Golden-marmot alarm calls: I. The production of situationally specific vocalizations [Les cris d'alarme chez la marmotte dorèe : I. La production de vocalisations de situations spècifiques].

Résumé

Many species of animals produce alarm calls that vary according to the situation. There are at least three different ways to communicate variation in situation: 1. Produce acoustically different call types. 2. Vary the rate or number of times that a single call type is produced, and/or 3. Vary the overall intensity in a single call. Combinations of these three mechanisms are also possible. I studied the production of alarm calls in free-living golden marmots (Marmota caudata aurea). Marmots emitted alarm calls when they encountered predators and startling stimuli. In the field these calls did not appear associated with predator type, but, rather, varied according to the degree of risk the caller perceived when it vocalized. Marmots produced calls with fewer notes when in higher risk situations, and calls with more notes when in lower risk situations. Thus, by varying the number of repeated notes in a single call type, marmots produced situationally specific alarm vocalization.