Die Pfiffe des Alpenmurmeltiers. Form und Auftreten im Zusammenhang mit der Feindvermeidung [Du sifflement des marmottes des Alpes. Forme et émission en rapport avec l'évitement des pédateurs. The whistles of the Alpine marmot (Marmota m. mamota). Their structure and occurence in the antipredator context].

Résumé

The whistles of the alpine marmot (Marmota m. marmota)-their structure and occurrence in the antipredator context.-The aim of this is to describe the whistles of the alpine marmot given in front of different predators and the responses of conspecifics to them. Observations and recordings performed in 1979 and 1980 in the Bernese Alps led to the following results: Whistles differ in the number of consecutively uttered elements, in the interval between the elements and the duration of the elements. Three classes of whistles were discerned: Single element whistles, whistle series and whistle sequences. In front of aerial predators (e.g. Golden Eagle, Aquila chrysaetos) and attacking foxes (Vulpes vulpes), marmots used single element whistles. Against foxes and humans approaching in a distance whistle series were the rule. This indicates that the marmots' whistles differ according to the imminence of predation. Single element whistles were stronger responded to by conspecifics than whistle series, thus indicating that they are understood as more serious alarm signals.