A case of spontaneous acquisition of a human sound by an orangutan

The capacity of nonhuman primates to actively modify the acoustic structure of existing sounds or vocalizations in their repertoire appears limited. Several studies have reported population or community differences in the acoustical structure of nonhuman primate long distance calls and have suggested vocal learning as a mechanism for explaining such variation. In addition, recent studies on great apes have indicated that there are repertoire differences between populations. Some populations have sounds in their repertoire that others have not. These differences have also been suggested to be the result of vocal learning. On yet another level great apes can, after extensive human training, also learn some species atypical vocalizations. Here we show a new aspect of great ape vocal learning by providing data that an orangutan has spontaneously (without any training) acquired a human whistle and can modulate the duration and number of whistles to copy a human model. This might indicate that the learning capacities of great apes in the auditory domain might be more flexible than hitherto assumed.

[1]  William M. Fields,et al.  The emergence of knapping and vocal expression embedded in a Pan/Homo culture , 2004 .

[2]  H. de Vries,et al.  Male monkeys remember which group members have given alarm calls , 2006, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

[3]  J. Mitani,et al.  Geographic variation in the calls of wild chimpanzees: A reassessment , 1999, American journal of primatology.

[4]  N. Masataka,et al.  Locale‐specific Vocal Behaviour of the Tamarin (Saguinus I. labiatus) , 2010 .

[5]  S. Wich,et al.  Possible audience effect in thomas langurs (primates; presbytis thomasi): An experimental study on male loud calls in response to a tiger model , 2003, American journal of primatology.

[6]  Mya E. Thompson,et al.  Elephant calling patterns as indicators of group size and composition: the basis for an acoustic monitoring system , 2003 .

[7]  Michael Fisher,et al.  The Alex Studies , 2000 .

[8]  P. Waser.  Individual Recognition, Intragroup Cohesion and Intergroup Spacing: Evidence From Sound Playback To Forest Monkeys , 1977 .

[9]  D. Weary,et al.  Variability in spider monkeys' vocalizations may provide basis for individual recognition , 1990, American journal of primatology.

[10]  M. C. Baker.  SONG DIALECTS AND GENETIC DIFFERENCES IN WHITE‐CROWNED SPARROWS (ZONOTRICHIA LEUCOPHRYS) , 1975, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution.

[11]  Eliot A. Brenowitz,et al.  The Role of Body Size, Phylogeny, and Ambient Noise in the Evolution of Bird Song , 1985, The American Naturalist.

[12]  E. S. Savage-rumbaugh,et al.  Vocal communication as a function of differential rearing experiences inPan paniscus: A preliminary report , 2006, International Journal of Primatology.

[13]  C. Boesch,et al.  Wild Chimpanzees Produce Group‐Specific Calls: a Case for Vocal Learning? , 2004 .

[14]  P. Slater,et al.  The different roles of social learning in vocal communication , 2000, Animal Behaviour.

[15]  D. Premack.  Is Language the Key to Human Intelligence? , 2004, Science.

[16]  R. Byrne,et al.  Priming primates: Human and otherwise , 1998, Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

[17]  J. Poole,et al.  Animal behaviour: Elephants are capable of vocal learning , 2005, Nature.

[18]  S. Wich,et al.  Individual and Contextual Variation in Thomas Langur Male Loud Calls , 2003 .

[19]  H. Lüddecke,et al.  GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN ADVERTISEMENT CALL AND GENETIC STRUCTURE OF COLOSTETHUS PALMATUS (ANURA, DENDROBATIDAE) FROM THE COLOMBIAN ANDES , 2005 .

[20]  Michael Tomasello,et al.  Ape Gestures and the Origins of Language , 2007 .

[21]  Katherine Ralls,et al.  Vocalizations and vocal mimicry in captive harbor seals, Phoca vitulina , 1985 .

[22]  David A. Leavens,et al.  Chimpanzees differentially produce novel vocalizations to capture the attention of a human , 2007, Animal Behaviour.

