January 19, 2015
Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
Chimpanzees can modify their food call structure in relation to their favorite types of fruits and the size of the trees where those consumable can be found, according to new research published in the March 2015 edition of the journal Animal Behaviour.
The discovery was made by lead investigator Ammie K. Kalan of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, who along with co-authors Roger Mundry and Christophe Boesch observed wild chimps making context specific, acoustically graded vocalizations.
While monitoring West African chimpanzees, the trio of researchers found that they modified their call pitch according to tree size of a species of prized fruit known as the Nauclea tree fruit. Nearby chimps appeared to be attracted to calls produced for larger trees, the study authors said, and variation in the call structure could not be explained solely by increased arousal.
According to Discovery News, the study is the first to find that information about tree size and the amount of available fruit is included along with food quality assessments in chimp calls. The findings are based on more than 750 hours of observations conducted in the Ivory Coast.
“Chimpanzees definitely have a very complex communication system that includes a variety of vocalizations, but also facial expressions and gestures,” Kalan told the website.
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