communication.

10ainner arousal theory10ajitter10anonlinear vocalizations10asource-filter theory10avocal communication1 aWeissman, Yishai, A1 aDemartsev, Vlad1 aIlany, Amiyaal1 aBarocas, Adi1 aBar-Ziv, Einat1 aShnitzer, Inbar1 aGeffen, Eli1 aKoren, Lee uhttps://academic.oup.com/beheco/advance-article/doi/10.1093/beheco/ary141/514236302522nas a2200253 4500008004100000022001300041245008400054210006900138260001600207300001100223490000800234520175500242653001801997653002502015653002302040653003702063653001902100653001702119100001502136700002002151700001502171700001602186856006602202 2017 eng d a0003347200aMale hyraxes increase countersinging as strangers become ‘nasty neighbours’0 aMale hyraxes increase countersinging as strangers become nasty n cJan-12-2017 a9 - 140 v1343 a

Many territorial animals interact less aggressively with neighbours than with strangers, a phenomenon known as the ‘dear enemy’ effect, although some species show the opposite behaviour. Rock hyraxes, Procavia capensis, are social mammals that communicate via a rich acoustic repertoire. Male hyraxes produce elaborate advertisement calls (i.e. songs) both spontaneously and in response to occasional attention-grabbing events (e.g. pup screams, agonistic interaction), as well as to conspecific male songs. When replying to conspecific songs, male hyraxes tend to respond more to familiar males than to strangers, reflecting the ‘nasty neighbour’ effect. Our study relates to the general question of why some species respond aggressively towards neighbours, while others are more aggressive towards strangers. We hypothesized that male hyraxes eventually familiarize themselves with a stranger, subsequently perceiving its intentions as highly threatening and deserving of a vocal response. To simulate the presence of a stranger in the area we exposed wild hyrax groups to playbacks of natural songs of un- familiar hyraxes. Male rock hyraxes became more likely to reply to a stranger's song over time, but this was independent of the number of times they heard the song. This suggests that either (1) the threat presented by a stranger increases when it is no longer perceived as transient or (2) because listeners do not physically encounter the stranger, they perceive replying aggressively as a low-risk response. Our work implies that species may demonstrate a range of condition-dependent behaviours instead of a dichotomy between the ‘nasty neighbour’ and ‘dear enemy’ strategies.

10aadvertisement10aanimal communication10afloating territory10aneighbour-stranger relationships10asocial mammals10avocalization1 aGoll, Yael1 aDemartsev, Vlad1 aKoren, Lee1 aGeffen, Eli uhttp://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S000334721730324X