[23]  S. Wich,et al.  A description of the orangutan's vocal and sound repertoire, with a focus on geographic variation , 2008 .

[24]  P. Marler,et al.  Individuality in a long-range vocalization of wild chimpanzees. , 2010, Zeitschrift fur Tierpsychologie.

[25]  S. Green,et al.  Dialects in Japanese monkeys: vocal learning and cultural transmission of locale-specific vocal behavior? , 2010, Zeitschrift fur Tierpsychologie.

[26]  Robert M. Seyfarth,et al.  Constraints and preadaptations in the earliest stages of language evolution , 2005 .

[27]  Michelle Y. Merrill,et al.  Orangutan Cultures and the Evolution of Material Culture , 2003, Science.

[28]  P. Waser,et al.  Experimental Studies of Primate Vocalization: Specializations for Long-distance Propagation , 2010 .

[29]  Dietmar Todt,et al.  Social Learning of Vocal Patterns and Modes of their Application in Grey Parrots (Psittacus erithacus)1,2,3 , 1975 .

[30]  W. Fitch,et al.  Vocal production in nonhuman primates: Acoustics, physiology, and functional constraints on “honest” advertisement , 1995, American journal of primatology.

[31]  S. Peters,et al.  GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN THE ORGANIZATION OF SONG SPARROW REPERTOIRES , 2000 .

[32]  Jorma Sorjonen,et al.  Factors Affecting the Structure of Song and the Singing Behaviour of Some Northern European Passerine Birds , 1986 .

[33]  W. Fitch.  Vocal tract length and formant frequency dispersion correlate with body size in rhesus macaques. , 1997, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[34]  Roberto A. Delgado.  Geographic Variation in the Long Calls of Male Orangutans (Pongo spp.) , 2007 .

[35]  W. Hopkins,et al.  Differential use of attentional and visual communicative signaling by orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) and gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) in response to the attentional status of a human , 2006, American journal of primatology.

[36]  R. I. Bowman.  Adaptive morphology of song dialects in Darwin's finches , 1979, Journal für Ornithologie.

[37]  R. Wrangham,et al.  Does learning affect the structure of vocalizations in chimpanzees? , 1999, Animal Behaviour.

[38]  P. Marler,et al.  Dialects in wild chimpanzees? , 1992, American journal of primatology.

[39]  Jack W. Bradbury,et al.  Principles of Animal Communication , 1998 .

[40]  W. Fitch.  The evolution of speech: a comparative review , 2000, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

[41]  P. Tubaro,et al.  Body mass and habitat correlates of song structure in a primitive group of birds , 2002 .

[42]  A. Leitão,et al.  GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION IN BLUE TIT SONG, THE RESULT OF AN ADJUSTMENT TO VEGETATION TYPE? , 1999 .

[43]  C. Snowdon,et al.  Individual recognition of contact calls by pygmy marmosets , 1980, Animal Behaviour.

[44]  S. Wich,et al.  Innovation in wild Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) , 2006 .

[45]  R. Seyfarth,et al.  How Monkeys See the World , 1990 .

[46]  D Wenny.  Song output as a population estimator-e ect of male pairing status , 1993 .

[47]  H. de Vries,et al.  Geographic variation in Thomas langur (Presbytis thomasi) loud calls , 2008, American journal of primatology.

[48]  R. Wiley,et al.  Physical constraints on acoustic communication in the atmosphere: Implications for the evolution of animal vocalizations , 1978, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

[49]  Richard W. Byrne,et al.  Orangutans Modify Their Gestural Signaling According to Their Audience's Comprehension , 2007, Current Biology.

[50]  Warren Y. Brockelman,et al.  Estimation of density of gibbon groups by use of loud songs , 1993, American journal of primatology.

[51]  Drew Rendall,et al.  Contextual variation in chimpanzee pant hoots and its implications for referential communication , 2005, Animal Behaviour.