Abstract
Ringtailed lemurs (Lemur catta)often emit a characteristic vocalization when resting as a troop. This “meow call” is believed to serve an intragroup contact function. I investigated the effects of behavioral context and proximity on call production and acoustic features of the vocalization in a free-ranging troop in the Berenty Reserve, Madagascar. When group members were dispersed, the meow call was given frequently, and the acoustic features of the call probably increased the locatability of the emitter. I evaluated social relationships among the troop members from grooming interactions and spacing data. I also studied the call exchange network among the troop members, the results of which indicate that calls are exchanged between the two subgroups of females, which they connect.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Altmann, J. (1974). Observational study of behaviour: Sampling methods.Behaviour 49: 227–265.
Andrew, R. J. (1963). The origins and evolution of calls and facial expressions of the primates.Behaviour 20: 1–109.
Brown, C. H., Michael, D. B., Moody, D. B., and Stebbins, W. C. (1978). Localization of primate calls by Old World monkeys.Science 201: 753–754.
Cheney, D. L., and Seyfarth, R. M. (1982). How vervet monkeys perceive their grunts: Field playback experiments.Anim. Behav. 30: 739–751.
Gautier, J. P., and Gautier, A. (1977). Communication in Old World monkeys. In Sebeok, T. (ed.),How Animals Communicate, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, pp. 890–964.
Gautier, J. P., and Gautier-Hion, A. (1988). Vocal quavering: A basis for recognition in forest guenons. In Todt, D., Goedeking, P., and Symmes, D. (eds.),Primate Vocal Communication, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 15–30.
Harcourt, A. H., Stewart, K. J., and Hauser, M. (1993). Functions of wild gorilla “close” calls. I. Repertoire, context, and interspecific comparison.Behaviour 124: 89–122.
Janson, C. H., and van Schaik, C. P. (1988). Recognizing the many faces of primate food competition: Methods.Behaviour 105: 165–186.
Jolly, A. (1966).Lemur Behavior, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Jolly, A. (1972). Troop continuity and troop spacing inPropithecus verreauxi andLemur catta at Berenty (Madagascar).Folia Primatol. 17: 335–362.
Koyama, N. (1991). Troop division and inter-troop relationships of ring-tailed lemurs(Lemur catta) at Berenty, Madagascar. In Ehara. A., Kimura, T., Takenaka, O., and Iwamoto, M. (eds.),Primatology Today, Amsterdam, Elsevier, pp. 173–176.
Macedonia, J. M. (1986). Individuality in a contact call of the ringtailed lemur (Lemur catta).Am. J. Primatol. 11: 163–179.
Macedonia, J. M. (1994). The vocal repertoire of the ringtailed lemur (Lemur catta).Folia Primatol. 61: 186–217.
Marier, P. (1965). Communication in monkeys and apes. In Devore, I. (ed.);Primate Behavior: Field Studies of Monkeys and Apes. Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York, pp. 544–584.
Masataka, N. (1983). Categorical responses to natural and synthesized alarm calls in Goeldi’s monkeys (Callimico goeldii).Primates 24: 40–51.
Masataka, N. (1986). Rudimentary representational vocal signalling of fellow group members in spider monkeys.Behaviour 96: 49–61.
Masataka, N., and Symmes, D. (1986). Effect of separation distance on isolation call structure in squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus).Am. J. Primatol. 10: 271–278.
Mitani, M. (1986). Voiceprint identification and its application to sociological studies of wild Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata yakui).Primates 27: 397–412.
Morgan, B. J. T., Simpson, M. J. A., Hanby, J. P., and Hall-Craggs, J. (1976). Visualizing interaction and sequential data in animal behaviour: Theory and application of cluster-analysis methods.Behaviour 56: 1–43.
Newman, J. D., Smith, H. J., and Talmage-Riggs, G. (1983). Structural variability in primate vocalizations and its functional significance: An analysis of squirrel monkey chuck calls.Folia Primatol. 40: 114–124.
Petter, J. J., and Charles-Dominique, P. (1979). Vocal communication in prosimians. In Doyle, G. A., and Martin, R. D. (eds.),The Study of Prosimian Behavior, Academic Press, New York, pp. 247–305.
Sauther, M. L. (1993). Resource competition in wild populations of ringtailed lemurs(Lemur catta): Implications for female dominance. In Kappeler, P. M., and Ganzhorn, J. U. (eds.),Lemur Social Systems and Their Ecological Basis, Plenum Press, New York and London, pp. 135–152.
Smith, H. J., Newman, J. D., and Symmes, D. (1982). Vocal concomitants of affiliative behavior in squirrel monkeys. In Snowdon, C. T., Brown, C. H. and Petersen, M. R. (eds.),Primate Communication, Cambridge University Press, New York, pp. 20–49.
Snowdon, C. T. (1989). Vocal communication in New World monkeys.J. Hum. Evol. 18: 611–633.
Snowdon, C. T., and Hodun, H. (1981). Acoustic adaptations in pygmy marmoset contact calls: Locational cues vary with distances between conspecifics.Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 9: 295–300.
Sokal, R. R., and Rohlf, F. J. (1981).Biometry, Freeman, New York.
Sugiura, H. (1993). Temporal and acoustic correlates in vocal exchange of coo calls in Japanese macaques.Behaviour 124: 207–225.
Tanaka, T., Kudo, H., and Sugiura, H. (1993). Do Japanese macaques perceive dialects of conspecific coo vocalization?Reichorui Kenkyul Primate Res. 9: 299 (Japanese abstract only).
Taylor, L., and Sussman, R. W. (1985). Preliminary study of kinship and social organization in a semi-free-ranging group ofLemur catta.Int. J. Primatol 6: 601–614.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Oda, R. Effects of contextual and social variables on contact call production in free-ranging ringtailed lemurs (Lemur catta). Int J Primatol 17, 191–205 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02735447
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02735447